Border-Wide Assessment of Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Technology—Current and Future Concepts

Final Report

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July 2012
FHWA-HOP-12-015

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Technical Report Documentation Page

1. Report No. FHWA-HOP-12-015		2. Government Accession No.	3. Recipient's Catalog No.
4. Title and Subtitle Border-Wide Assessment of Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Technology—Current and Future Concepts - Final Report			5. Report Date July 2012
			6. Performing Organization Code
7. Author(s) Rajat Rajbhandari, Juan Villa, Roberto Macias, William Tate			8. Performing Organization Report No.
9. Performing Organization Name and Address Texas Transportation Institute 4050 Rio Bravo Drive, Suite 151 El Paso, TX 79902 and The Texas A&M University System 3135 TAMU College Station, TX 77843-3135 Battelle Memorial Institute 505 King Avenue Columbus, OH 43201			10. Work Unit No.
			11. Contract or Grant No. DTFH61-06-D-00007/Task BA07-083
12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration 1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. Washington, D. C. 20590			13. Type of Report and Period Covered Final Report covering 8/27/2010 to 2/28/2012
			14. Sponsoring Agency Code
15. Supplementary Notes
16. Abstract The purpose of this effort was to conduct a border-wide assessment of the use of intelligent transportation systems (ITS) technologies and operational concepts at and near land border crossings between the U.S. and Mexico. The work focused on tolling, traffic management and operations, and safety. The specific objectives of this project were to research, assess and document how ITS technologies can be used in areas of: Toll collection and management in border regions, identifying technology used, system components, and any special data sharing arrangements between the two countries. Transportation operations and traffic management in US/MX border regions. Transportation safety policy and operations. Traffic management, traffic operation and traffic enforcement on tolled roads/tolled border-crossing roads. Archiving toll and traffic management data.
17. Key Words Border, Technology, Intelligent Transportation System		18. Distribution Statement No restrictions
19. Security Classif. (of this report) Unclassified	20. Security Classif. (of this page) Unclassified	21. No. of Pages 132	22. Price

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

Table of Contents

 

• EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
  • Background
  • Approach
  • Scan Assessment Key Findings
    • Border Operations
    • Tolling at Land Border Crossings
    • Traffic Management and Traveler Information
    • Archived Data Management
    • Emerging Technologies
    • Inventory of ITS Projects on the U.S.-Mexico Border Regions
  • Workshop 1 Findings
  • Workshop 2 Findings
  • Conclusions
• CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION
  • Background
  • Objectives of the Study
  • Assessment Methodology
  • Organization of the Report
• CHAPTER 2. CROSS-BORDER COMMERCIAL AND PRIVATE VEHICLE PROCESSES
  • Border-Crossing Process at the U.S.-Mexico Border
    • Northbound Commercial Vehicle Crossing Process
    • Commercial Border-Crossing Security Programs
    • Southbound Commercial Vehicle Crossing
    • Passenger Vehicle Crossing Process
    • Passenger Vehicle Border-Crossing Security Programs
  • Technology at Land Ports of Entry
    • Technology for the SENTRI and NEXUS Programs
    • Commercial Vehicle Inspection Technologies
• CHAPTER 3. TOLLING IN BORDER REGIONS
  • Transaction Processing (Interoperability, Charging, Collections)
    • U.S.-Mexico and U.S.-Canada Bi-National Tolling Implementation Approaches
    • Tolling Overview in Texas beyond the Border
    • Methods of Toll Collection
    • Toll Rate Determination Based on Time of Day and Congestion Levels
    • Coordination of Toll Rates between Operators on Opposite Sides of Borders and Supporting Agreements
    • In-Lane and Post-Event Enforcement Strategies for Drivers Avoiding Tolls
    • Accepted Currency for Manual Payment Facilities
  • Technology
    • Cross-Border Scan of Tolling Technologies and Tolling Standards Used by Regional Partners
    • Enforcement Technologies Being Applied for Toll Payment Capture
    • Dedicated Short Range Communication Technology Use at the Border
• CHAPTER 4. TRANSPORTATION OPERATIONS AND TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT AND ENFORCEMENT
  • Transportation Operations
    • Level of Data Sharing and Integration with Mexican Partners
    • Technology Used for Inspecting, Weighing, and Screening to Increase Efficiency
    • Technology Being Deployed or Proposed to Improve Border-Crossing Time by CBP
    • Planned Special Events at and around Border Crossings
    • Real-Time Incident Management at and around Border Crossings
    • Disaster Preparedness, Response, and Recovery
  • Traffic Management
    • Technology and State-of-Practice Scan to Measure and Share Border Wait Times and Delay
    • Level of Integration between Traffic Operations and Management Systems on Opposite Sides of the Border
• CHAPTER 5. TRAVELER INFORMATION AND ARCHIVED DATA MANAGEMENT
  • Traveler Information
    • Use of Variable Message Signs at and around Border Crossings
    • Use of Social Networking Sites, Web Sites, and Mobile Devices
    • Effectiveness of Traveler Information at Border Crossings
  • Archived Data Management
    • Use of Archived ITS Data for Border Infrastructure Planning and Operation
    • Existing and Planned Sources of Archived Border ITS Data
    • Technical Issues Related to Border ITS Data Archiving
• CHAPTER 6. INVENTORY OF ITS PROJECTS ON THE U.S.-MEXICO BORDER REGIONS
  • Projects under Construction
    • Various Border Wait-Time Measurement Projects in Texas
    • Border Waits Analysis Project in Nogales, Arizona
    • State Route 905/Otay Mesa POE, San Diego Region
  • Projects Being Procured
    • ITS Pre-Deployment Strategy for SR-11 and the Otay Mesa East POE
  • Projects under Consideration
    • San Ysidro POE, San Diego Region
    • State-of-the-Art ITS at Border Crossings in the El Paso Region
  • ITS Projects under Development in Mexico
    • National Strategic Plan for Planning, Developing, and Implementing ITSs in Mexico
    • Development Plan for Updating Processes, Standards, and ITS Protocols
    • Development of the Traveler Information System (INFOVIAJE)
    • Strategic Plan for the Modernization and Improvement of the Electronic Toll Collection System
• CHAPTER 7. WORKSHOP ORGANIZATION AND FINDINGS
  • Key Outcomes from the Workshops
    • Tolling in Border Regions
    • Border Transportation Operations
    • Traffic Management
    • Enforcement
    • Traveler Information
    • Archived Data Management
• CHAPTER 8. CONCLUSIONS
  • Scan Conclusions
    • Border Operations
    • Tolling at Land Border Crossings
    • Traffic Management and Traveler Information
    • Archived Data Management
    • Emerging Technologies
  • Conclusions from Workshops
• REFERENCES
• APPENDIX A: FIRST BORDER-WIDE ITS WORKSHOP
  • List of Participants of the First Border-Wide ITS Workshop
  • Agenda of the First Border-Wide ITS Workshop
• APPENDIX B: SECOND BORDER-WIDE ITS WORKSHOP
  • List of Participants of the Second Border-Wide ITS Workshop
  • Agenda of the Second Border-Wide ITS Workshop

List of Tables

 

• Table 1. SENTRI border crossings.
• Table 2. General characteristics of U.S.-Mexico border crossings.
• Table 3. Top 10 busiest border crossings on the U.S.-Canada border.
• Table 4. Toll agencies with active toll roads in Texas (excluding border crossings).
• Table 5. Method of toll collection at U.S.-Mexico tolled border crossings.
• Table 6. Method of toll collection at U.S.-Canada tolled border crossings.
• Table 7. Direction of tolling at U.S.-Canada border crossings.
• Table 8. Candidate ITS standards for the Border Wait-Time Project on the U.S.-Canada border.
• Table 9. Land POE technologies and their use in traffic screening and border crossing programs.
• Table 10. Method of communication and use of ITS to inform motorists for planned special events.
• Table 11. Roles and responsibilities of various local, State, and Federal agencies for real-time incident management.
• Table 12. Method of communication and use of ITS to inform motorists for incident management.
• Table 13. Use of ITS by border agencies for disaster preparedness, response, and recovery.
• Table 14. List of technology implementations to measure volume, wait times, and crossing times at various border crossings.
• Table 15. Basic operations theory of various vehicle detection technologies.
• Table 16. Strengths and weaknesses of commercially available vehicle detection technologies.
• Table 17. Traffic output data (typical), communications bandwidth, and cost of commercially available vehicle detectors.
• Table 18. Annualized per-lane sensor cost comparison to instrument a six-lane freeway sensor station.
• Table 19. Existing and planned deployment of traffic management centers in cities around various border crossings.
• Table 20. Existing and future interface between agencies in the U.S. and Mexico in the ITS architecture for individual regions.
• Table 21. Deployment of VMSs by agencies for the purpose of relaying information about border crossings.
• Table 22. Use of social networking sites, e-mail, and mobile devices by agencies to relay border crossing and wait times.
• Table 23. Use of social networking site Twitter by agencies to relay border crossing and wait times.
• Table 24. Use of Web sites by agencies to relay traffic conditions around border crossings.
• Table 25. Use of social networking sites, email, and mobile devices by agencies to relay traffic conditions around border crossings.
• Table 26. Use of archived border-crossing data by agencies.
• Table 27. Type and scope of commercial vehicle border-crossing-related data available from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
• Table 28. Type and scope of passenger vehicle border-crossing-related data available from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
• Table 29. Type and scope of transit and pedestrian border-crossing-related data available from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
• Table 30. Type and scope of border-crossing-related data currently archived.

