Internet controlled bridge sprayer and RWIS

Posted in October 27th, 2005

Most states in the northern climates have a system in place for monitoring road conditions, and in a few cases, providing for remote control of bridge sprayers and other anti-ice devices.

The idea is to optimize scheduling and chemical mix to provide a reasonable level of safety while minimizing cost. In years past, when I did a great deal of driving, I used these systems a great deal. It was really nice to know what the road conditions up ahead were. For example, I could look at trends and see if the surface temperature was dropping, and what the chemical level was on the roads surface. As a result, I tended to experience a lot less of those fun scenarios where ones traction goes to zero in a flash, resulting in 720 degree turns or more. Of course, this was when my wireless carrier provided decent cell phone internet access which has slowly declined since I was an early adopter in 1999.

<%image(20051027-sprayer.jpg|200|176|Bridge sprayer)%>

Whats cool about this website, is they also include the control system for the sprayer. It does however require authentication, such that some 14 year old doesn’t deplete the spendy chemicals when they are not needed. What I find really slick is beyond the control, also the history is presented. One can look at trend data, and determine when to expect a slippery bridge, and perhaps shift ones travel plans. This is one of a number of bridges. Due to its geography, its going to have more of a icing problem than others, but still, the other bridges are a concern as well, and the history is a useful predictive tool.