Mid-Atlantic Region Traffic Engineers, FHWA Officials Plan for Year 2000 Traffic Control Changes

Federal Highway Administration
December 4, 1998

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, December 4, 1998
Contact: Virginia Miller
Telephone: (202) 366-0660
FHWA 63-98

COLLEGE PARK, Md.—State and local traffic engineers from the Mid-Atlantic states met with Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) officials on Dec. 1 to make sure that computerized signal systems will function properly when the year 2000 (Y2K) arrives -- just under 400 days away.

"Safety is President Clinton’s highest transportation priority, and ensuring safe travel when Jan. 1, 2000, arrives is a major priority of the department," Deputy Transportation Secretary Mortimer L. Downey said. "Regional meetings like this will help ensure that our nation’s transportation system makes a smooth, safe transition into the 21st century."

FHWA staff told participants that early planning and teamwork were essential to prevent serious traffic problems from occurring. Preventing problems usually involves a simple technical fix, but determining what needs to be fixed -- and how -- requires an extensive computer evaluation and testing process.

"The question that everyone needs to ask is, ‘Are you Y2K okay?’"said FHWA Administrator Kenneth R. Wykle. "Y2K okay means having a interoperable system that works for you and is also able to communicate with other transportation systems."

In some cases, states have different software packages to control traffic signals, and sometimes these various software packages are not compatible. For example, streets in some cities may have alternating traffic patterns, depending on the time of day, and computerized signs to keep motorists advised of current traffic patterns. If these signals directing one-way traffic malfunction, there would be a safety hazard and congestion.

FHWA speakers urged states and localities to develop and implement contingency plans with a wide range of Y2K scenarios that anticipate what can go wrong and how to respond.

The workshop was part of a continuing effort of outreach to local and state transportation partners. Last July, as part of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Y2K outreach program, FHWA hosted a national, intermodal Y2K conference. More regional workshops are scheduled for 1999. Further information on Y2K traffic control issues is available on the FHWA’s web site: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/y2k, which also can be accessed th rough the department’s Y2K Transportation Sector web site: http://www.y2Ktransport.dot.gov.