The increasing frequency and severity of avalanches pose a significant risk to transportation corridors in mountainous regions, necessitating the development of advanced monitoring technologies to enhance public safety and infrastructure resilience. This project aims to design and implement a novel avalanche monitoring system capable of providing real-time data on snowpack movement and temperature to assess avalanche risks near roadways. Utilizing cutting-edge drone technology, the system will enable the remote deployment and retrieval of monitoring units in hazardous avalanche-prone zones, reducing the need for manual intervention in dangerous terrain. The project will be executed in two contingent stages under the oversight of the NCHRP IDEA program, ensuring a structured approach to development and validation. The ongoing Stage 1 focuses on selecting and testing the optimal hardware components, designing a durable and lightweight monitoring unit shell, and developing a robust base station for data collection and remote access. Initial simulations and small-scale field experiments has been conducted to evaluate system functionality under real-world conditions. Based on the insights gained, Stage 2 will involve refining the system’s performance through full-scale testing in the Cascade Mountains at Snoqualmie Pass, with active participation from the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT). The final outcome of this project will be a fully operational avalanche monitoring system, providing essential real-time data to enhance avalanche risk assessment and winter road safety operations.
Figure 1 & 2 Sensor testing and installation.