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Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) & Technology

Forward-looking transportation agencies across the country are using ITS in their major work zones to make travel through and around the work zones safer and more efficient. ITS involves the use of electronics, computers, and communications equipment to collect information, process it, and take appropriate actions. ITS technology can be applied in work zones for:

• Traffic monitoring and management
• Providing traveler information
• Incident management
• Enhancing safety of both the road user and worker
• Increasing capacity
• Enforcement
• Tracking and evaluation of contract incentives/disincentives (performance-based contracting)
• Work zone planning

Many ITS applications in work zones serve a combination of the above purposes.

This page provides a number of resources for implementing various types of ITS in work zones:

• ITS in Work Zones Case Studies
• Automated Work Zone Information Systems
• Traffic Management Systems
  • Dynamic Lane Merge Systems
  • Speed Management Systems
• Portable Changeable Message Signs (PCMS)
• Work Zone ITS Deployment Examples
• Additional Work Zone ITS Resources
• General ITS Resources

ITS in Work Zones Case Studies

• Report: Intelligent Transportation Systems in Work Zones: A Cross-Cutting Study (FHWA-OP-02-025) (2002) (HTML, PDF 2.75MB) - This report is one in a series designed to educate public sector managers about particular ITS technologies. This report examines how transportation departments in Illinois, Michigan, New Mexico, and Arkansas used ITS in their work zones. The four sites used ITS technology to monitor and manage traffic, including providing traveler information and enhancing incident response. Information covered includes why the systems were selected, design and operational characteristics, any issues/lessons learned, and the benefits derived from using the systems. The report also profiles other ITS-related work zone products, systems and techniques.
• Brochure: Informed Motorists, Fewer Crashes: Using Intelligent Transportation Systems in Work Zones (FHWA-OP-01-043) (2001) (HTML, PDF 38K) - This brochure, one in a series designed to encourage decision makers to invest their own budget resources in ITS, examines the safety and mobility benefits of the use of ITS in work zones. The brochure quotes elected officials and transportation professionals from around the country about the benefits they have experienced from using ITS in work zones.
• Work Zone Traffic and Incident Management System - Keeping Traffic Moving During Reconstruction of the Big I, a Major Interstate-Interstate Interchange in Albuquerque (FHWA-OP-04-072) (2004) (HTML, PDF 127KB)
• Work Zone Travel Time System - Reducing Congestion with the Use of a Traffic Management Contract Incentive During the Reconstruction of Arizona State Route 68 (FHWA-HOP-04-032) (2004) (HTML, PDF 283KB)
• Dynamic Lane Merge System - Reducing Aggressive Driving and Optimizing Throughput at Work Zone Merges in Michigan (FHWA-HOP-04-033) (2004) (HTML, PDF 243KB)
• Real-Time Work Zone Traffic Control System - Using an Automated Traffic Information System to Reduce Congestion and Improve Safety During Reconstruction of the I-55 Lake Springfield Bridge in Illinois (FHWA-HOP-04-018) (2004) (HTML, PDF 221KB)

Automated Work Zone Information Systems

• Automated Work Zone Information System Updates Travelers with Real-Time Information on I-15 - In October 2004, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) conducted a "Rapid Rehab" project on a heavily traveled section of Interstate I-15 in Devore, California. In order to rebuild a 2.8 mile stretch of roadway in 18 days, round-the-clock, counter-flow lane operations were performed, a public outreach campaign was undertaken and Automated Work Zone Information System (AWIS) technologies were deployed to limit traffic disruption.
• Criteria for Portable ATIS in Work Zones: Lane Merge, Travel Time and Speed Advisory Systems, Published 2005 (PDF 775KB) - This study compares and contrasts 16 different portable ATIS devices in 27 separate deployments throughout the United States. The study recommends an 11-step procedure whereby traffic engineers can choose the most appropriate advanced traveler information systems (ATIS) configuration for any given work zone.
• Evaluation of Work Zone Speed System - The system that was evaluated provides enroute traveler information to advise drivers of traffic speeds in advance of diversion points upstream of a work zone, encouraging them to divert to alternate routes when the work zone is congested.
• The Concept of a Smart Drum Speed Warning System - Presentation from January 2007 TRB Annual Meeting Human Factors Workshop on Work Zone Safety: Problems and Countermeasures (Including ITS Applications).

