After several years of research, development, and field testing, AHMCT and Caltrans have deployed eight Mountain Pass Road Opening (MPRO) systems for on-going use. The system has been installed in eight Caltrans vehicles, and Maintenance operators are fully trained in system configuration and use. The current installation sites are the Woodfords maintenance yard on State Route 9SR) 4 on Ebbetts Pass (east of Ebbetts Peak), the Camp Connell maintenance yard on SR4 on Ebbetts Pass (west of Ebbetts Peak), the Sonora Junction maintenance yard on SR108 on Sonora Pass (east of the summit), and the Lee Vining maintenance yard on SR120 on Tioga Pass. Caltrans Maintenance must open these passes before summer. This is a very hazardous task, with roads right next to steep drop-offs. Maintenance workers need to keep their vehicles over the roadway while removing massive amounts of snow, but they have no visual indications for the road location when the snow is this deep. The MPRO system uses GPS and an in-vehicle display, along with a highly accurate base map, to show the vehicle operator where they are currently at relative to the road. With the deployed MPRO system, one maintenance worker can begin cutting the snow at the right location, and the other operators can use this accurate cut as a visual guideline. Using the MPRO system, Caltrans operators can open passes more efficiently and far more safely. The supervisor said they were not only using the MPRO system, but they "love it"!

Link to project page