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Elements of Business Rules and Decision Support Systems within Integrated Corridor Management: Understanding the Intersection of These Three Components

APPENDIX A: THE FOUR PHASES OF THE INTEGRATED CORRIDOR MANAGEMENT INITIATIVE

The four phases of the integrated corridor management (ICM) initiative according to Dion and Skabardonis (2015) is presented in this section. Figure 30 illustrates an overview of the ICM initiative phases. For further detail please refer to the San Diego I-15 Demonstration Integrated Corridor Management System PATH Report on Stage 3: Site Demonstration and Evaluation, which is the source of the information presented in this appendix. References cited from the original report are at the end of this section.

Timeline for phases 1 through 4 of hte ICM initiative. Phase 1, foundational research, was conducted during 2005 and 2006. Phase 2 developed corridor tools, strategies, and integration, comprising a period of tools and strategies development from 2006-2011 and feedback, running from 2013 through mid-2016. Phase 3, defined ascorridor site development, analysis, and evaluation, comprised stage 1, system concepts; stage 2, analysis modeling and simulation; and stage 3 system demonstration and evaluation. The US 75 ICM Launch and the I-15 launch occurred during stage 3 of phase 3. Phase 4, comprising awareness, understanding, equipping practitioners, and long-term information availability, runs concurrently with phases 1 through 3.
Figure 30. Diagram. U.S. Department of Transportation integrated corridor management initiative timeline.
(Dion and Skabardonis, 2015, p. 7)

PHASE 1: FOUNDATIONAL RESEARCH

A key outcome of Phase 1 was the development of a generic concept of operations for ICM demonstrating how an ICM system could operate along a generic 15-mile corridor serving a central business district and consisting of freeway, arterials, bus, and rail networks. This document was developed to serve as a guidance resource for sites seeking to develop their own concepts. In addition to the concept of operations, a shared framework through which the ICM Initiative could identify, test, revise, and deploy appropriate technologies and techniques was developed, as well as early guidance on the steps needed to support the development, implementation, and operation of ICM systems.

Key activities that were conducted during this phase include:

  • Development of alternative definitions of corridors and integrated corridor management to support the development of agreed-upon definitions.
  • Development of a process for delineating the boundaries of a corridor.
  • Identification of relationships between corridor management and regional management.
  • Identification and analysis of generic institutional strategies for integrated corridor management.
  • Identification of administrative challenges associated with planning and deployment of ICM systems.
  • Documentation of needs, gaps, lessons learned, and best practices from successful local integration efforts across the United States.
  • Characterization of various corridor types in terms of ICM needs.
  • Development of operational approaches and management strategies that could effectively be used for a variety of corridor types.
  • Feasibility analysis for the development of ICM systems.

PHASE 2: CORRIDOR TOOLS, STRATEGIES, AND INTEGRATION

The primary outcome of the phase was the development of validated and tested methodologies to support ICM system analyses to be conducted in Phase 3. Several of the developed tools were also subsequently used to support pre-deployment system evaluations in Stage 2 of Phase 3, and post-deployment evaluations in Stage 3 of Phase 3.

Key activities conducted during Phase 2 of the initiative include:

  • Refinement of the ICM strategies identified in Phase 1
  • Development of a framework to analyze, model, and simulate the ICM strategies
  • Application of the developed analysis framework to conduct a pilot evaluation of potential ICM strategies along the I-880 corridor in Oakland, California
  • Development of analytical and simulation tools enabling the evaluation of proposed ICM strategies
  • Development and testing of system interfaces to integrate the operation of various system components
  • Development of operations management schemes to facilitate the sharing of control and responsibilities among participating corridor organizations
  • Identification and selection of appropriate standards

PHASE 3: CORRIDOR SITE DEVELOPMENT, ANALYSIS, AND DEMONSTRATION

Phase 3 of the ICM initiative focused on the operational evaluations of ICM concepts through modeling and simulation, and system implementation. Activities within this phase were divided into three stages; concept development, AMS, and demonstration/evaluation, described in detail below:

Stage 1: Concept Development

During this stage, stakeholders from each of the selected pioneer sites were tasked with developing a concept of operations and preliminary system requirements for the ICM system they would be deploying on their respective corridors, using the generic concept of operations that was developed in Phase 1 of the initiative as a guide. Sample data from each site were also provided to the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) to assess data availability and the suitability of each proposed ICM corridor for conducting modeling and simulation evaluations.

Each document first inventoried existing transportation systems and described the operational performance of these systems. Each document then identified the goals and objectives of the proposed ICM system, the strategies to be pursued for improving corridor operations, the user needs and asset requirements for the proposed system, how the system was envisioned to operate under various scenarios, and the eventual responsibilities of system stakeholders. The system requirements that were subsequently developed further identified and defined the different Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) components that would need to be integrated along each corridor. The resources for preparing a Concept of Operations is provided in Appendix B.

Stage 2: Analysis, Modeling, and Simulation

Under this stage, the corridors were first modeled according to the analysis, modeling, and simulation (AMS) framework that was developed in Phase 2. For each corridor, key ICM strategies from the Concept of Operations developed in Stage I were then selected for modeling and analysis to assess the range of expected benefits associated with each proposed system.

