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21st Century Operations Using 21st Century Technologies

Active Traffic Management (ATM) Implementation and Operations Guide

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U.S Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration

U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
Office of Operations
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590

FHWA-HOP-17-056

December 2017


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 Source: Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT).


TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF FIGURES

LIST OF TABLES


ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

AASHTO American Association of State and Highway Transportation Officials
AMS analysis, modeling, and simulation
ARM adaptive ramp metering
ATDM active transportation and demand management
ATM active traffic management
ATSC adaptive traffic signal control
BI buffer index
Caltrans California Department of Transportation
CAVs connected and automated vehicles
CMAQ Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality
CMAR construction management at risk
CMM Capability Maturity Model
DB design-build
DBOM design-build-operate-maintain
DJC dynamic junction control
DLA dynamic lane assignment
DLR dynamic lane reversal
DMC dynamic merge control
DMS dynamic message sign
DShL dynamic shoulder lane
DLUC dynamic lane use control
DSpL dynamic speed limit
DTMR Department of Transport and Main Roads
EPA Environmental Protection Agency
FAQs frequently asked questions
FDOT Florida Department of Transportation
FHWA Federal Highway Administration
HOV high occupancy vehicle
IDOT Illinois Department of Transportation
INFLO intelligent network flow optimization
ITS intelligent transportation system
LCS lane control sign
MAP-21 Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act
MDOT Michigan Department of Transportation
MnDOT Minnesota Department of Transportation
MoDOT Missouri Department of Transportation
MPO metropolitan planning organization
MUTCD Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices
NCHRP National Cooperative Highway Research Program
NHS National Highway System
ODOT Oregon Department of Transportation
PBPD performance-based practical design
PennDOT Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
PSE planned special events
PS&E plan, specification, and estimate
PTI planning time index
QW queue warning
SANDAG San Diego Association of Governments
SMS shoulder-mounted sign
SOP standard operating procedure
STIP statewide transportation improvement program
STP statewide transportation plan
TIP transportation improvement plan
TMC traffic management center
TMS transportation management system
TSMO transportation systems management and operations
TTI Texas A&M Transportation Institute
VCTIR Virginia Center for Transportation Innovation and Research
VDOT Virginia Department of Transportation
VMT vehicle miles of travel
VSL variable speed limit
WSDOT Washington State Department of Transportation
WYDOT Wyoming Department of Transportation
WZ work zone

Technical Report Documentation Page

1. Report No.
FHWA-HOP-17-056
2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient's Catalog No.
4. Title and Subtitle

Active Traffic Management (ATM) Implementation and Operations Guide

5. Report Date

December 2017

6. Performing Organization Code:
7. Author(s)

Kuhn, Beverly, Kevin Balke, and Nicholas Wood

8. Performing Organization Report No.
9. Performing Organization Name and Address

Battelle
505 King Avenue
Columbus, OH 43201

Texas A&M Transportation Institute
3135 TAMU
College Station, TX 77843-3135

10. Work Unit No.
11. Contract or Grant No.
12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address

Office of Transportation Management
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, DC 20590

13. Type of Report and Period Covered
14. Sponsoring Agency Code
15. Supplementary Notes

FHWA Government Task Manager: James Colyar, Office of Operations-Transportation Management
16. Abstract

