Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) Newsletter -
Fall 2008
In This Issue:
The mission of this newsletter is to inform Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) stakeholders about the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) ICM Initiative, including the latest knowledge and technology transfer resources available to corridor managers and operators across the country through this initiative. Its mission is also to help raise general awareness about how the USDOT ICM initiative is contributing to managing congestion. Send an email to ICM@dot.gov with any comments or suggestions for future newsletter topics or to sign up for electronic distribution of this newsletter.
USDOT Selects Three Pioneer Sites to Analyze, Model and Simulate Their Proposed Integrated Corridor Management Systems
The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) will conduct analysis, modeling and simulation (AMS) of proposed Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) systems (ICMS) for 3 of its 8 ICM Pioneer Sites this fall. The selected sites—Dallas, Texas; Minneapolis, Minnesota and San Diego, California—have the data, modeling and simulation tools and well-described ICMS needed to support analysis. Early results from this phase of the Department's 5-year ICM Initiative are expected in 2009. The Department has worked with all 8 of the ICM Pioneer Sites to develop their ICMS throughout 2007 and early 2008. The USDOT plans to demonstrate the most promising ICM strategies at as many as 3 of the 8 Pioneer Sites in 2010.
The ICM AMS approach is unique in that it combines elements of existing models to support comprehensive assessment of ICM strategies, not available today through any single tool. Once validated, the USDOT will make the approach available to transportation decisionmakers to help them identify the best ICM strategies for their needs under different conditions (such as planned special events, high traffic congestion, or major incidents).
This Department took the first step toward validating the approach this spring, when it applied the AMS methodology to a test corridor in California. Interstate 880 (I-880) in the San Francisco Bay Area was selected to serve as the test corridor because of its wealth of available data and wide range of transportation assets. Using historical data, analysts examined the potential implications of specific ICM strategies—such as ramp metering, transit traveler information, and high occupancy toll or "HOT" lanes—under a variety of conditions, including average and high travel demand, along the corridor. They also further examined the effects of these travel demand assumptions under conditions of both a minor and a major incident.
Preliminary test results suggest ICMS will help reduce congestion and improve productivity of the nation's transportation corridors. Benefits of ICM strategies appear to be greatest under conditions of traffic congestion due to heavy demand and/or incidents. Dynamically applying ICM strategies in combination across a corridor was shown to reduce congestion and improve the overall productivity of the transportation system.
The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) launched the 5-year, multi-modal ICM Initiative in 2005 to help mitigate bottlenecks, manage congestion, and empower travelers to make more informed travel choices through actionable information. ICM is expected to support reduced travel times, increased travel time reliability, and reduced emissions and fuel consumption in the nation's more than 300 urban transportation corridors. The initiative is jointly sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), and RITA.
ICM Pioneer Site Webinar Recordings Now Available!
The USDOT hosted a series of three webinars showcasing the eight ICM Pioneer Sites and their results to date with the ICM initiative. The webinars covered:
- The definition of ICM.
- The goal of ICM, the primary performance measures, and the expected benefits.
- The path to implement ICM and achieve the goals; and where each ICM Pioneer Site is on this path.
- A discussion of the operational, institutional, and technical aspects of the ICM system for each pioneer site. This included an overview of the ICM concept of operations and system requirements specifications for each Pioneer Site.
- Lessons learned from the Pioneer Sites.
Recordings, podcasts, transcripts, and PowerPoint presentations are available from http://www.its.dot.gov/icms/icms_webinar.htm for each webinar. The Adobe Media Player is required to view the recordings (.flv files). The recording files contain both the audio and visual components of each webinar. Each individual presentation was also recorded as an MP3 file, allowing you to listen to the audio on any player that plays MP3 files. The transcripts were created in real time and may contain some errors. They are meant to serve as a companion to the recordings and the presentations.
Now Available in the Knowledgebase!
Pioneer Site Concepts of Operations
Concepts of operations (ConOps) documents describe current operations, conditions and needs in the corridor; and how the corridor will function in the near term once the integrated corridor management systems (ICMS) concept is operational. They also identify current and future responsibilities of the regional ICM stakeholders. Con Ops for the following ICM Pioneer Sites are now available for review and/or downloading to help you implement ICM:
- I-15 Corridor in San Diego, California
- I-270 Corridor in Montgomery County, Maryland
- I-394 Corridor in Minneapolis, Minnesota
- US-75 Corridor in Dallas, Texas
.and more are coming soon!
Pioneer Site System Requirements
System Requirements documents describe what a corridor's ICMS must do (its "functional" requirements), how well it must perform (the "performance" requirements), and under what conditions it must function ("non-functional" and "performance" requirements). Engineers develop this document in accordance with the traditional systems engineering process. This document sets the technical scope of the system to be built. Systems Requirements documents for the following ICM Pioneer Sites are now available for review and/or downloading to help you implement ICM:
- I-270 ICMS in Montgomery County, Maryland
- I-394 ICMS in Minneapolis, Minnesota
- IH-10 ICMS in San Antonio, Texas
- US-75 ICMS in Dallas, Texas
…and more are coming soon!
