Work Zone Intelligent Transportation Systems Implementation Guide
Use of Technology and Data for Effective Work Zone Management
January 2014
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Contact Information: WorkZoneFeedback@dot.gov
U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
Office of Operations
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov
Publication #: FHWA-HOP-14-008
January 2014
Notice
This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The U.S. Government assumes no liability for the use of the information contained in this document.
The U.S. Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trademarks or manufacturers' names appear in this report only because they are considered essential to the objective of the document.
Quality Assurance Statement
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) provides high-quality information to serve Government, industry, and the public in a manner that promotes public understanding. Standards and policies are used to ensure and maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of its information. FHWA periodically reviews quality issues and adjusts its programs and processes to ensure continuous quality improvement.
Cover photo and chapter heading photos courtesy of Shutterstock, Fotolia, and Veer.
Technical Report Documentation Page
| 1. Report No. FHWA-HOP-14-008 |
2. Government Accession No. | 3. Recipient's Catalog No. | |
4. Title and Subtitle |
5. Report Date January 2014 |
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| 6. Performing Organization Code |
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| 7. Author(s) Gerald Ullman (TTI); Jeremy Schroeder, Deepak Gopalakrishna (Battelle) |
8. Performing Organization Report No. | ||
| 9. Performing Organization Name and Address Battelle 505 King Avenue Columbus, OH 43201 Texas A&M Transportation Institute The Texas A&M University System College Station, Texas 77843-3135 |
10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS) | ||
| 11. Contract or Grant No. DTFH61-06-D-0007 / BA07-101 |
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| 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address Federal Highway Administration Office of Operations (HOP) 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, D.C. 20590 |
13. Type of Report and Period Covered |
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| 14. Sponsoring Agency Code | |||
| 15. Supplementary Notes Project performed in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration. Tracy Scriba, project lead |
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| 16. Abstract ITS is the use of a broad range of communications-based information and electronics technologies to enhance transportation. Work zone ITS is the use of ITS to enhance transportation and improve safety and mobility in and around work zones. A work zone ITS deployment can be focused around safety or mobility, but often supports both goals, and can also enhance productivity. The systems are portable and temporary in most cases, although some deployments may use either existing fixed infrastructure or become a permanent system. The purpose of this document is to provide guidance on implementing ITS in work zones to assist public agencies, design and construction firms, and industry, including developers, manufacturers, distributors, packagers, and providers of devices, systems, and programs. Work zone ITS is one possible operational strategy of many potential solutions that an agency can include in a transportation management plan (TMP). This document summarizes key steps for successfully implementing ITS in work zones, using a systematic approach to provide a technical solution that accomplishes a specific set of clearly defined objectives. The document illustrates how a systems engineering process should be applied to determine the feasibility and design of work zone ITS for a given application, regardless of its scale, by walking through the key phases, from project concept through operation. These steps include assessment of needs; concept development and feasibility; detailed system planning and design; procurement; system deployment; and system operation, maintenance, and evaluation. |
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| 17. Key Words Work zones, intelligent transportation systems, ITS |
18. Distribution Statement No restrictions. This document is available to the public. |
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| 19. Security Classif. (of this report) Unclassified |
20. Security Classif. (of this page) Unclassified |
21. No. of Pages 80 |
22. Price |
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- INTRODUCTION
- STEP 1 – ASSESSMENT OF NEEDS
- STEP 2 – CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT AND FEASIBILITY
- 2.1 What is the overall work zone ITS concept of operations?
- 2.2 What ITS solutions are available?
- 2.3 What are the potential benefits of an ITS deployment?
- 2.4 How much will an ITS deployment cost?
- 2.5 What are potential institutional and jurisdictional challenges?
- 2.6 Addressing legal and policy issues
- 2.7 How can project feasibility be established?
- 2.8 How can buy-in be obtained from stakeholders and other agencies?
- STEP 3 – DETAILED SYSTEM PLANNING AND DESIGN
- 3.1 Determining system requirements and specifications
- 3.2 Developing the system design
- 3.3 Developing a testing strategy
- 3.4 Planning for operations and maintenance
- 3.5 Determining staff training needs for those using and operating the work zone ITS
- 3.6 Planning for public outreach
- 3.7 Investigating system security
- 3.8 Planning for evaluation
- 3.9 Estimating system benefits and costs
- STEP 4 – PROCUREMENT
- STEP 5 – SYSTEM DEPLOYMENT
- STEP 6 – SYSTEM OPERATION, MAINTENANCE, AND EVALUATION
- Appendix A. National ITS Architecture
- Appendix B. Summary of Resources Reported in this Document
- Appendix C. Issues for Consideration
- Appendix D. Acknowledgements
List of Figures
- Figure 1. A portable changeable message sign providing downstream traffic speeds from sensor data.
- Figure 2. Temporary, solar-powered vehicle detection and camera systems.
- Figure 3. Sequencing comparative travel time sign at a decision point for two different routes to the town of Lehi that was used for a project in Utah.
- Figure 4. Overview of the implementation process.
- Figure 5. Sub-steps to be explored in Step 1.
- Figure 6. Example of a work zone and area of expected impacts.
- Figure 7. Existing ITS resources can be used to help manage the work zone and reduce costs.
- Figure 8. Sub-steps to be explored in Step 2.
- Figure 9. General outline showing the sections of a formal concept of operations document based on the IEEE 1362-1998 standard.
- Figure 10. High-level sketch for the concept of operations of a work zone ITS deployment in Utah.
- Figure 11. The product of this step should include concept of operations scenarios, such as this graphic for a work zone traffic management system.
- Figure 12. Sub-steps to be explored in Step 3.
- Figure 13. Requirements for a work zone ITS deployment in Minnesota.
- Figure 14. The Las Vegas Freeway and Arterial System for Transportation (FAST) provides regional support for work zone activities.
- Figure 15. Example press release for a work zone in New Hampshire.
- Figure 16. PCMS in several states have been illegally accessed and had messages changed.
- Figure 17. Overall evaluation process for ITS applications in work zones.
- Figure 18. Sub-steps to be explored in Step 4.
- Figure 19. Agencies must select the work zone ITS type first, which could impact the type of procurement method and award mechanism that are used.
- Figure 20. Sub-steps to be explored in Step 5.
- Figure 21. Sub-steps to be explored in Step 6.
- Figure 22. PCMS messages were modified from a generic message (left) as stated in the contract to a more specific message (right).
List of Tables
- Table 1. Sample work zone ITS applications.
- Table 2. Examples of site-specific issues and problems.
- Table 3. ITS components.
- Table 4. Communication options, advantages, and disadvantages.
- Table 5. Examples of benefits for various work zone ITS.
- Table 6. Example of possible criteria for assessing feasibility of work zone ITS.
- Table 7. Possible work zone ITS applications to consider for various critical project characteristics.
- Table 8. Example evaluation criteria.
- Table 9. Summary table of procurement methods.