List of Figures

 

• Figure 1. Flowchart describing overall framework for conducting the border-wide assessment.
• Figure 2. Flowchart depicting the commercial vehicle border-crossing process from Mexico to the United States.
• Figure 3. Photograph showing overhead antenna used in the SENTRI program (4).
• Figure 4. Photograph showing RFID card reader used in the SENTRI program (4).
• Figure 5. Diagram describing Mexican toll road concessionaires, operators, integrators and customer service centers.
• Figure 6. Photograph depicting technologies implemented at the CBP compound in the Bridge of the Americas.
• Figure 7. Flowchart describing proposed ITS operations at the Tijuana border region.
• Figure 8. Screen Snapshots of the San Diego-area 5-1-1 system.
• Figure 9. Screen snapshots of the planned nationwide 5-1-1 traveler information system in Mexico.
• Figure 10. Diagram depicting the proposed centralized repository of archived border-crossing data.

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

 

AASHTO	American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials
ACE	Automated Cargo Environment
ACE/ITDS	Automated Commercial Environment/International Trade Data System
ACM	Automatic Coin Machine
ADOT	Arizona Department of Transportation
ADOT/MVD	Arizona Department of Transportation – Motor Vehicle Division
AET	All-Electronic Tolling
ALPR	Automatic License Plate Recognition
ASTM	American Society of Testing and Materials
ATA	American Trucking Associations
ATI	Alliance for Toll Interoperability
ATIS	Advanced Traveler Information Systems
AVC	Automatic Vehicle Classification
AVI	Automatic Vehicle Identification
BANOBRAS	Banco Nacional de Obras y Servicios Públicos
Battelle	(Company)
BCC	Border Crossing Card
BCIS	Border Crossing Information System
BCMoT	British Columbia Ministry of Transportation
BOTA	Bridge of the Americas
BSIF	Border Safety Inspection Facility
BTS	Bureau of Transportation Statistics
BWT	Border Wait Time
Caltrans	California Department of Transportation
CAPUFE	Caminos y Puentes Federales de Ingresos y Servicios Conexos
CBP	Customs and Border Protection
CBSA	Canada Border Services Agency
CCRMA	Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority
CCSP	Certified Cargo Screening Program
CCTV	Closed Circuit Television
CHP	California Highway Patrol
ConOps	Concept of Operations
CSC	Customer Service Center
C-TIP	Cross-Town Improvement Program
C-TPAT	Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism
CTRMA	Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority
CVII	Commercial Vehicle Infrastructure Integration
CVISN	Commercial Vehicle Information Systems and Networks
DCL	Dedicated Commuter Lane
Delcan	(Company)
DHS	Department of Homeland Security
DMA	Dynamic Mobility Applications
DMV	Department of Motor Vehicles
DPS	Department of Public Safety
DSRC	Dedicated Short-Range Communications
EBTC	Eastern Border Transportation Coalition
EETS	European Electronic Toll Service
e-Manifest	Electronic Manifest
EMC	Emergency Management Center
EMS	Emergency Medical Services
EOC	Emergency Operations Center
EPA	Environmental Protection Agency
EPIC	Expedited Processing at International Crossings
EPS	Electronic Payment Services
EPSNIS	Electronic Payment Services National Interoperability Specification
e-Screening	Electronic Screening
ETC	Electronic Toll Collection
EU	European Union
FARAC	Fideicomiso de Apoyo al Rescate de Autopistas Concesionadas
FAST	Free and Secure Trade
FBCTRA	Fort Bend County Toll Road Authority
FCC	Federal Communications Commission
FDA	Food and Drug Administration
FEMA	Federal Emergency Management Agency
FHWA	Federal Highway Administration
FMCSA	Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
GIS	Geographic Information System
GPS	Global Positioning System
GSA	General Services Administration
GSM	Global System for Mobile Communications
GUTSA	Gutsa Construcciones, S.A. de C.V.
HAR	Highway Advisory Radio
HAZMAT	Hazardous Materials
HCTRA	Harris County Toll Road Authority
HGV	Heavy Goods Vehicle
