USDOT ICM Initiative

Spotlight on the Four Phases of the USDOT's ICM Initiative

The USDOT's five year ICM Initiative will occur in four phases. These phases are designed to promote innovation in the development of new approaches for efficiently managing existing assets within a corridor. Ultimately, these four phases will help the USDOT and the Pioneer Sites to identify and advance promising ICM approaches that can serve as critical next steps in the nation's efforts to reduce traffic congestion. Note that Phases 2–4 occur concurrently to some extent.

Phase 1: Foundational Research

Phase 1 was completed in early 2006. It included research into the current state of corridor management in the United States as well as leading examples of ICM-like practices around the world, initial feasibility research, and the development of initial technical guidance such as a Generic Concept of Operations (CONOPS) for ICM to serve as a resource for sites seeking to develop their own concepts. As part of Phase 1, USDOT, working with ITS America (ITSA), formed a multimodal stakeholder group consisting of representatives from the public and private sectors. As a result of the Phase 1 research, the USDOT decided to move forward with the ICM Initiative.

The Generic CONOPS was developed with input and feedback from this multimodal stakeholder group and resulted in a shared framework through which the ICM Initiative can identify, test, revise and deploy appropriate technologies and techniques within the context of a CONOPS. The USDOT documented the Phase 1 foundational research in a set of technical memoranda, all of which are available in the ICM Knowledgebase.

Phase 2: Corridor Tools, Strategies and Integration

Phase 2 of the ICM Initiative began in September 2006 and will run concurrent with Phases 3 and 4. This phase will develop analytic tools and methods that enable the implementation and evaluation of ICM strategies and include lab and limited field testing at select Pioneer Sites, evaluation of interfaces, and component operations of ICM. The goal of Phase 2 is to develop the tools and components necessary to support ICM operations and to apply these tools in one or more site demonstrations. Phase 2 efforts will also evaluate the expected benefits to be derived from implementing ICM systems.

The outcomes of this phase will help decision-makers identify gaps, evaluate ICM strategies, and invest in the best combination of strategies that would minimize congestion and improve safety. Findings will also help to estimate the benefit resulting from ICM across different transportation modes and traffic control systems. Knowledge about the analysis methodologies, tools and possible benefits of ICM strategies will be made available to the Pioneer Sites and to the entire transportation community.

The overall effort of Phase 2 will result in validated and tested methodologies to support ICM analysis.

Phase 3: Corridor Site Development, Analysis and Demonstration

In Phase 3, USDOT will model three ICM approaches developed by the Pioneer Sites and fund demonstration and evaluation of up to three approaches that appear to offer the greatest potential. Phase 3 has begun and consists of three stages:

Stage 1: Concept Development (FY07)

All eight sites developed site-specific CONOPS and requirements documents. Each site provided sample data for evaluation. The Pioneer Sites began working on Stage 1 in October 2006 and completed their concept development in March 2007 (Visit the ICM Knowledgebase to review their CONOPS and ICMS requirements documents.

Stage 2: Modeling (FY08–FY09)

Using USDOT-provided resources, methodologies and tools, three sites will analyze and model their proposed ICM systems. USDOT announced the three selected AMS sites in the Fall 2008. 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 are expected in 2009. The application of AMS to the ICM strategies of these Pioneer Sites will yield insights that can help other transportation system managers and operators across the country select and apply optimum ICM strategies in their corridors.

Stage 3: Demonstration and Evaluation (FY09–FY11)

USDOT will select up to three sites to demonstrate ICM concepts that may have applicability to a broad range of corridors around the country. These sites will demonstrate the application of institutional, operational and technical integration approaches in the field and document implementation issues and operational benefits. USDOT expects to announce the selection of the sites that will participate in Stage 3 Demonstration and Evaluation in FY09, after completion of Stage 2.

Phase 4: ICM Outreach and Knowledge and Technology Transfer

The mission Phase 4 Knowledge and Technology Transfer (KTT) efforts is to equip practitioners in corridors around the country to implement ICM through a comprehensive set of resources. More than 20 ICM stakeholders, including representatives from each Pioneer Site, contributed to the development of the ICM KTT strategy using virtual collaborative technology. KTT resources include the ICM Knowledgebase, which serves as a one-stop, fully searchable repository for the knowledge developed through the ICM Initiative; peer-to-peer training resources such as Web-based seminars and mobile workshops; conferences; and printed materials such as fact sheets and guidance documents.

Read about ICM standards

View Work Plan for the ICM Initiative