Traffic Management Systems

Dynamic Lane Merge Systems - These systems use dynamic electronic signs and other special devices to control vehicle merging at the approach to lane closures.

• Minnesota DOT - Evaluation of the 2004 Dynamic Late Merge System (DLMS) - This report evaluates the deployment of a DLMS at three locations around the Minneapolis - St. Paul metropolitan area. Through the use of technology, a DLMS can dynamically change its lane use instructions based on the current traffic conditions.
• Minnesota DOT Application Guidelines, Operational Strategy and Intelligent Work Zone (IWZ) Dynamic Late Merge System Specifications, dated June 29, 2005
• Merge Control Techniques in Work Zones - Early and Late Merge Systems - Presentation from American Road and Transportation Builders Association 2004 National Work Zone Conference.
• Merge Management at Work Zones - Presentation from January 2007 TRB Annual Meeting Human Factors Workshop on Work Zone Safety: Problems and Countermeasures (Including ITS Applications).

Speed Management Systems - There are a variety of technologies that can be used to help manage and enforce speed limits in work zones, including variable speed limit systems, automated enforcement, radar, and speed advisory systems.

• Work Zone Speed Management - This site contains information on variable speed limits and other speed management tools.
• Safe Speeds in Work Zones (HTML, PDF 481KB) - This fact sheet describes work zone speed display technologies that can be used to help manage safe speeds and provides examples of applications of these technologies.
• Variable Speed Limit Signs Effects on Speed and Speed Variation in Work Zones - This report describes the results of research done to test driver response to variable speed limit technology in a work zone in Utah.
• The following links are abstracts to papers included in TRB's Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 2015. Copies of the papers are available for purchase from TRB.
  • Development and Evaluation of Speed-Activated Sign to Reduce Speeds in Work Zones
  • Development and Field Evaluation of Variable Advisory Speed Limit System for Work Zones
  • Revisiting the Use of Drone Radar to Reduce Speed in Work Zones, South Carolina's Experience
• Radar Speed Display - This report describes an evaluation of the effectiveness of radar actuated speed displays in several contexts.
• D-25 Speed Advisory System - This report describes the evaluation of the D-25 Speed Advisory Sign System, which was intended to warn drivers of stopped or slow-moving traffic ahead and thereby enable them to reduce their speeds and avoid rear-end crashes with these vehicles.
• Presentations from January 2007 TRB Annual Meeting Human Factors Workshop on Work Zone Safety: Problems and Countermeasures (Including ITS Applications).
  • Variable Speed Limits
  • Photo-Radar Speed (PSE) Enforcement in Work Zones
• Washington State DOT Speed Enforcement Cameras Pilot The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is undertaking a six-month pilot project for the 2008 Construction Season to see how well speed enforcement cameras can slow work zone traffic to improve safety for workers, drivers and their passengers.
  • WSDOT Press Release
  • "Cameras to Catch Speeders on I-5", article on theolympian.com, April 15, 2008 - This article provides answers to some questions about the use of speed cameras in work zones.

Portable Changeable Message Signs (PCMS)

