U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
202-366-4000
Federal Highway Administration Research and Technology
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Research and Technology Agenda
Congestion Management and Reliability
Reducing congestion improves the safety and reliability of our roadways and fosters new economic possibilities.
Foundation for Proactive Operations
Improving traffic management helps agencies effectively address congestion and gauge network performance.
Decreasing delays in the movement of goods means lower transportation costs and a stronger economy.
Program Contact
Justin Wagner
FHWA Office of Operations
Tel: 202-366-1713
Email: justin.wagner@dot.gov
Highway reliability affects our ability to visit family, get to work, deliver products to customers, live our lives, and grow the economy. FHWA's operations and freight research is developing innovative technology and processes that lead to system-wide improvements in how FHWA and its State and local partners manage and increase the reliability of the National Highway System and the National Highway Freight Network.
These innovations target the daily operations of transportation agencies, including demand management strategies, work-zone planning guidance, and improved traffic and freight analysis techniques. Research into new technologies and noteworthy management practices provides State and local agencies with additional tools to implement the institutional changes that will allow them to meet operational challenges.
Improved, real-time management of unexpected disruptions, such as adverse weather conditions and crashes, enables transportation agencies to improve the reliability of the highway system during times of unexpected stress. FHWA is exploring technologies—such as traffic and weather sensors, wirelessly connected vehicles, and remote management of traffic signals, to provide better information and highway management options during disruptive events.
By deploying innovative transportation technologies to better manage congestion and freight movement, FHWA is helping transportation agencies embrace 21st-century system policies and tools that can deliver a reliable highway system for individuals and businesses nationwide.
Each of the following objectives expands to describe the Operations strategic approach to innovation.
 | Objective 1: Managing congestion by improving reliability and operating the system at peak performance. |
 | Objective 1: Managing congestion by improving reliability and operating the system at peak performance. |
| Objective 1: Managing congestion by improving reliability and operating the system at peak performance. |
Strategies
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Rising congestion rates increase the potential for crashes, delays, and air pollution, and impose adverse costs to society. FHWA promotes Active Transportation and Demand Management (ATDM) strategies to help transportation agencies address the problem of congestion more effectively. These strategies include a variety of real-time and predictive tools, approaches, and methods to dynamically manage and control traffic demand and transportation facility capacity, based on prevailing traffic conditions. FHWA also provides resources, such as the ATDM toolbox, which helps agencies to implement the ATDM approach. By applying these tools and strategies, transportation agencies can better address traffic flow issues, improve travel time reliability, and optimize capacity throughout their transportation networks.
Activity ContactJohn Halkias Additional Resources
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Traffic incident response involves effective coordination among multiple stakeholder agencies such as transportation, law enforcement, fire and rescue, and emergency medical services. FHWA developed the Traffic Incident Management (TIM) Program to promote a comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach to restoring traffic capacity as quickly and safely as possible. Through the TIM Program, FHWA provides guidance, doctrine, training, peer-to-peer, and other knowledge exchanges. Research, outreach, and other resources help transportation agencies, such as safety service patrols and traffic management center personnel, better understand, plan for, and implement traffic incident response operations. TIM Program resources assist agency stakeholders in improving traffic incident response; reducing the duration and impacts of traffic incidents; and improving the safety of motorists, crash victims, and responders. The program also builds capacity among local transportation and other first responders engaged in traffic incident planning and operations. This enhanced capacity enables communities to better prepare for and manage special events and larger scale incidents that affect their communities, such as flooding, hurricanes, hazardous materials incidents, and other technological and manmade events.
Activity ContactKim Vasconez Additional Resources
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Poor traffic signal timing contributes to traffic congestion and delay. Conventional signal systems use preprogrammed, daily signal timing schedules. Adaptive signal control technology adjusts the timing of red, yellow, and green lights to accommodate changing traffic patterns and ease traffic congestion. The main benefits of adaptive signal control technology over conventional signal systems are that it can distribute green light time continuously and equitably for all traffic movements; improve travel time reliability by progressively moving vehicles through green lights; reduce congestion by creating smoother flow; and prolong the effectiveness of traffic signal timing.
Activity ContactEddie Curtis Additional Resources
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Road Weather Management consists of the proactive operations and maintenance of the highway system under all weather conditions. The process begins with measurements and monitoring of weather conditions on or near the road surface, either through fixed (e.g., roadside) or mobile (e.g., vehicle) sensors. Observations are entered into weather and road condition models and then incorporated into advanced decision support tools that enable both road users and operators to make safer and more efficient decisions. These decisions cover a broad spectrum, ranging from the application of winter road maintenance materials, to traffic management strategies such as signal timing and variable speed limits, and eventually, to the provision of information so that road travelers can make decisions such as altering departure times or changing routes to avoid unsafe driving conditions. In addition, work is underway to look at how transportation, maintenance, and emergency managers can best incorporate emerging changes in climate and extreme weather events into their planning and ongoing activities.
