Enterprise

2016

Portable Travel Time Displays and ICM with Parallel Routes – Phase 1

The ENTERPRISE Pooled Fund completed a project in 2012 called the Assessing the Impacts of Travel Times on the Overall Network to understand the impacts that travel time message displays (web and roadside) have on the network.  The outcome of the project concluded that travel time displays have an impact on traffic diversions as travelers react to the increased information presented to them.  However the project did not go into a next phase to understand what locations are conducive to travel time displays being the most effective at diverting traffic.

This Phase 1 ENTERPRISE Portable Travel Time Display (PTTD) and ICM with Parallel Routes project was initiated in 2016 with the intent of exploring the feasibility of a system that would enable Departments of Transportation to temporarily locate and test travel time displays at additional locations in order to assess the anticipated impacts on the network without a permanent deployment. Phase 1 completed the initial systems engineering analysis that is included in the Project Summary Report and created a plan for identifying Phase 2 locations that is included in the Corridor Selection Worksheet.  

The next phase of this project would include finalizing locations for deploying PTTD for limited periods of time (1-3 months) matching the requirement identified in Phase 1 to assess the impact on the network to decide if a permanent deployment of a travel time display system is warranted, before moving the portable system to new sites for further assessment.   Additionally, if enough PTTD deployments occur in multiple states, the ENTERPRISE members could begin to understand contributing factors that can help predict the impacts of travel time displays. 

Policies, Laws and Agreements for the Use of Fiber Communications

Transportation agencies that utilize fiber optic infrastructure for telecommunications, intelligent transportation systems (ITS), and other applications may be in a position to leverage existing in-place infrastructure owned by other entities and/or share new agency-deployed infrastructure with other entities. In these cases, it is important for agencies to understand laws that govern the use and sharing of fiber-optics infrastructure or exchanging resources to gain access to fiber owned by other entities, and to develop internal policies that provide procedural guidance. Agencies may not have the staff, experience, processes, and/or agreements they need to enable sharing fiber infrastructure with another entity.

Some state and provincial transportation agencies have established policies that govern the use of fiber and that guide sharing arrangements. Resource availability and practices would be useful for ENTERPRISE agencies to learn from and model. 

The objective of this ENTERPRISE project “Policies, Laws, and Agreements for the Use of Fiber Communications” was to prepare a summary of resources (policies, laws, agreements) on the use of fiber communications of transportation agencies and to highlight practices for sharing fiber infrastructure.

To accomplish the project objective, policies on fiber communications, state and federal laws and/or FHWA rules that govern the use of fiber, and any agreements or partnership strategies used for sharing fiber optic infrastructure were collected and summarized. In addition, the project summarized practices for the use of these policies, laws, and agreements, especially for facilitating resource sharing. A survey was also distributed to transportation agencies to enhance the online search by collecting additional information on current sharing practices including existing policies and agreements.  The online research and survey were then used to select four agencies to contact to provide additional details on fiber sharing practices to document in the final report.

Sample fiber sharing agreements made available to the project are included in the table below.

Agreement EntitiesAgreementDescription
Iowa DOT and CityCooperative AgreementIowa DOT granted city access to the DOT ITS network in exchange for  electrical service to cameras, sensors, and ITS equipment and the ability for the city to install cameras and ITS devices on the DOT ITS network.
Iowa DOT and Iowa Communications Network (ICN)ICN DOT Master Agreement for ITS
Amendment 4
Amendment 8		Agreement relating to the installation, use, and maintenance of fiber optic cable and communications services. Amendment 4 provided the ICN with installation design and project oversight for ITS project along interstate corridor and established maintenance responsibilities. Amendment 8 enabled the DOT to utilize ICN’s Fiber Management Software System to design, plan, and manage fiber optic network and related infrastructure.
Iowa DOT and FiberCommAgreementAllowed Iowa DOT to install a fiber optic cable network for an ITS project while FiberComm maintains existing fiber optic network and provides technical support and public internet bandwidth to the Iowa DOT.
Virginia DOT and Telecom Provider or CityMemorandum of Understanding (MOU) TemplateMOU template to govern the terms and conditions of sharing arrangements. Each agreement is negotiated for specific requirements, terms, and conditions.
Wisconsin DOT and Other Wisconsin State DepartmentMOU
Amendment
Permit		In-state fiber resource sharing between WisDOT and the Wisconsin Department of Administration.
Wisconsin DOT and UniversityLease Agreement
Amendment		The University of Wisconsin – Madison leased WisDOT fiber that WisDOT obtained from a Telecom Provider.
Wisconsin DOT and Local Police DepartmentPermit and MOULocal police department installed a CCTV camera and shared the video feed with the WisDOT State Traffic Operation Center.
Wisconsin DOT and Illinois TollwayMOUThe Illinois tollway used existing private fiber for a camera and dynamic message board in Wisconsin and granted video feed access from the camera to the WisDOT State Traffic Operation Center.
Wisconsin DOT and Telecom ProviderMOUAllowed WisDOT to swap fibers between a telecom provider facility and state-owned facility.
Wisconsin DOT and Telecom ProviderControlled Access Highway Right-of-Way Occupancy: TemplateTelecom provider agreement template.
Wisconsin DOT and Telecom ProviderRight-of-Way Occupancy AgreementEnabled carrier to construct, operate, and maintain fiber optic communication facilities longitudinally within interstate right-of-way in exchange for dark fibers, conduit, handholes, and cash.
Wisconsin DOT and University and Telecom ProviderControlled Access Highway ROW Occupancy AgreementROW agreement covering 15 counties that provided WisDOT with access to 12-strands of dark fiber on approximately 300 miles of the state highways.