• Portable Changeable Message Sign (PCMS) Handbook - The purpose of this handbook is to present basic guidelines for the use of portable changeable message signs (PCMS). This handbook presents information on the PCMS and is intended to illustrate the principles of proper PCMS use.
• "Can You Read Me Now? Portable Message Signs Keep Drivers Informed" (PDF 11.9MB) - This article, on page 17 of Volume 42, No. 2 of the Texas Transportation Researcher, describes research being done by the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) to assist field personnel in selecting and using proper PCMS messages in work zones.
• Advanced Notification Messages and Use of Sequential Portable Changeable Message Signs in Work Zones (PDF 1.27MB) - This TTI report presents the results of a study to identify and prioritize research gaps that still exist regarding the effective use of PCMS in work zones, and details the results of human factors studies to address those research gaps.
• Development of a Field Guide for PCMS Use in Work Zones (PDF 706KB) - This TTI report includes a discussion of the development of a field guide for portable changeable message sign use in work zones, a summary and critique of available national and state-level standards and guidance on PCMS use, description of the components included in the field guide, and implementation considerations for field guide deployment.
• Improved Work Zone PCMS Usage (PDF 1.89MB) - This report describes research done by the TTI to develop specific, user-friendly implementation guidelines that will assist field personnel in selecting and using proper PCMS messages in work zones on a day-to-day basis.
• The following links are abstracts to papers included in TRB's Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 2015. Copies of the papers are available for purchase from TRB.
  • Driver Understanding of Sequential Portable Changeable Message Signs in Work Zones
  • Evaluation of Alternative Dates for Advance Notification on Portable Changeable Message Signs in Work Zones

Work Zone ITS Deployment Examples

• I-93 in Salem, New Hampshire - The New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT) has deployed a Smart Work Zone System as part of the Interstate 93 Exit 1 rebuilding project in Salem. The Smart Work Zone consists of changeable message signs that provide information to motorists as they travel through the work zone, traffic sensors that measure vehicle volumes and speed, and a mounted camera that provides images of traffic through the construction corridor. Motorists will be able check travel conditions in the work zone via the Internet and will receive vital incident or road construction information through changeable message signs strategically located within three miles north and south of the project area.
  • Press Release for Smart Work Zone at Exit 1
  • Real-Time Traffic and Construction Updates
  • I-93 Project Web Site
• I-295 in Washington, DC - The DC Department of Transportation (DDOT) is using a Smart Work Zone System to provide real-time traffic information during construction on I-295 in Washington, DC. Motorists can use the Internet to find real time travel conditions in the work zone, which is occurring in an area that is already highly congested on a regular basis.
  • Real-Time Traffic Information

Additional Work Zone ITS Resources

• ITS for Work Zones Leaflet: Deployment Benefits and Lessons Learned - Leaflet summarizing the benefits, costs, extent of deployment, and lessons learned about using ITS in work zones.
• AASHTO Technology Implementation Group (TIG) - ITS in Work Zones - Provides resources, case studies, and other information on specific ITS in work zones technologies.
• Benefits of Work Zone ITS Discussed in FHWA Workshops - Link to article in FHWA Research & Technology Transporter - May 2006.
• Minnesota Department of Transportation's (DOT) Work Zone ITS Qualification Processes and Specifications
• Smart Work Zone Deployment Initiative
• New Technologies for Smart Work Zones - Two presentations from American Road and Transportation Builders Association 2004 National Work Zone Conference. (Presentation 1, Presentation 2)
• Highway Work Zones: Smarter and Safer - Article in the June 2007 issue of Better Roads Magazine. This article provides examples of how some states are using intelligent transportation systems to enable safer and more easily navigable work zones.

General ITS Resources

• National Cooperative Highway Research Program Report 560: Guide to Contracting ITS Projects - This report provides guidance on the procurement of ITS, including variable message signs, traffic detectors, signal controllers, and a variety of other hardware and software that entails applications of advanced electronics and information management to regulate and facilitate traffic flow. The report highlights best practices and recommends contracting strategies and contract types, terms, and conditions for ITS development, integration, system acceptance, warranty, maintenance, and upgrade.
• Finding ITS Resources on the Internet - Provides a variety of ITS related resources, including work zone specific resources.
• ITS/Operations Resource Guide 2006 - A comprehensive listing of over 400 documents, web sites, training courses, software tools, and points of contact related to ITS.
• ITS Electronic Document Library - Contains documents on intelligent transportation systems topics published or sponsored by the U.S. Dept. of Transportation.
• ITS Peer to Peer Program - Provides public sector transportation stakeholders with a convenient method to tap into the growing knowledge base of ITS experience receive short-term assistance.
• ITS Benefits/Costs Database - Contains searchable information regarding the benefits and costs of using ITS.
• Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Web Site on Speed Management - Provides resources related to speed management and automated enforcement.

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