AMS Resources
In order for decision makers to select the most appropriate intelligent transportation systems (ITS) investment strategy for integrated corridor management (ICM), information needs to be available on the benefits and costs of implementing certain packages of ITS strategies. Currently, models and simulation tools are available for discrete strategy analysis, but a process and tool set to holistically look at the impacts of ITS strategies implemented in a multimodal corridor are not available. The USDOT's analysis, modeling and simulation (AMS) process leverages existing tools to enable this kind of corridor predictive analysis that was not previously possible.
The USDOT validated this approach using real data from a test corridor (California's Interstate 880 in the San Francisco Bay Area). The next stage of the ICM AMS process will be to test the process to model the ICM strategies and scenarios from three of the eight ICM Pioneer Sites (See related story in this newsletter). The "real world" analysis will enable the USDOT to assess the potential impact resulting from a demonstration of an ICM system and further validate the ICM AMS process and calibrate assumptions. After the demonstration is completed, the USDOT will further refine the AMS process to improve effectiveness and prepare for knowledge and technology transfer to the industry.
ICM AMS Experimental Plan for the Test Corridor
This document lays out the scope of analysis that will be conducted through the application of the Analysis, Modeling, and Simulation (AMS) methodology to the test corridor.
ICM AMS Methodology
This document provides a discussion of potential ICM analytical approaches for the assessment of generic corridor operations. The AMS framework described in this report identifies strategies and procedures for tailoring AMS general approaches toward individual corridors with different application requirements and modeling characteristics.
Integrated Corridor Management AMS Test Corridor Model Description
This technical memorandum provides a description and definition of the test corridor. It provides explanatory meta-data, including an inventory of the facilities in the test corridor and the key challenges in providing efficient test corridor traffic operations.
Bookmark the Knowledgebase for these and other resources to help you implement ICM!
Robert (Bob) Sheehan, FHWA, Joins the USDOT ICM Leadership Team!
Mr. Robert Sheehan, P.E., PTOE, is a Transportation Specialist with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Office of Operations - Transportation Management. Bob joined FHWA in August 2008 and will be supporting the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) Initiative, Active Traffic Management, and other Systems Management projects. Prior to joining the FHWA, he spent 7 years at the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) as the Field Operations Manager for the Smart Traffic Signal System and the Freeway Operations Engineer for the Smart Traffic Center. He received his Professional Engineer license in 2004 and his Professional Traffic Operations Engineer certification in 2008. Bob has a Master's Degree in Civil Engineering from Virginia Tech and a Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering from West Virginia University. You can reach Bob at robert.sheehan@dot.gov.
ICM Related News
ICM Featured in Mass Transit Magazine
The September/October 2008 edition of Mass Transit Magazine has a feature article highlighting the Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) Analysis, Modeling, and Simulation (AMS) methodology and results for the test corridor. The San Francisco Bay Area's I-880 corridor served as the testbed for the AMS methodology. Check out http://www.masstransitmag.com/print/Mass-Transit/Integrated-Corridor-Management/1$7005 to read the article!
ICM Featured in ITE Journal
The May 2008 issue of the ITE Journal includes a reprint of the ICM article that was in the March/April 2008 issue of Public Roads. This article provides an overview of ICM and the eight ICM Pioneer Sites selected by USDOT. Check out http://www.ite.org/membersonly/itejournal/pdf/2008/JB08EA40.pdf to read the article!
In the Next Issue
Report on the ICM Initiative Workshop
The USDOT plans to test the process to model the ICM strategies and scenarios from three of the eight ICM Pioneer Sites using real data from their ICM corridors. This "real world" analysis will enable the USDOT to assess the potential impact resulting from a demonstration of an ICM system and further validate the ICM AMS process. The USDOT held a workshop with the Pioneer Sites on October 21-22, 2008, in Washington, DC to discuss the draft demonstration plan outlines, the experimental plans for the Pioneer Site tests, and continue examination of transit and arterial data gaps, decision support systems, and center to center standards. Check out the AMS-related documents now in the Knowledgebase to learn more about AMS.
To learn more about the USDOT ICM Initiative:
866-367-7487
itshelp@fhwa.dot.gov
ITS Joint Program Office
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
Brian Cronin
USDOT/Research and Innovative Technology Administration
202-366-8841
brian.cronin@dot.gov
Steve Mortensen
USDOT/Federal Transit Administration
202-493-0459
steven.mortensen@dot.gov
Bob Sheehan
USDOT/Federal Highway Administration
202-366-6817
robert.sheehan@dot.gov
Dale Thompson
USDOT/Federal Highway Administration
202-493-3420
dale.thompson@dot.gov
Visit the ICM Web site at http://www.its.dot.gov/icms/index.htm to learn more about the USDOT's ICM Initiative!
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