Office of Operations
21st Century Operations Using 21st Century Technologies

Applying Transportation Asset Management to Traffic Signals: A Primer

Foreword

Transportation Systems Management and Operations (TSMO) leverages technology to provide cost effective solutions to optimizing the performance of the existing transportation system. Such technology examples include traffic signals and Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) devices. As State and local agencies begin to develop their own best practices in maintaining their assets, practitioners should understand asset management principles in order to apply them in the most cost effective way. This primer provides information for applying Transportation Asset Management (TAM) principles to traffic signals in accordance with the Transportation Asset Management Plan (TAMP) requirements.

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. The FHWA periodically reviews quality issues and adjusts its programs and processes to ensure continuous quality improvement.

Non-Binding Contents

Except for the statutes and regulations cited within, the contents of this document do not have the force and effect of law and are not meant to bind the public in any way. The document is intended only to provide clarity regarding existing requirements under the law or agency policies. This document is not legally binding in its own right and will not be relied upon by the Department as a separate basis for affirmative enforcement action or other administrative penalty.

Technical Report Documentation Page

1. Report No.

FHWA-HOP-20-048

2. Government Accession No.

3. Recipient’s Catalog No.

4. Title and Subtitle

Applying Transportation Asset Management to Traffic Signals: A Primer

5. Report Date

January 2022

6. Performing Organization Code

7. Author(s)

Gareth McKay (WSP), Christopher Senesi (WSP)

8. Performing Organization Report No.

9. Performing Organization Name and Address

WSP under contract to:
Cambridge Systematics Inc.
3 Bethesda Metro Center, Suite 1200
Bethesda, MD 20814

10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS)

11. Contract or Grant No.

DTFH6116D00051L

12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address

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

13. Type of Report and Period Covered

Final Report

14. Sponsoring Agency Code

HOP

15. Supplementary Notes

Federal Highway Administration Office of Operations
Task Order Contracting Officer’ Representative (TOCOR)—Joseph Gregory

16. Abstract

As the importance of an integrated transportation system continues to evolve and grow, U.S. transportation agencies are identifying traffic signals as critical elements in asset management and long-range planning. Current research continues to suggest that transportation agencies can benefit from including traffic signals in their asset management planning and integrating asset management practices for traffic signal assets. This primer provides information for applying Transportation Asset Management (TAM) principles to traffic signals in accordance with the Transportation Asset Management Plan (TAMP) requirements.

17. Key Words

Publication, guidelines, primer, asset management, traffic signals

18. Distribution Statement

No restrictions.

19. Security Classif. (of this report)

Unclassified

20. Security Classif. (of this page)

Unclassified

21. No of Pages

72

22. Price

N/A

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

SI (Modern Metric)

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)
°F Fahrenheit 5 (F-32)/9 or (F-32)/1.8 Celsius °C
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

Conversion Factors

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)
°C Celsius 1.8C+32 Fahrenheit °F
Illumination
lx lux 0.0929 foot-candles fc
cd/m2 candela/m2 0.2919 foot-Lamberts fl
Force and Pressure or Stress
N newtons 02.225 poundforce lbf
kPa kilopascals 0.145 poundforce per square inch lbf/in2

Note: SI is the symbol for the International System of Units. Appropriate rounding should be made to comply with Section 4 of ASTM E380. (Revised March 2003)