IN REGIONS WITH HIGH SNOWFALLS, keeping roads clear is obviously a high priority. Luckily, the challenge involves infrastructure technology that's undergoing a great deal of innovation. Integrating that technology effectively and safely while making the best use of public funds, however, is a tricky balancing act. "Transportation departments face increasing pressure to keep roads open in all conditions," says Mallory Crow, a researcher and graduate assistant at University of Akron in Ohio. "But the public doesn't want to pay higher taxes. Economic cases can be made for multiple plows, tow plows, automated salt hoppers and hydraulics, automatic vehicle location and tracking, GPS, etc. Public agencies can't invest in every technology, so they must make choices." In her doctoral thesis, Data Analytics for Winter Maintenance Decisions, Crow uses available data and research to help managers make the best possible choice as they weigh.
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