Preliminary Development of a Real Time Seasonal Load Restriction System for Remote Sites

By preventing the use of roadways by trucks with heavy axle loads, seasonal load restrictions (SLRs) minimize costly roadway damage that occurs in seasonal frost areas during the annual spring thaw and strength recovery period. Historically, load restrictions were often administered based on set dates and/or visual inspection procedures. More recently, however, many agencies have expressed the need for real time monitoring of subsurface temperature and moisture regimes to assist them in making SLR decisions. Gathering this data may be problematic, however, because many roadways requiring SLRs are located in remote areas where it is difficult to gather these data in real time. Therefore, this research project's main focus is to demonstrate the application of commercial remote sensing and spatial information (CRS&SI) technology for monitoring roadway conditions in real time during the spring thaw and strength recovery period. Test sites will be established in northern New England that will include sensors for measuring subsurface temperature and moisture regimes, as well as above ground sensors to monitor several atmospheric weather parameters. Data will then be transferred (via satellite) to a web based Decision Support System (DSS), which will consist of a graphical user interface (GUI), a database, interpolation and other data processing tools, and a freeze-thaw predictive model. Weather forecasts will be automatically downloaded and entered into the predictive model to assist transportation agencies in making SLR posting decisions several days in advance.