U.S. Department of Transportation Designates Nine ITS Projects for National Evaluation

U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta today announced that the department has begun to evaluate nine innovative Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) projects for ways that technology can be applied to improve transportation.

The projects are in Delaware; Idaho; the Greater Metro Capital Region, which includes the District of Columbia and parts of Virginia and Maryland; Greater Yellowstone in Wyoming/Montana/Idaho; South Tahoe, Calif.; Portland, Ore.; Grand Forks, N.D.; Port of New York/New Jersey; and Houston.

"We must innovate and apply new technologies to get the most out of America's finite transportation infrastructure," said Secretary Mineta. "What we learn from evaluating these nine projects will help other areas around the country to use these strategies to improve operations of their transportation systems."

ITS combines information and communications technologies to help operate surface transportation networks and improve transportation efficiency and safety. These evaluations are designed to improve transportation safety and system efficiency by sharing the results of innovative projects with communities across the country. This allows communities to learn from others' experience and to adopt the best practices for use in local transportation projects

The nine sites were selected from among 93 locations that receive funding under the ITS Integration Program. That program's objective, as specified in the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), is "to accelerate the integration and interoperability of ITS in metropolitan and rural areas." "Integration" and "interoperability" refer to the capacity of technology systems to work together. The Department of Transportation considers the nine designated projects as the most promising for filling information gaps on the benefits and costs of emerging and existing ITS technologies or for documenting newer, successful ways of doing business.

The nine evaluations will cost a total of $1.67 million and are being performed by independent consultants. The evaluations will focus on documenting lessons learned and steps needed to share that information across the country.

The following projects were selected:

• Delaware - installation of a statewide Integrated Transportation Management System.

• Idaho - integration of road weather information systems to improve statewide weather monitoring.

• Greater Metropolitan Capital Region - integration of transportation and public safety data and voice communication systems in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

• Greater Yellowstone - integration of traveler information and road weather information for a five-state area surrounding Greater Yellowstone National Park.

• South Tahoe - merger of public and private transit resources into a bi-state, integrated centrally dispatched operation.

• Portland - integration and upgrade of a regional, multi-modal, traveler information system and the integration of a freeway/arterial corridor surveillance and control system.

• Grand Forks - deployment of a roadway and subsurface sensor system that can help forecast pavement conditions.

• Port of New York/New Jersey - deployment of the CargoMate Logistics Management System to track intermodal shipments at terminals and tenant facilities in the ports of New York and New Jersey.

• Houston - deployment of truck safety and monitoring systems within the greater Houston area.