Today, most agencies have levels of operational capability, detection, and information dissemination mechanisms that would have been unimaginable two decades ago. As a result, agencies are able to leverage these resources and capabilities through the application of a wide variety of approaches to improve mobility and safety. However, agencies continue to face the challenges of changing travel patterns, growing demand, evolving traveler behaviors, limited resources, and increasing traveler expectations. Active transportation and demand management (ATDM) is an agency's capability to improve trip reliability, safety, and throughput of the surface transportation system by deploying operational strategies that dynamically manage and control travel and traffic demand and available capacity, based on prevailing and anticipated conditions. The objective of this Guide is to provide regional and local agencies the guidance on how to strategically and effectively implement and operate ATM strategies. The Guide describes the stepwise approach to accomplishing this implementation through the application of the system engineering process; comprehensive planning; and organizational considerations, capabilities, and design considerations. It utilizes a combination of relevant existing resources and documents along with best practices and lessons learned gleaned from early adopters to offer practical guidance. It also emphasizes the value of ATM and what these strategies can offer to operating agencies as part of their broader Transportation Systems Management and Operations (TSMO) program. The intended audience(s) of the Guide includes agencies interested in implementing ATM in their region, as well as agencies that have implemented ATM and are interested in guidance on operating their ATM systems and strategies more effectively.

17. Key Words

Active traffic management, active transportation and demand management, operations, adaptive ramp metering, adaptive traffic signal control, dynamic junction control, dynamic lane reversal, dynamic lane use control, dynamic shoulder use, queue warning, dynamic speed limit, dynamic merge control

18. Distribution Statement

No Restrictions

19. Security Classification (of this report)

Unclassified

20. Security Classification (of this page)

Unclassified

21. No of Pages

124

22. Price

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

SI* (MODERN METRIC) CONVERSION FACTORS

APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS TO SI UNITS
Symbol When You Know Multiply By To Find Symbol

LENGTH

in
inches 25.4 millimeters mm
ft
feet 0.305 meters m
yd
yards 0.914 meters m
mi
miles 1.61 kilometers km

AREA

in2
square inches 645.2 square millimeters mm2
ft2
square feet 0.093 square meters m2
yd2
square yard 0.836 square meters m2
ac
acres 0.405 hectares ha
mi2
square miles 2.59 square kilometers km2

VOLUME

fl oz
fluid ounces 29.57 milliliters mL
gal
gallons 3.785 liters L
ft3
cubic feet 0.028 cubic meters m3
yd3
cubic yards 0.765 cubic meters m3

NOTE: volumes greater than 1000 L shall be shown in m3

MASS

oz
ounces 28.35 grams g
lb
pounds 0.454 kilograms kg
T
short tons (2000 lb) 0.907 megagrams (or "metric ton") Mg (or "t")

TEMPERATURE (exact degrees)

oF
Fahrenheit 5 (F-32)/9
or (F-32)/1.8
Celsius oC

ILLUMINATION

fc
foot-candles 10.76 lux lx
fl
foot-Lamberts 3.426 candela/m2 cd/m2

FORCE and PRESSURE or STRESS

lbf
poundforce 4.45 newtons N
lbf/in2
poundforce per square inch 6.89 kilopascals kPa
APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS FROM SI UNITS
Symbol When You Know Multiply By To Find Symbol

LENGTH

mm
millimeters 0.039 inches in
m
meters 3.28 feet ft
m
meters 1.09 yards yd
km
kilometers 0.621 miles mi

AREA

mm2
square millimeters 0.0016 square inches in2
m2
square meters 10.764 square feet ft2
m2
square meters 1.195 square yards yd2
ha
hectares 2.47 acres ac
km2
square kilometers 0.386 square miles mi2

VOLUME

mL
milliliters 0.034 fluid ounces fl oz
L
liters 0.264 gallons gal
m3
cubic meters 35.314 cubic feet ft3
m3
cubic meters 1.307 cubic yards yd3

MASS

g
grams 0.035 ounces oz
kg
kilograms 2.202 pounds lb
Mg (or "t")
megagrams (or "metric ton") 1.103 short tons (2000 lb) T

TEMPERATURE (exact degrees)

oC
Celsius 1.8C+32 Fahrenheit oF

ILLUMINATION

lx
lux 0.0929 foot-candles fc
cd/m2
candela/m2 0.2919 foot-Lamberts fl

FORCE and PRESSURE or STRESS

N
newtons 0.225 poundforce lbf
kPa
kilopascals 0.145 poundforce per square inch lbf/in2
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