Research Solutions - Improving roadway friction measurement methods to keep winter roads clear - TPF-5(435)

Road friction sensors are a lower-maintenance tool for monitoring road surface conditions and identifying where salt or other winter maintenance treatments should be applied. However, different sensors may not measure friction consistently and their high cost means they can only be deployed on key road segments. Machine learning provides Iowa DOT and other state transportation agencies a potential new option to predict road surface conditions in real time without the need for sensors. Building on a variety of past studies, researchers developed a model using existing meteorological data and provided guidance for states to develop similar models of their own