HID	Hughes Identification Devices Global Inc.
HOT	High Occupancy Toll
HOV	High Occupancy Vehicle
IAVE	Identificación Automatica Vehicular
IBC e-Screening	International Border Crossing Electronic Screening
IBI	IBI Group (Company)
IBIS	Interagency Border Inspection System
IBWC	International Boundary and Water Commission
ICA	Ingenieros Civiles Asociados
IMIP	Instituto Municipal de Investigación y Planeación
IMTC	International Mobility and Trade Corridor
INDABIN	Instituto de Administración y Avalúos de Bienes Nacionales
INNP	Interoperability Network Pilot Program
INTEGRA	Integra Corporation of Mexico
Intermec	(Company)
ISM	Industrial, Scientific, and Medical
ISO	International Organization for Standardization
IAG	E-ZPass Interagency Group
ITE	Institute of Transportation Engineers
ITS	Intelligent Transportation System
IVAG	Imperial Valley Association of Governments
Kapsch	(Company)
LPI	License Plate Interoperability
MAC	Media Access Control
MAGs	Installed Digital Magnetometers
MARHNOS	Marhnos Engineering and Construction (Company)
MARK IV	(Company)
MCES	Motor Carrier Efficiency Study
MDOT	Michigan Department of Transportation
MDT	Montana Department of Transportation
MPO	Metropolitan Planning Organization
MTO	Ministry of Transportation of Ontario
MTQ	Ministère des Transports du Quebec
NAFTA	North American Free Trade Agreement
NB	Northbound
NEMA	National Electrical Manufacturers Association
NFBC	Niagara Falls Bridge Commission
NITTEC	Niagara International Transportation Technology Coalition
NMBA	New Mexico Border Authority
NMDOT	New Mexico Department of Transportation
NTCIP	National Transportation Communications for ITS Protocol
NTMI	New Technology Management, Inc. (Company)
NTTA	North Texas Tollway Authority
NYDOT	New York State Department of Transportation
NYSTA	New York State Thruway Authority
OBE	On-Board Equipment
OBU	On-Board Unit
OCACSA	Operación y Conservación de Autopistas Concesionadas
OCR	Optical Character Recognition
OME	Otay Mesa East
Omniair	(Consortium)
ORT	Open Road Tolling
OVC	Overview Camera
PDN-RMIS	Paso Del Norte Regional Mobility Information System
PeMS	Performance Monitoring System
POE	Port of Entry
PSE	Planned Special Event
QC	Query Central
QNA	QinetiQ North America (Company)
QWS	Queue Warning System
Raytheon	(Company)
REPUVE	Registro Público Vehicular
RF	Radio Frequency
RFID	Radio Frequency Identification
RFP	Request for Proposals
RSS	Real Simple Syndicate
RTMS	Remote Traffic Microwave Sensor
SAAQ	Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec
SANDAG	San Diego Association of Governments
SB	Southbound
SCT	Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes
SDMS	Short Data Message Set
Sentrillion	(Company, formerly New Technology Management, Inc.)
SENTRI	Secure Electronic Network for Travelers Rapid Inspection
SIMEX	SIMEX Integracion de Sistemas, S.A.
Sirit	(Company)
SNS	Social Networking Site
SOA	Service Oriented Architecture
SOV	Single Occupancy Vehicle
SWIM	Slow Weigh-in-Motion
TC	Transport Canada
TDMA	Time Division Multiple Access
Technocom	(Company)
Tecsult	(Company)
TGT	Turnpike Global Technologies
THALES	Thales Group (Company)
TMC	Traffic Management Center
TMDD	Traffic Management Data Dictionary
TOC	Traffic Operation Center
TRMI	TRMI Systems Integration (Company)
TSA	Transportation Security Administration
TTA	Texas Turnpike Authority
TTI	Texas Transportation Institute
TxDOT	Texas Department of Transportation
U.S.	United States
USDOT	United States Department of Transportation
V2I	Vehicle-to-Infrastructure
V2R	Vehicle-to-Roadside
V2V	Vehicle-to-Vehicle
VES	Violation Enforcement System
VHF	Very High Frequency
VIP	Video Image Processing
VMS	Variable Message Sign
VWI	Vehicle Waveform Identification
WCOG	Whatcom Council of Governments
WebEOC	Web-Based Emergency Operations Center
WED	Western Economic Diversification Canada
WHTI	Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative
WIM	Weigh-In-Motion
WSDOT	Washington State Department of Transportation
XML	Extensible Markup Language

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