December 2017
Performance Dashboards and Interactive Apps
- The Maricopa Association of Governments’ Magnitude Transportation Performance Dashboard
This interactive visualization tool, compiles transportation performance measurement information collected and analyzed by the Regional Transportation Plan Partners in the Maricopa County, AZ region. - City of Austin Transportation Department: Signal Timing Dashboard
This dashboard reports the progress of the Austin Transportation Department's Annual Signal Timing Program. Traffic signal engineers identify corridors for re-timing on an annual basis. Every Signal is re-timed at least once every three years. - MDOT SHA e-Road Ready Projects
This application provides a comprehensive electronic guide to major road construction carried out by the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration.
Safety
- Traffic Technology Today article: MnDot’s New Study Shows Roundabouts Are Reducing Crashes and Improving Traffic Flow In Minnesota
The study examined the safety performance of roundabouts by comparing the before- and after-construction crash rates, and overall roundabouts are performing well. There was an 86% reduction in the fatal crash rate at intersections where roundabouts were installed, and an 83% reduction in the serious injury crash rate. - FHWA & Road Safety Foundation’s 2017 National Safety Awards
The awards program has twin goals – recognizing outstanding public agencies and their staff, and promoting the projects themselves in the service of best practice sharing and encouraging their use elsewhere. This Noteworthy Practices Guide is an important component of that second goal, providing practical and proven ideas, helpful graphics and visuals, and contact information for key project leaders. - ADOT, DPS, GOHS launch “Drive Aware, Get There” Safety Campaign
Arizona Department of Transportation, the Arizona Department of Public Safety and the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety launched the campaign to help drivers the risk of being in a crash with a wrong-way vehicle. ADOT has installed the first-in-the-nation wrong-way detection and warning prototype that uses thermal cameras.
Congestion
- INDOT ITS initiative: Traffic Wise
Indiana’s real-time traffic conditions are available with a few clicks of the mouse. Indiana residents are able to view real-time camera images, the location and severity of reported crashes, work zones, and other incidents that are being monitored by the INDOT Traffic Management Centers (TMC), and what is currently being displayed on Dynamic Message Signs (DMS) and Travel Time Signs (TTS). - Government Technology article: Louisville Uses Waze Data for Better Transportation Outcomes
The massive amount of data collected by the company is giving local governments a new tool to examine the traffic flowing through their jurisdictions. - State DOT Applicability Determination: CMAQ Traffic Congestion and CMAQ On-Road Mobile Source Emissions Measures (23 CFR 490.707 and 490.807)
The tables list 42 State DOTs required to establish targets and report performance for the measure, with the applicable NAAQS in each State and 32 State DOTs required to implement the traffic congestion measures.
Asset Management
- 2017 Draft of California Transportation Asset Management Plan
The TAMP is California’s new asset management-based framework for investment decisions, representing a move from a "silo" based project funding approach to a system-wide assessment and a performance driven approach to investment. The final version of the TAMP will be submitted to FHWA in April 2018 for compliance with federal requirements. - St. Johns County, FL ‘s Asset Management Inventory - S A M I
The Asset Management Inventory (SAMI) maps show roads maintained by the Public Works Department, including Traffic Signs & Signals, Guardrails, Handrails, Bridges, Sidewalks, and Drainage Structures.
Research
- Ohio DOT Final Report: Evaluation of Roadway Subsurface Drainage on Rural Routes
The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) has published a report that identifies current practices of drainage installation on rural routes and evaluates cost effective options for drainage. The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) has been getting substantially less than the expected 15 year service life after a resurfacing project. Excess moisture can cause stripping, raveling, debonding, and rutting in flexible pavement, and therefore providing drainage may help mitigate the premature failures ODOT sees on rural routes. - FDOT Report: Removal Effectiveness of Co-mingling Off-site Flows With FDOT Right-of-Way Stormwater
The report develops methodologies for estimating the removal effectiveness of commingling runoff from on-site and off-site facilities. FDOT can make the decision to treat off-site runoff in an on-site facility or to bypass the facility. One determination of this decision is the cost the mass removal obtained by mixing the on-site with off-site waters, or commingling. - MnDOT Report - Minnesota Local Agency Pavement Marking: Mining Existing Data
Pavement marking is important for safety. Maximizing pavement marking performance in terms of increased retroreflectivity, within limited budget constraints, allows agencies to make better decisions toward providing more effective pavement marking performance on their roadway networks. This research project included conducting a survey of local agencies’ pavement marking practices, mining existing National Transportation Product Evaluation Program (NTPEP) pavement marking data, and developing recommendations for future pavement marking research to support local agency needs. - Wired article:To Survive The Streets, Robocars Must Learn To Think Like Humans
Researchers are tackling the challenges of interpreting—and predicting—human behavior to make self-driving cars safer and more efficient, but also more assertive. - National League of Cities Report: The Future of Equity in Cities
Many cities are already thinking about how technology can be used to marry traditional and newer forms of multimodal transit, while at the same time ensuring these mobility solutions are equitable across the entire population. In order to examine factors at the nexus of equity, mobility and technology, the report analyzed long range transportation plans from the 50 largest U.S. cities. - Institute for Transportation Iowa State University Report: Traffic Impact Assessment of Moving Work Zone Operations
Existing traffic analysis tools for work zone scheduling are not designed to model moving work zones. A review of existing literature showed that many of the existing studies of moving bottlenecks are theoretical in nature, limited to certain lane configurations, and restrictive in the types of mobile work zone attributes considered.This research project sought to address this gap in existing knowledge by using field data from moving work zones to develop and calibrate a traffic impact analysis tool.
Preservation and Maintenance
- Alaska’s Winter Road Maintenance Priority Map
Alaska transportation officials have posted an online map displaying varying priorities for clearing snow from state roads this winter. The color-coded map, which shows many of the 5,619 miles of highways across Alaska maintained by the state Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, indicates which of five priority levels they fall into. Users can click on any road shown to display its winter maintenance priority. - Bend, Oregon’s 2017 Street Preservation Projects
In 2017, the Bend City Council allocated $12.9 million for street preservation, and in summer 2017 repairs were conducted in every corner of the city. - Preserving Maine’s Bridges: The Condition and Funding Needs of Maine’s Aging Bridge System
TRIP has released a report that examines the condition and use of Maine’s bridges, funding needs, and the future mobility needs of the state. A significant number of Maine’s bridges have surpassed or are approaching 50 years old, which is typically the intended design life of bridges. The cost of repairing and preserving bridges increases as they reach the end of their intended design life. - Washington State DOT: Roadside Manual
Roadsides are an important component of highway design, operation, and maintenance because of the operational, environmental, visual and auxiliary functions they provide. Properly designed and maintained, roadsides complement the functions of the roadway, integrate the roadway facility into the surrounding landscape and provide a positive psychological effect on the vehicle occupants.