Investment Opportunities for Managing Transportation Performance through Technology

January 30, 2009

U.S. Department of Transportation, Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office

16 January 2009

The incoming Obama Administration has laid out several objectives for economic recovery plan investments, such as:

Ready to go within a few months;
Yield both short- and long-term benefits; and
Create and maintain jobs.

In the transportation sector, state and local governments and transit agencies are compiling lists of projects that meet these criteria. AASHTO, APWA and APTA, for example, have identified $64.3 billion, $15.4 billion and $12.2 billion respectively in “shovel-ready” projects that could begin quickly. As transportation is about moving people and goods safely and effectively, it is important to consider the scope and timing of the operational benefits these projects will deliver. Effectively operating the transportation system is a daily process vital to the economy and central to transportation and transit agency missions. Moreover, transportation operations provide continual public and private sector employment opportunities. Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) use technology to enable operating agencies and private users to keep transportation systems performing as efficiently and safely as possible.

Investments in ITS and operations are fully consistent with the intent of the economic recovery plan and can be proffered as candidates. For example, ITS investments that support system operations have the
following attributes:

Quick to Implement – ITS and operations investments requiring minimal new rights-of-way or construction are subject to a categorical exclusion under NEPA. Examples include traffic signal upgrades and ptimization, traffic adaptive signal control, transit signal priority, ramp metering, closed-circuit television, dynamic message signs, open road tolling, weigh-in-motion, transit AVL/CAD, and traffic incident anagement programs. These projects can get underway fast, turning project dollars into jobs quickly.

Create Jobs – ITS and operations investments create technology sector jobs for engineers, electronics technicians, software developers, and system integrators. On average, about 50 percent of ITS project spending is for direct labor as compared with 20 percent for new highway construction.

Provide Short- and Long-Term Benefits – ITS and operations investments provide long-term operational benefits by reducing congestion and improving transportation safety. ITS technologies employed in work
zones provide immediate benefits in congestion management and safety during construction.

Environmental Benefits – ITS and operations investments contribute to reduced emissions and fuel consumption.

When considering ITS and operations investment to support transportation management and operations,
keep in mind that they can be:

Stand-alone deployments;
Incorporated as elements within new infrastructure-oriented projects; and
Employed to manage traffic impacts created by other projects, such as work zones.

ITS and operations investments are an important part of a transportation investment portfolio. Summarized below are benefit and cost data for two broad categories of ITS investments: (1) quickly-deployable projects to help maximize the safety, operational capacity, and environmental performance of existing, rehabilitated, or new infrastructure and (2) those that are specifically coupled to road and bridge projects to help mitigate traffic hazards and delays during construction. Project categories identified in this paper could begin within 120 days of funding as either enhancements to existing infrastructure or as elements within broader transportation construction projects.

ITS for Maximizing Infrastructure Benefits

ITS can enhance the quality of life in most communities by improving traffic flow and decreasing delays. Examples of these technologies include traffic signal optimization and retiming, transit signal priority, ransit CAD/AVL, safety service patrols, electronic border crossing systems, commercial vehicle credentialing, and surveillance and detection systems. Regarding surveillance and detection, Congress has directed USDOT to establish a real-time traffic and travel condition monitoring system to enable States to se and share that data with other governments and the traveling public. The Department embarked on a egulatory development approach to stimulate and accelerate the expansion of real-time traffic and travel conditions monitoring. A notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) was published on January 14, 2009 to engage the transportation community in effective approaches to accomplish this effort. The NPRM does not dictate a specific technology. Examples of technologies used for real-time data collection include oadside, overhead, probe-based, in-pavement sensors, and video detection devices.

Table 1 identifies deployment-ready ITS investments for either stand alone projects or technologies that can be

incorporated into new or existing transportation infrastructure projects. The table includes a summary of the key benefits for each type of project, including an assessment of whether the safety, mobility, and energy and environment impacts are considered to be high, medium, or low. This assessment is based on the information contained in the ITS benefits database.

While these technologies can be deployed independently, there are good engineering, financial and political reasons to include them as elements of other capital projects. Coordinating project installation can everage resources, minimize total amount of digging and repaving, and reduce the total time for deployment.

ITS for Mitigating Construction Impacts

Construction projects can have traffic impacts that reverberate across a region. As the nation launches numerous

construction projects, it will be crucial to move vehicles through the work zones as efficiently as possible and to better manage traffic and inform the traveling public in the surrounding region. Smart work zones, traffic incident management strategies, and enhanced traveler information are among the ITS solutions that can improve safety for workers and the motoring public as well as mitigate traffic delay during road and bridge construction projects. Portable traffic management systems, dynamic message signs, dynamic lane merge systems, and variable speed limit systems are just a few examples of smart work zone technologies that can be deployed during major construction projects. Table 2 follows the same format at table 1 and lists the significant benefits associated with integrating work zone management components with roadway and bridge construction projects. On average, the cost to deploy and operate smart work zone systems is 4.5 percent of total construction costs

Source: National Transportation Operations Coalition (NTOC)

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under ITS