UDOT

Stations provide real-time safety information and save taxpayer dollars

The Utah Department of Transportation is conducting its biannual checkups on approximately 200 weather stations around the state. These weather stations provide UDOT with valuable real-time safety information.

UDOT then relays this information to the public through various communication channels like variable messaging signs (VMS), the UDOT Traffic website and even directly to vehicles through vehicle-to-everything technology.  

This week, crews were busy checking weather stations in Cedar City.

A typical UDOT weather station consists of multiple sensors to detect wind, temperatures, humidity levels, rain, soil temperature, snowfall rate, visibility and road conditions. Each weather station provides UDOT with precise, real-time data on road and weather conditions. 

Understanding the current and forecasted conditions on roads helps UDOT maintenance crews know where to work — particularly during the winter. 

“This data helps us plan everything from our pre-storm treatment to post-storm management,”  UDOT Weather Operations Specialist and RWIS Coordinator Cody Oppermann said. “The information our weather stations provide us is crucial in helping us make the best decisions for snow mitigation and everyone traveling on Utah’s roads.”

The data also helps UDOT save money. These weather stations, along with the weather program itself, save 11 dollars for every one dollar spent on labor and materials, with more than $2.2 million saved.

UDOT technicians assess weather stations in the spring and fall, making any repairs necessary before summer thunderstorms and winter conditions arrive. Then, the stations can warn the traveling public about heavy wind, rain or snow, through VMS signs, via the UDOT Traffic website and app or directly to vehicles.

UDOT crews are beginning their checkups with weather stations along seasonal roads, which often experience the most damaging conditions. 

“Weather stations on seasonal roads can experience especially brutal winters, which can damage or break equipment,” Oppermann said. “So we’re going to look and make sure those sensors are cleaned up and working for the summertime so that we don’t have any flawed data.”  

Occasionally, UDOT adds weather stations to a state-owned route — particularly new roads or remote roads that have recently received fiber cables. New additions must provide new, valuable data on crucial areas, like the highest elevation of a snow route, the lowest elevation of a mountain pass where ice gathers or an area in the valley where wind is bad. Technicians also look at weather-related crash data to see if more weather information would be helpful. 

“Utah has a varying climate and we try to make sure we’re capturing all the different nuances of it,” Oppermann said. “We want to make sure that the UDOT maintenance staff are doing what they need to do to keep the road clear, keep you informed using our VMS over the highway and all the information that we put on the UDOT Traffic website so that you can keep safe on UDOT’s roads.”