Office of Operations
photos of traffic merging onto congested highway, congestion in snowstorm, variable message sign, cargo, variable speed limit sign in a work zone, and a freeway at night
21st century operations using 21st century technologies

Improving Day-to-Day Operations

Program Areas
Vehicles Crossing a Bridge

21st century operations agencies concern themselves with how well the transportation system performs every day. Effective highway based transportation consists of three component parts namely, building the infrastructure, preserving the operating capacity by managing operations on a day-to-day basis, and preserving the infrastructure. Operations is an integrated approach to managing the performance of the transportation network to meet the end-to-end travel needs of the customer. At its core, Operations is the applications of programs, technology, and business processes that support the flow of vehicles, travelers, and goods on the existing transportation infrastructure. Many of these activities are not new to transportation professionals around the country who operate their systems on a daily basis. They support activities to improve day-to-day operations through asset management, application of traffic control devices and real time traveler information, and they use traffic analysis tools to better understand problems and possible solutions.