FHWA and Road Weather Management - Every Day Counts (EDC) Initiatives

The Every Day Counts (EDC) Program is a State-based model that identifies and rapidly deploys proven innovations that make our transportation system adaptable, sustainable, equitable and safer for all. FHWA works with State transportation departments, local governments, tribes, private industry and other stakeholders to identify a new collection of innovations to champion every two years that merit accelerated deployment. These innovations save time, money and resources to ensure our infrastructure is built better, faster, and smarter.

• Pathfinder: Pathfinder is a Weather-Savvy Roads process that enables transportation agencies, the National Weather Service, and private weather service providers to collaborate on clear, consistent, and impact-based road weather messaging for the public. It provides the foundation for coordination across agencies to develop cohesive weather impact information, helping drivers make informed travel decisions. View this factsheet and the Pathfinder Project guidance document for more information. An example of this process in action was the Total Solar Eclipse that spanned the United States from Texas to Maine on April 8, 2024.
• Integrated Mobile Operations (IMO): IMO is a cost-effective way to gather information on weather and road conditions with road weather sensors and cameras deployed on existing fleet vehicles that can then be integrated into decision support systems. Vehicle-based technologies provide agencies with data to manage transportation systems before, during, and after the impacts of adverse weather occur. View our EDC-4 Weather-Savvy Roads publications here for more information on IMO.
• Weather-Responsive Management Strategies (WRMS):
  • The WRMS initiative under the EDC-5 program promotes the use of road weather data from mobile and connected vehicle technologies to support traffic and maintenance management strategies during inclement weather. The goal is to improve safety and reliability, as well as to reduce environmental impacts on the transportation system resulting from adverse weather.
  • EDC-5 WRMS Resource Toolkit:
    https://collaboration.fhwa.dot.gov/dot/fhwa/RWMX/SiteAssets/WRMS/home.aspx
  • EDC-4 Integrating Mobile Observations IMO Resource Toolkit:
    https://collaboration.fhwa.dot.gov/dot/fhwa/RWMX/SiteAssets/Weather%20Savvy%20Roads.aspx