Activity ContactPaul Pisano Additional Resources
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Work zones are a necessary part of maintaining and upgrading our highway system. The combination of more work zones and heavier traffic volumes has resulted in work zones having a greater effect on roadway systems in recent years. The American public has cited work zones as second only to poor traffic flow in causing dissatisfaction with the roadway system. FHWA's Work Zone Management Program will "make work zones work better." The program provides transportation practitioners with high-quality products, tools, and information, which can be of value in planning, designing, and implementing safer, more efficient, and less congested work zones.
Activity ContactJawad Paracha Additional Resources
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Congestion pricing can act as a tool for demand management. The variability of pricing depending on traffic conditions and policies capitalizes on market forces to manage the utility of finite roadway capacity. An emerging form of congestion pricing that does not involve tolls includes several concepts and strategies, such as pay-as-you-drive car insurance, car sharing, variably priced metered parking, and variable port access charges for trucks.
Activity ContactWayne Berman Additional Resources
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| Objective 2: Building a strong foundation for proactive operations. |
| Objective 2: Building a strong foundation for proactive operations. |
| Objective 2: Building a strong foundation for proactive operations. |
Strategies
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Traffic analysis tools, such as travel demand models or sketch planning tools, help assess proposed roadway improvements and their effects on traffic flows. By using these tools, transportation decision makers are better able to implement operational improvements that may enhance mobility and improve safety. However, with a wide range of options at hand, it can be difficult for decision makers to identify and deploy specific tools that are appropriate for their State, region, or community. Through its Traffic Analysis Tools Program, FHWA provides technical assistance and training, shares guidance and noteworthy practices, and disseminates other resources to help transportation professionals select, evaluate, and implement effective traffic analysis tools.
Activity ContactJohn Halkias Additional Resources
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A lack of communication and coordination between transportation agency planning staff and operations personnel can often lead to ineffective decisions, poor planning processes, and an underperforming transportation system. Linking these disciplines by bringing together professionals in both fields to discuss mutual concerns and priority issues can help to address these problems. FHWA developed the Planning for Operations Program to provide technical assistance and tools, guidance, and other resources to aid transportation professionals in integrating their planning and operations processes. These efforts help transportation agencies adopt strategies, techniques, and methods that consider both planning and operations viewpoints. The program has produced tangible results, such as an increase in the proportion of statewide long-range transportation plans that also address regional needs in transportation operations.
Activity ContactWayne Berman Additional Resources
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Operations performance measurement gauges progress toward meeting the objectives of transportation system management and operations. Although the specific objectives of management and operations activities vary among organizations, most relate to the overall goals of transportation mobility, productivity, and safety. FHWA is leading numerous activities to advance the implementation and practice of operations performance measurement at the Federal, State, and local levels, including the production of urban congestion reports, which are quarterly snapshots of traffic congestion and reliability trends at the national and city levels, developed using archived traffic operations data.
Activity ContactRich Taylor Additional Resources
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FHWA's Regional Intelligent Transportation Systems Architecture Guidance Document describes a process for creating regional intelligent transportation systems (ITS) architecture, discusses the uses for ITS architecture, and provides an approach for mainstreaming ITS into transportation planning and project development processes. FHWA also produced a more detailed guide for the development of a regional ITS architecture maintenance plan, and the activities involved in maintaining a regional ITS architecture were developed in a white paper. Together, these resources provide guidance for transportation professionals who are involved in the development, use, and maintenance of regional ITS architectures.
Activity ContactKingsley Azubike Additional Resources
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| Objective 3: Improving reliability through efficient movement of freight. |
| Objective 3: Improving reliability through efficient movement of freight. |
| Objective 3: Improving reliability through efficient movement of freight. |
Strategies
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Freight professionals need accurate, current, and comprehensive information to plan and make decisions effectively. To address these needs, FHWA developed the Freight Analysis Framework (FAF), an inventory that compiles data from a variety of sources to create a comprehensive picture of freight movement for all modes of transportation, within and between States and major metropolitan areas. By using the FAF, freight stakeholders can better understand complex freight movements and make cost-effective, timely decisions that improve freight flows and safety, reduce environmental impacts, and support better integration of freight into transportation system operations.
Activity ContactBirat Pandey Additional Resources
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The Freight Performance Measures Program (FMP) is a mechanism for collecting and analyzing data to assist national, State, regional, and local transportation agencies in better measuring and managing highway transportation system performance. Unlike other U.S. Department of Transportation efforts, the focus of the FMP is on major freight-significant corridors, intercity pairs along those corridors, and major United States-international land border crossings. The availability of FMP data has the potential to inform future investment decisions that produce benefits of regional and national significance. When coupled with other sources, FMP data can provide a better understanding of travel time, reliability, congestion, and delay. In turn, this information assists decision makers in targeting infrastructure and operational improvements to maximize freight efficiency in the transportation system operation.
Activity ContactStephen Clinger Additional Resources
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Page Owner: Office of Research, Development, and Technology, Office of Corporate Research, Technology, and Innovation Management
Topics: research, infrastructure, pavements, safety, bridges, operations, policy, environment, planning, realty
Keywords: research, national research and technology agenda, activities, challenges, strategies, objectives, infrastructure, pavements, safety, bridges, operations, policy, environment, planning, realty, technology TRT Terms: research, planning methods, strategic planning, planning stages Scheduled Update: 08/01/2016
This page last modified on 08/26/2015
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