The Future of DMS Messaging

Transportation agencies at the state, provincial, and local levels receive many requests to display non-urgent messages on Dynamic Message Signs (DMS) regarding advertising, safety messages, and special events, for example. Agencies must decide how to respond to these requests. In addition to state, provincial, and local level policies and preferences about the use of DMS, federal design standards such as the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) must also be considered when deciding which requests to approve.

This project conducted an online search to gather state, provincial, local, and federal policies and guidelines for DMS messaging. The search also included documenting related DMS studies or efforts. Transportation agencies were also contacted to provide additional details on information gathered through the online search. In addition, ENTERPRISE members provided input throughout the duration of the project to enhance the search for DMS messaging related documents and guidelines. A survey was distributed to state, local, and provincial transportation agencies to gather additional details on the DMS message requests received by transportation agencies as well as the policy or process for handling DMS message requests. The project also researched the potential for public-private partnerships for DMS deployment and operations and documented a few potential future scenarios for connected and automated vehicle implications on DMS.

ITS at International Borders

Several ENTERPRISE member agencies have transportation networks within their jurisdictions that intersect with international borders: Michigan DOT, Minnesota DOT, Texas DOT, and Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO).

Management and coordination of traffic operations at borders often requires agency resources. In addition, it is important to provide accurate and timely traveler information, such as border wait times, alerts, and construction notices, to the traveling public.

ITS technologies and systems used at borders often serve a critical purpose in assisting agencies with traffic management and traveler information. Enhanced knowledge of available technologies, uses, and benefits will equip ENTERPRISE members with potential solutions to improve agency coordination and management.

The project documented issues, challenges, practices, coordination approaches, and technologies for managing traffic at highway border crossings.

Project Webinars

As one component of this project, two project webinars were held to share information on a variety of topics.

Integrating ITS to Enable TSMO in Planning and Operations (ITS Operational Plans and ITS Resources & Decisions Tree for Planners)

This project began with a focus on ITS and was revised to explore ITS as enabling technology for the broader applications of Transportation Systems Management and Operations (TSMO) in planning and operations. This reflects a more comprehensive view of ITS which allows agencies to collaborate in active management of the transportation system according to regional operations objectives.

New TSMO strategies are continually being developed and technology continues to rapidly evolve. This makes it challenging for transportation planning and operations staff to stay abreast of the latest information and factor it into their processes. ENTERPRISE recognized that planning and operations staff may not have adequate tools to support their decision making regarding which TSMO strategies may be appropriate to address certain transportation challenges. For example, a planner in a regional office may be reviewing a growing freeway congestion issue and may not know how best to determine if the most appropriate TSMO strategy is managed lanes or ramp metering.

This project identified resources that are currently available to support the consideration of TSMO operations objectives and strategies. With input from the USDOT Planning for Operations Program, it was determined that a decision support tool  based on Advancing Metropolitan Planning for Operations: The Building Blocks of a Model Transportation Plan Incorporating Operations – A Desk Reference would further support the consideration of TSMO strategies to solve transportation challenges. Additional selection criteria, strategies and reference resources were incorporated into the tool along with existing material from the Desk Reference. The decision support tool developed for one TSMO area – Traveler Information – to allow for evaluation before developing other TSMO areas. The final report presents feedback on the preliminary tool and recommendations for consideration if a decision support tool is further developed.

Countermeasures for Wrong-Way Driving on Freeways (Wrong-Way Vehicles on Freeways)

The ENTERPRISE Pooled Fund Program conducted this project to help increase members’ understanding of current practices for wrong-way driving countermeasures on freeways, including those that utilize Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) technologies. The goal of this project was to create a repository for wrong-way countermeasure deployments to help ENTERPRISE agencies increase their understanding of countermeasure types, evaluation efforts and results as available, agency coordination efforts, feedback on the deployments from local motorists, and lessons learned.

A webinar was held on November 21, 2016 to share the results of this project documented in the Project Summary Report, including key findings and details on selected DOT deployments from agency representatives. Presentations provided as well as the webinar recording are included below.