Methodology for the prioritization of environmental sensor station installation (case study of South Korea)

A road weather information system is increasingly recognized as a critical proactive tool for winter maintenance because of recent unexpectedly heavy snowfalls and continuously colder temperatures in Korea. Therefore, effective operation of this system is a high priority. Environmental sensor stations are important components in such systems. However, resources do not permit the installation of an unlimited number of these sensor stations so some method of site prioritization must be implemented. To date however, no explicit method has been adopted. Therefore, this study proposes a decision support methodology to enable the prioritization of installation of new environmental sensor stations and then demonstrates the effectiveness of the methodology by applying it to road sections in South Korea which are especially vulnerable to snow. The primary feature of this methodology is that it provides a rational ranking for prioritizing these installations. This method can readily be applied to other geographic locations.