The 'Maint and Constr Management Center' monitors and manages roadway infrastructure construction and maintenance activities. Representing both public agencies and private contractors that provide these functions, this physical object manages fleets of maintenance, construction, or special service vehicles (e.g., snow and ice control equipment). The physical object receives a wide range of status information from these vehicles and performs vehicle dispatch, routing, and resource management for the vehicle fleets and associated equipment. The physical object participates in incident response by deploying maintenance and construction resources to an incident scene, in coordination with other center physical objects. The physical object manages equipment at the roadside, including environmental sensors and automated systems that monitor and mitigate adverse road and surface weather conditions. It manages the repair and maintenance of both non-ITS and ITS equipment including the traffic controllers, detectors, dynamic message signs, signals, and other equipment associated with the roadway infrastructure. Weather information is collected and fused with other data sources and used to support advanced decision support systems.
The physical object remotely monitors and manages ITS capabilities in work zones, gathering, storing, and disseminating work zone information to other systems. It manages traffic in the vicinity of the work zone and advises drivers of work zone status (either directly at the roadside or through an interface with the Transportation Information Center or Traffic Management Center physical objects.)
Construction and maintenance activities are tracked and coordinated with other systems, improving the quality and accuracy of information available regarding closures and other roadway construction and maintenance activities.
'MCM Maintenance Decision Support' recommends maintenance courses of action based on current and forecast environmental and road conditions and additional application specific information. Decisions are supported through understandable presentation of filtered and fused environmental and road condition information for specific time horizons as well as specific maintenance recommendations that are generated by the system based on this integrated information. The recommended courses of action are supported by information on the anticipated consequences of action or inaction, when available.
'MCM Roadway Maintenance' provides overall management and support for routine maintenance on a roadway system or right-of-way. Services managed include landscape maintenance, hazard removal (roadway debris, dead animals), routine maintenance activities (roadway cleaning, grass cutting), and repair and maintenance of non-ITS equipment on the roadway (e.g., signs, gantries, cabinets, guard rails, etc.). Environmental conditions information is also received from various weather sources to aid in scheduling routine maintenance activities. See also MCM Field Equipment Maintenance for maintenance of ITS field equipment.
'MCM Winter Maintenance Management' manages winter road maintenance, tracking and controlling snow plow operations, roadway treatment (e.g., salt spraying and other material applications), and other snow and ice control operations. It monitors environmental conditions and weather forecasts and uses the information to schedule winter maintenance activities, determine the appropriate snow and ice control response, and track and manage response operations.
'MCM Work Activity Coordination' disseminates work activity schedules and current asset restrictions to other agencies. Work schedules are coordinated with operating agencies, factoring in the needs and activities of other agencies and adjacent jurisdictions. Work schedules are also distributed to Transportation Information Centers for dissemination to the traveling public.
'MCM Work Zone Management' remotely monitors and supports work zone activities, controlling traffic through dynamic message signs (DMS), Highway Advisory Radio (HAR), gates and barriers, and informing other groups of activity (e.g., traveler information, traffic management, other maintenance and construction centers) for better coordination management. Work zone speeds, and delays, and closures are provided to the motorist prior to the work zones. This application provides control of field equipment in all maintenance areas, including fixed and portable field equipment supporting both stationary and mobile work zones.