Traffic Management Technology

Dean Gustafson, PE, PTOE State Operations Engineer

Operations Division

The Everyday Story of Operations

VDOT’s Operations Program

• A core part of VDOT’s mission to plan,

deliver, operate and maintain a world-

class transportation system

• The Operations Program is focused on

the user/driver to maximize system

reliability and maintain system access

• The Statewide Program consists of

statewide policy/planning/guidance and 5

operating regions

− Transportation Operations Centers

(TOC’s) in Hampton Roads, Nova,

Richmond, Salem and Staunton

• Provides information and situational

awareness to VDOT management and

public

Matter of Economics

• Congestion cost Virginia over $4.8 B in

2010*

• $253.1 M worth of goods moves by

truck in VA*

• Rear-end crashes resulted in 48 deaths

(2011) and 23,360 injured (last 12 months,

35% of INJ)

• Virginia transportation system must be

more reliable than other states’ to be

competitive

• Operations Strategies could save $370.5 M

every year in Virginia

• Virginia home to National Capital Region

and numerous Military Installations *Source: TTI 2011 Urban Mobility Report

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VDOT’s Statewide Operations Program

TOC Components

Five Regions and TOCs

• Northern (Fairfax)

• Eastern (VA Beach)

• Central (Richmond)

• Northwest (Staunton)

• Southwest (Salem)

Transportation Operations Center

Advanced Transportation

Management System (ATMS)

• Hardware

• Software

• Communications

Equipment

Cameras

Message Signs

Portable Message Signs

Weather Stations Shoulder/Lane Control Traffic Detectors Ramp Meters HOV Gates Overheight Detection Highway Advisory

Radio (HAR)

VDOT’s Statewide Operations Program

Operations Statistics

System Mileage

• Interstate – 1,120

• Primary – 7,996

• Secondary - 48,809

7 Tunnels

11 Moveable Bridges

3 Ferries

• Each TOC handles 28 to 151 events every day

• Over 2,700 field devices

• Over 338 miles of VDOT fiber

• 50 SSP patrol routes covering 503 miles of

Interstate

− 30 routes/250 miles are 24/7

• 3rd Generation Statewide 511 Program

− Phone, Web, Mobile App

− Sponsorship/Revenue Generation

Proposed TOC Contract

Innovations

• Interoperability between centers

• Modernize technology on road and software

− Establish statewide process to review and implement new

technologies/innovations.

− Provide AVL on all SSP Vehicles

− Enhanced SSP and Severe Incident Response Vehicles for quick

clearance

− Network Operations Center to improve device availability

− Real-time tools to monitor performance

• Improve monitoring and communications to traveling public

− Statewide Training Academy for TOC staff

− Monitor and operate traffic signals in real-time to improve arterial

operations

Transportation Video & Data (TVD) Services VDOT’s 511 Program

Transportation Video & Data (TVD) Services

VDOT’s New 511 Program

• New 511 service launched May 18, 2012

• New website offers free streaming video to the public

– www.511Virginia.org

• Service disseminates traffic info through several outlets:

– Web and mobile applications (iPhone and Droid)

– Interactive Voice Response (IVR) phone system

– Information displays at Welcome Centers

– Twitter and email alerts

– Travel Time road signs in Hampton Roads

Transportation Video & Data (TVD) Services

Key Features

511 Phone Service

(IVR)

• New voice recognition engine

• Directional recognition

• Travel times

511 Website & Mobile

App

• Redesigned site

• Live streaming video (15 frames/sec)

• Mobile app with live traffic information

• Travel times

Video / Data Sharing

• Free video access through web service

• Includes attribution to VDOT

• Operations data publicly available

511 Highway Signs

• Sponsorship acknowledgements will be

added to 511 signs

Real-time Traffic

Speeds Displayed

for Major Routes

Streaming Video

Provided for VDOT’s

800+ Cameras

“Reach the Beach” tool provides

Travel Times for alternate

Routes to VA Beach

List of Travel Times Twitter Feed Map Home Screen

511 Mobile App – New Feature for VDOT

Transportation Video & Data (TVD) Services

Revenue Generation and Sponsorship

• Sponsor acknowledgement signs placed with VDOT 511 signs

• Sponsorship revenues will offset 511 O&M costs

• Coordination with other sponsorship opportunities:

Safety Service Patrol vehicles

SAVE (rest areas)

Roadway / Facility naming rights

Active Traffic Management (ATM)

Application of ATM to I-66 Corridor

Project Scope

• District of Columbia (Exit 74) to Gainesville (US-29)

• 32 mile corridor with diverse needs and characteristics including

suburban, urban, bidirectional peaks, transit, HOV, and ride sharing

• Assortment of ATM treatments proposed for different segments

• Two stage design-build procurement process

ATM Display Concept

Between ½ mile to 1 mile spacing (1 Kilometer to 1.5 Kilometer)

Example with HOV Lane, No Shoulder Running Example with HOV Lane and Shoulder Running

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I-66 ATM Timeline

• Awarded in January 2013

• Design and construction: Spring 2012 – Fall 2014

• ATM full Start-Up: Spring 2015

• Supplemental info available at: www.virginiadot.org

I-64 & I-77 Active Traffic

and Safety Management System

I-64 Afton Mountain I-77 Fancy Gap Mountain

Primary goal: Improve safety of travel along Afton and Fancy Gap Mountains

Secondary goal: Increase operational efficiency of travel along the corridors

Connected Vehicle Technologies

Connected Vehicle Technologies

“Connected Vehicle” is a national initiative to improve safety and mobility

by enabling communications between vehicles, infrastructure and devices

Vehicle connectivity provides a bi-directional ability to share information

– Vehicle to Vehicle (V2V)

– Vehicle to Infrastructure (V2I)

– Vehicle to Device (V2D)

Wireless communication channels are used

– Cellular for general information

– Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) for low-latency, robust, secure information

Various in-vehicle and roadside applications are enabled with the communicated information

Connected Vehicles

Goal is to combat grim national statistics:

Safety

• 32,885 highway deaths in 2010

• 5.4 M crashes/year

• Leading cause of death for ages 4 to 34

Mobility

• 4.2 B hours of travel delay

• $80 B cost of urban congestion

Environment

• 2.9B gallons of wasted fuel

Up to 80% of non-impaired crash types may

be impacted by connected vehicle technology

* Source: NHTSA – Based on initial estimates and studies

• In cooperation with Virginia Tech, UVA and

Morgan State University, VDOT is establishing

Connected Vehicle Test Beds at the Smart Road

and along I-66 & major primaries in NOVA

• Test Beds will include roadside equipment,

communication networks, and servers

• Connected Vehicle applications will be piloted at

Smart Road first (includes signalized intersection)

• NOVA routes selected based on congestion, high

crash rates and multimodal characteristics

(I-66, US 50, US 29, Gallows Rd)

Virginia Connected Vehicle Test Bed

Proposed Road Side Infrastructure Sites

Northern Virginia

• 47 Dedicated Short Range

Communication Transmitters

• 200 Portable Aftermarket

Safety Devices (Android-type)

• 10 instrumented cars

• 2 instrumented heavy vehicles

(Semi, Motorcoach)

Equipment and Vehicles at Test Beds