Completed

Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) provide cost-effective solutions for agencies to achieve their mobility objectives. Both agencies and travelers are dependent upon the availability and reliability of advanced technologies. As a result, the use of technology is increasing and agencies’ investments in ITS assets are increasing along with the effort required to plan, procure, manage, and operate them.

The purpose of this report is to summarize the current state of ITS asset management, both in the ENTERPRISE member agencies and across North America, and to describe the attributes and criteria being used to effectively support ITS asset management.

Active Transportation Management (ATM) encompasses a suite of strategies that give agencies the ability to dynamically manage recurrent and non-recurrent congestion based on prevailing and predicted traffic conditions. ATM approaches focus on influencing travel behavior with respect to lane/facility choices and operations. ATM deployments are still relatively new in the United States with few deployments prior to 2010, however the number of deployments has increased in the past decade nationwide. ENTERPRISE conducted this project to identify resources and document lessons learned related to the development and deployment of ATM strategies, with an emphasis on deployments in urban areas that include multiple applications (e.g. Variable Speed Limits (VSLs), dynamic queue warning, part-time shoulder running).

Transportation is on the verge of dramatic change with the introduction of connected and automated vehicles (CAV) and mobility as a service (MaaS), also referred to as mobility on demand (MOD). As private industry identifies new market opportunities to deliver transportation automation and services, infrastructure owners and operators are working to understand what their roles and responsibilities will be in the future and during the ensuing transition period. ENTERPRISE initiated this project to begin exploring how CAV and MaaS might impact operations, especially as it relates to ITS infrastructure.

The following materials were used in a series of workshops conducted during the project and are provided here for further reference.

• Project two-pager
• Definitions for CAV
• Definitions for MaaS
• Potential Impacts to ITS/Traffic Operations for MaaS and CAV

The ENTERPRISE Pooled Fund Study has completed two previous efforts supporting transportation agencies integrating arrow board status information from the field into traveler information systems to alert TMC operators and travelers in real-time, for example, of a lane closure. Per direction from the ENTERPRISE Board, Phase 1 and Phase 2 were completed in 2017 in order to properly assess needs and potential solutions before deployment and evaluation of a real-time arrow board system at one or more ENTERPRISE agency sites.

In 2018, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) conducted a one year pilot project through a contract with a vendor (Street Smart) that installed a monitoring device on 20 arrow boards that provided arrow board status information (e.g. right arrow on, left arrow on) to the vendor’s server. The arrow board status information from the server was then integrated with MnDOT’s Advanced Traffic Management System (ATMS) and then their Road Condition Reporting System (RCRS). In 2019, the Iowa DOT had access to 5 equipped arrow boards with reporting capabilities (Street Smart, iCone, Ver-Mac) to provide real-time arrow board status information to the vendor’s server. This project evaluated the deployments of the arrow board concept in these two ENTERPRISE member states (Minnesota and Iowa). In addition, an overview of the Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) of Southern Nevada real-time arrow board reporting system deployment is included as another perspective. Overall the data analysis for MnDOT and the information gathered from interviews from MnDOT and Iowa DOT indicate a benefit to the traveling public and Transportation Management Center (TMC) operators with additional information on the overall network with the location of lane closures provided by arrow board reporting systems.

Transportation agencies continue to deploy and operate emerging technologies and ITS assets in both urban and rural areas. These assets serve key roles in operations of the transportation system. Maintaining the ability of these ITS assets to continue to be of value in the future is referred to as “future proofing the asset.” The focus of this project was on researching best practices and overall approaches towards future proofing ITS assets. As part of this research, seven categories of threats have been identified that present possible risks to the future of ITS assets, including: natural, human interactions, functional performance, extended use, financial, license/policy/regulatory, and security threats. The research also identified multiple approaches for mitigating the future proofing risks to ITS assets. A business model suggesting roles for seven existing DOT activities was drafted and an overall four-step approach to mitigating risks to ITS assets was developed. State and local DOTs can implement this research by reviewing the recommended actions and considering which are appropriate for their organization to mitigate risks to the future use of ITS assets. Lastly, the project recommends future research activities to further assist agencies with streamlining activities for future proofing ITS assets.