Table 1 lists the various management strategies that were modeled and evaluated for each corridor. Depending on the corridor, various combinations of strategies aimed at improving traveler information, traffic management, HOV/HOT operations, and transit management were considered.

Stage 2 activities further resulted in the development of new tools for the analysis of freeway ramp metering, HOT lane operations, congestion pricing systems, transit operations, and active traffic management strategies. Activities also led to improved model calibration and data analysis methods.

Table 8. Integrated corridor management strategies considered in analysis, modeling, and simulation evaluations.
Integrated Corridor Management Strategy Dallas San Diego
Traveler Information ✓
Earlier dissemination and information sharing between agencies ✓
Comparative travel times (modes and routes)
Parking availability at park-and-ride lots ✓
ABC garage display
Freeway traveler information (pre-trip and en-route) ✓ ✓
Arterial traveler information (pre-trip and en-route) ✓ ✓
Transit traveler information (pre-trip and en-route) ✓ ✓
Traffic Management
Reduced incident times
Incident signal retiming plans for arterials/frontage roads ✓
Retime ramp meters for incidents or congestion
Coordinated signal and ramp meter operation ✓
System-wide coordinated ramp metering
High-occupancy Toll/High-occupancy Vehicle Lanes
HOT lane congestion pricing ✓ ✓
Changes to minimum vehicle occupancy access requirements ✓ ✓
Opening to single occupancy vehicles during incident ✓
Transit Management
Dynamic rerouting
Special event transit capacity expansion ✓
Arterial signal priority ✓
Light-rail transit smart parking system ✓
Additional parking and valet service ✓
Physical priority to buses on arterials ✓

More detail about Stage 2 is available in the San Diego I-15 Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) System: Stage II (Analysis, Modeling, and Simulation) report, which can be accessed at: https://merritt.cdlib.org/d/ark:%252F13030%252Fm5z039tp/2/producer%252FPRR-2010-09.pdf

Stage 3: Demonstration and Evaluation

This stage, which was expected to last three to four years, consisted of the development, implementation, and operational evaluation of an actual ICM system on each corridor. A first goal was to demonstrate the application of institutional, operational, and technical integration approaches in the field. A second goal was to document the operational benefits associated with each system and the implementation issues encountered during system development and implementation to assist with future ICM system deployments along other corridors.

The following nine tasks were defined for Stage 3 of the I-15 ICM Demonstration project:

  1. Project management.
  2. Refinement of system requirements.
  3. System design and system build.
  4. System testing.
  5. Training.
  6. System operations and maintenance.
  7. Participation in the Analysis, modeling, and simulation of the system.
  8. Participation in system evaluation.
  9. Participation in outreach activities.

Each of the above tasks are described in detail in the chapter 6.1 of the San Diego I-15 Demonstration Integrated Corridor Management System PATH Report on Stage 3: Site Demonstration and Evaluation report.

On phase 3, specific activities associated with each deployment site included:

  • Design and implementation of the system to be implemented.
  • Execution of pre-deployment and post-deployment simulation evaluations.
  • Operational evaluation of the deployed system.
  • Documentation of lessons learned.

PHASE 4: INTEGRATED CORRIDOR MANAGEMENT OUTREACH AND KNOWLEDGE AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER

The goal of Phase 4 of the ICM Initiative was to equip corridor managers and operators around the country with a comprehensive resource set to help them develop, implement, and evaluate prospective ICM systems.

Key outreach and technology transfer activities that were conducted during this phase include:

  1. Development of the ICM Knowledgebase on the U.S. DOT website, which serves as a one-stop, fully searchable repository for the knowledge developed through the ICM Initiative.
  2. Publication of guidance documents on the development, implementation, and evaluation of ICM systems.
  3. Development of peer-to-peer training resources, such as web-based seminars and mobile workshops.
  4. Organization of ICM conferences.
  5. Development of conference presentations.
  6. Publication of fact sheets about ICM systems.

REFERENCES

  1. I-15 ICM Demonstration: Stage 3 PATH Report, 2015.
  2. Integrated Corridor Management Initiative – Program Plan Update, U.S. Department ofTransportation, February 2006. Available at https://www.its.dot.gov/research_archives/icms/ resources/doc_details.cfm?document_id=91&from=search, accessed January 22, 2015.
  3. L. Neudorff, J. Harding, and L. Englisher. ICMS Concept of Operations for a Generic Corridor. Document FHWA-JPO-06-032, Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C., April 2006.
  4. L. Neudorff, J. Harding, and L. Englisher. Integrated Corridor Management: ICM Implementation Guide. Document FHWA-JPO-06-042, Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C., April 2006.
  5. V. Alexiadis. Integrated Corridor Management Analysis, Modeling and Simulation (AMS) Methodology. Document FHWA-JPO-08-034, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C., March 2008.
  6. W.B. Zhang. Study of Integrated Corridor Management for San Francisco Bay Area I-880 Corridor. Report UCB-ITS-PRR-2008-30, California PATH, University of California, Berkeley, November 2008.
  7. S. Mortensem. Integrated Corridor Management. Presentation prepared for the ITS America Annual Meeting 2010, U.S. Department of Transportation, May 2010.
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