The current Clear Roads Pooled Fund project (TPF-5(218)) will be closing, and the next phase of this pooled fund will begin under this solicitation. This new Clear Roads project will maintain its focus on advancing winter highway operations nationally through practical, practice-ready research related to materials, equipment and methods. State departments of transportation are aggressively pursuing new technologies, practices, tools, and programs to improve winter highway operations and safety while maintaining fiscal responsibility. The Clear Roads Pooled Fund project began in 2004 with four members and a focus on real world testing of winter maintenance materials, methods, and equipment. During its twelve years of funding and overseeing research projects, the pooled fund has grown to include thirty-three member states funding three to ten research projects annually. The group’s latest projects and partnership initiatives have included a strong emphasis on implementing research results and sharing successful practices among agencies. See the Clear Roads Pooled Fund Web site for both the history and latest information on this project: www.clearroads.org. The Clear Roads Pooled Fund provides the critical funding and structure needed to evaluate these new tools and practices in both lab and field settings, to develop industry standards and performance measures, to conduct cost-benefit analyses, and to develop and evaluate new designs and practices that further improve winter highway safety and minimize environmental impacts. This project responds to research and technology transfer needs not currently met by other pooled fund projects. Existing partners make every effort to coordinate with other agencies to avoid duplication of efforts and to encourage implementation of results. This new phase of Clear Roads Pooled Fund will address both operational and management research needs, investigating the most effective tools and practices for clearing snow and ice and for managing program resources, budgets and performance measures. It will also include an even stronger emphasis on promoting the use of the research results in the field. The project will provide expanded support for implementation and technology transfer through the development of user manuals, training modules, peer exchanges, and quick turnaround syntheses of the most effective state practices from around the country. This new phase will also include expanded collaboration with other research organizations focused on winter maintenance (such as the Aurora Pooled Fund) to further leverage the research funding investment.

Objectives of the new phase of the Clear Roads Pooled Fund project will include: • Conduct structured field testing and evaluation across a range of winter conditions and different highway maintenance organizational structures to assess the practical effectiveness, ease of use, optimum application rates, barriers to use, durability, safety, environmental impact, and cost-effectiveness of innovative materials, equipment, and methods for improved winter highway maintenance. • Conduct research that explores the use of innovative materials, equipment, and processes that will promote environmentally sustainable winter maintenance operations. • Conduct cost-benefit analyses to ensure that new technologies, materials, or methods contribute to operational efficiency. • Investigate state agency uses of performance measures for winter operations and develop management tools that support effective analysis and reporting of the measures. • Establish industry standards and develop performance measures for evaluating and utilizing new materials and technologies. • Support technology transfer by developing and disseminating practical field guides and training curriculum to promote the results of research projects. • Support the exchange of information and ideas among state agencies via peer exchanges, impromptu internal surveys, and collaborative research efforts that provide opportunities for winter maintenance specialists to share experiences related to winter maintenance. • Conduct national surveys to compile and document agency practices on the latest operational issues (for example salt shortages, level of service requirements, or other "hot button" issues). • Conduct quicker turnaround, lower cost, synthesis projects to investigate the latest research and practices on pressing winter maintenance topics. • Coordinate with the Aurora Pooled Fund (http://www.aurora-program.org/) to enhance the impact, and avoid duplication, of winter road weather research. • Promote public education and outreach related to winter maintenance and winter driving safety.

Research findings will be disseminated via the Transportation Pooled Fund Web site and the Clear Roads Pooled Fund Web site. Technology transfer and training will also be a focus of every project with funding allocated to develop the resources necessary to communicate research outcomes to a variety of audiences and ensure that new methods, tools, and equipment can be implemented at the field level. Investigators and Technical Advisory Committee members will present findings at relevant meetings and incorporate in training materials.

State and local winter maintenance organizations will be able to make informed operational and purchasing decisions based on objective evaluations of promising materials and equipment. By pooling resources, agencies will be able to conduct more extensive studies across a greater range of conditions than could be done by a single agency with only its own funds. By collaborating, sharing information, and conducting impromptu surveys, agencies will benefit from each other's experiences and avoid the duplication of research efforts. The outcomes of these projects will help agencies get the maximum financial benefit out of their investments in materials, equipment, and technologies. $200,000 annually with a minimum commitment of $25,000 per year from each partner.