Freeway Management Program > Managed Lanes Initiative

MANAGED LANES: A Cross-Cutting Study

November 2004

NOTICE

This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The United States Government assumes no liability for its contents or use thereof. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation.

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Technical Report Documentation Page

1. Report No.
FHWA-HOP-05-037

2. Government Accession No.

3. Recipient's Catalog No.

4. Title and Subtitle
MANAGED LANES: A Cross-Cutting Study

5. Report Date
October 2004

6. Performing Organization Code
HOP

7. Author(s)
Collier, Tina and Goodin, Ginger

8. Performing Organization Report No.
Report

9. Performing Organization Name and Address

Texas Transportation Institute
The Texas A&M University System
College Station, TX 77843-3135

10. Work Unit No.

11. Contract or Grant No.
Project No. DTFH61-01-C-00182

12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address
Operations Office of Transportation Management
Federal Highway Administration
Room 3404, HOTM, 400 Seventh Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20590

13. Type of Report and Period Covered

14. Sponsoring Agency Code
FHWA

15. Supplementary Notes
Research performed in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration.
Research Project Title: FHWA HOV and Managed Lanes Technical Assistance and Support

16. Abstract

Increasing traffic congestion in the major metropolitan areas is costing billions of dollars each year in lost productivity, wasted fuel, increasing air pollution and hours of delay. Adding new general-purpose lanes is increasingly difficult because of factors such as construction costs, limited right-of-way, environmental and societal concerns. As a result, agencies are looking for solutions to improve the flow of traffic on existing facilities.

One concept being considered is that of "managed lanes". Managed lanes employ various strategies to improve flow and maximize the efficiency of the freeway system. Common types of managed lanes include high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes, high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes, value priced lanes, or exclusive or special use lanes. For the purposes of this study, managed lanes are defined as a limited number of lanes within an expressway cross section where multiple operating strategies are utilized, and actively adjusted as needed, for the purpose of achieving pre-defined performance objectives.

The intent of the report is to review the state-of-the-art in managed lanes in order to increase the understanding of (1) what managed lanes are, (2) how to plan for implementation, (3) what operational and design issues are considered, and (4) how active management of the lanes over the life of the facility affect its implementation. This report describes operating managed lane projects through a case study approach, highlighting best practices of the projects the lessons learned. Emerging issues and knowledge gaps are also presented. The intent of the report is to provide a cross-cutting study of the issues and experiences of various agencies as managed lane projects are implemented and policies are drafted.

17. Key Words
Managed lanes, lane management strategies, special use lanes, HOT lanes, HOV lanes

18. Distribution Statement
No restrictions. This document is available to the public through NTIS:
National Technical Information Service
5285 Port Royal Road
Springfield, Virginia 22161

19. Security Classif.
(of this report)
Unclassified

20. Security Classif.
(of this page)
Unclassified

21. No. of Pages
68

22. Price

Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of completed page authorized

MANAGED LANES: A Cross-Cutting Study

Federal Highway Administration
Operations Office of Transportation Management

November 2004

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This study was conducted in cooperation with the staff from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and other agencies. Jon Obenberger, FHWA Infrastructure Office of Program Administration, served as the project director and provided guidance throughout the study. Also providing direction and guidance from FHWA were John Halkias, Patrick DeCorla-Souza, Susan Lee, and Angela Jacobs. Heather Werdick and Kim Kawada from the San Diego Association of Governments provided valuable information. Additionally, Heather Ford with TTI provided assistance with word processing. The assistance of each of these individual is greatly appreciated. Photos used in this report were taken by the Texas Transportation Institute unless otherwise referenced.

Table of Exhibits

Chapter One. Introduction

Scope and Purpose

Defining Managed Lanes

What are Managed lanes?

Why Managed lanes?

State of the Practice and State of the Art: A Look at Managed Lanes

Chapter Two. Managed Lanes: State of the Practice

Traditional Lane Management Strategies

HOV Lanes

Exclusive or Special Use Lanes

Chapter Three. Managed Lanes: State of the Art