About the Program
Program Challenges, Needs, and Future Directions
(HTML, PDF 182KB)
The Traffic Analysis Tools Program was formulated by FHWA in an attempt to strike a balance between efforts to develop new, improved tools in support of traffic operations analysis and efforts to facilitate the deployment and use of existing tools. FHWA has established two tracks under the Traffic Analysis Tools Program: the development track and the deployment track.
Development track – focuses on models that are easier to use, more robust in their application, and more reliable in their results. This track concentrates on:
- The Next Generation Simulation (NGSIM) Program – developing a core of open behavior algorithms in support of traffic simulation with supporting documentation and validation data sets.
- The Dynamic Traffic Assignment (DTA) Program – developing real-time and off-line traffic estimation and predictive systems to support real-time and network planning and operations decisions in the ITS and non-ITS environments.
- Traffic Software Integrated System (TSIS) – a collection of sophisticated software tools for use by traffic engineers and planners to simulate traffic conditions and evaluate alternative operational improvements in a corridor of freeways and surface streets.
Deployment track – a strategy that is sensitive to the needs and concerns of the traffic analysis stakeholder community. This track concentrates on:
- Guidance - developing a Traffic Analysis Tools Primer to provide an overview of traffic analysis tools; a Selection Guide to assist traffic engineering professionals in the selection of the correct traffic analysis tool for the job at hand; Traffic Simulation Guidelines for the application and use of traffic simulation; CORSIM Application Guidelines to provide varying practices, methodologies and applications for CORSIM users; Traffic Analysis Tools Case Studies and Best Practices to illustrate the usefulness and strengths of traffic analysis tools
- Training – through the National Highway Institute, providing training for the Highway Capacity Manual and CORSIM Simulation
- Outreach, Promotion, Awareness – developing plans for distribution of guidance documents, publicizing the documents, and soliciting feedback from customers on the usefulness of the documents
Through the FHWA Traffic Analysis Tools Program, our partners and customers will expand their use of analysis tools and innovative analysis approaches that consider a system-level approach and will enhance mobility. They will gain insight on recommended/best practices and lessons learned in operational analysis. They will gain a high level of confidence in utilizing the analysis tools for their local needs. T he proactive role from FHWA, will enable analytical tools and decision-support systems to reach their full potential to support a viable transportation community in a manner sufficient to make a significant contribution to evolving traffic congestion and management problems.
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