Office of Operations
21st Century Operations Using 21st Century Technologies

Missouri Department of Transportation: I-70 Smart Corridor - Application for Federal Funding Through FHWA's "Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies Deployment (ATCMTD) Initiative"

Letter

Patrick McKenna
Director Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT)
105 West Capitol Avenue
P.O. Box 270 Jefferson City, MO 65102

June 12, 2017

Dave Harris
Program Manager
Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Operations (HOP)
Mail Stop: E86-205
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590

RE: Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies Deployment (ATCMTD)

Mr. Harris,

The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) understands the value of innovation in the provision of safe and efficient transportation options for the movement of goods and people throughout our state. Recognizing the opportunities presented by the Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies Deployment (ATCMTD) program, MoDOT is pleased to submit our application for Federal funding for this program’s implementation. For the consideration of your review committee, MoDOT has assembled a portfolio of connected applications and platforms deployed to improve outcomes related to safety, congestion and unreliability, incident management, and mobile Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity. Nearly all of the program elements relate to the deployment of Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) assets of some type.

The primary rationale for proposing an integrated deployment of these technologies is to respond to the emergence of several generation-scale challenges to the maintenance and operation of Missouri’s transportation system. These are, namely:

Rise in highway fatalities provokes a technological response: Gradual economic recovery (and a concomitant rise in VMT) since 2010, compounded by destructive trends in impaired and distracted driving, have been correlated with an increase in highway deaths and injuries in Missouri. The statistical value of these losses approaches $6 billion per year, excluding the related economic impacts of injuries and property damage.

Stagnant funding levels compel program innovation: State and Federal excise taxes on the sale of gasoline and diesel fuels—unadjusted since 1996 and 1993 respectively—compel that DOTs derive value from more cost-effective TSMO and ITS functions in place of costlier expansions to highway capacity. The effects of inflation alone represent a loss of $500 million per year in state gasoline and diesel taxes. Additional economic costs of traffic delay ($1.09 billion per year in Kansas City and $1.64 billion per year in St. Louis in 2014) present a beneficial use case for innovative technologies targeting congestion and unreliability.

Extreme weather events underscore critical roadway condition reporting and analytics: A 500-year flood in southern Missouri in April and May of 2017, having caused nearly $60 million in damage to public infrastructure, highlights the importance of operational resilience, traveler information systems, and IoT-enabled sensors to report existing (and predict future) roadway conditions. Given the immense economic impacts of these challenges stemming from budgetary, technological, and driver behavior contexts, MoDOT has proactively decided to pursue the operational, safety, and congestion-mitigation benefits possible through a suite of advanced technology applications using TSMO, autonomous vehicles, and IoT platforms.

Recognizing the immense contributions to the fields of ITS, DSRC platforms, and V2X connectivity which have been made by FHWA’s ITS-JPO and Office of Operations staff, MoDOT welcomes to the opportunity for significant Federal involvement in the deployment of our ATCMTD projects, through technical assistance and guidance. As with all programs at MoDOT, we are committed to evaluate the post- implementation effectiveness of the proposed technologies and activities funded by this grant.

Should there be any questions regarding MoDOT’s application, I ask that you please call my office at (573) 751-4622. We look forward to the response of your review committee and welcome your feedback as we begin to undertake the integrated deployment of these technologies in our state.

 

With best regards,

Patrick McKenna
Director

Office of Operations