The U.S. Department Transportation Announces $2.6 Million in Grants to Expand Real-Time Travel Information in 13 Cities |
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Federal Highway Administration
24 February 2015
FHWA 04-15
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Contact: Nancy Singer
Tel: 202-366-0660
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) today announced $2.571 million in grants to expand the use of real-time travel information in 13 highly congested urban areas across 10 states. Known as "Integrated Corridor Management," or ICM, the grants will help selected cities or regions combine numerous information technologies and real-time travel information from highway, rail, and transit operations.
"State-of-the-art technologies like these make the entire transportation network better, safer, and more reliable for commuters, businesses, and freight shippers," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. "An efficient transportation system is at the heart of a healthy national economy."
Many state and local agencies across the country offer similar travel information, but separately. This new effort takes real-time information a step further by combining updated congestion and incident data from various state and local agencies.
"This takes real -time travel information to a new level," said Acting Federal Highway Administrator Gregory Nadeau. "Innovations like these are 21st-century tools for our 21st-century economy, and will make our nation's transportation system even more coordinated and effective."
Travelers can use real-time information to avoid congestion and find alternate routes or transportation systems, such as transit or rail. Shippers can receive information concerning the entire network, not just one route. Such tools can help engineers make better decisions about congestion management by recommending where traffic should flow and onto which systems commuters should be shifted based on up-to-the-second data.
"New technology has great potential to improve riders' experience with transit," said Acting Federal Transit Administrator Therese McMillan. "By expanding the use of real-time information in cities across the U.S. – from Portland, Oregon, to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida – we can make it easier for people to make informed choices about the best ways to get around, whether it's by bus, train, bike, or other ways of travel."
The ICM technologies rely on many data sources simultaneously, such as live camera feeds, hundreds of traffic speed and volume detectors, pavement sensors and even weather monitors to gather, transmit and analyze information.
"I am very proud of our successful pilots in San Diego and Dallas," said Greg Winfree, Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology. "Integrated corridors provide real benefits for travelers, and we would like to see those benefits spread throughout the U.S."
Two ICM systems are currently operational in the U.S.—on U.S. 75 in Dallas, Texas, and on I-15 in San Diego, Calif., and the lessons learned there are helping to improve other deployments. San Diego's I-15 traveler information app is tied into ICM response plans and provides real-time updated information about traffic incidents and alternative routes to local drivers.
The 13 projects selected to receive the grants seek to implement similar systems and will use the funding towards further development are listed below:
| State | Lead Agency or City | Corridor Description | Grant Funding | Total Project Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | Maricopa County | I-10 through the Phoenix metro area and multiple east-west parallel routes. | $200,000 | $258,800 |
| California | Caltrans | I-210 on a 22-mile section from the 134/210 interchange near downtown Pasadena to the Foothill Boulevard Interchange in La Verne. | $200,000 | $250,000 |
| California | Contra Costa County | SR-4 in the city of Hercules from I-80 to I-680. | $200,000 | $400,000 |
| Florida | Broward County | I-95 on a 25-mile section in Broward County. Commuter rail, transit bus service, inter-city rail (including Amtrak) park & ride lots and bike trails. | $180,000 | $230,000 |
| Maryland | Maryland State Highway Administration | Three corridors connecting WDC and Baltimore: I-95, MD 295 (the Baltimore-Washington Parkway), and US 1 between MD 32 and I-695. | $200,000 | $250,000 |
| New Jersey | New Jersey DOT | New Jersey Turnpike (I-95), Garden Parkway and US 1 and US 9 from Woodbridge (south) to the Holland Tunnel (north). | $200,000 | $296,800 |
| New York | City of New York | In the New York/New Jersey metro area, the corridor includes sections of Route 495 (the Long Island/Queens-Midtown Expressway) and crosses midtown Manhattan, the Lincoln Tunnel and the Queens-Midtown Tunnel. | $200,000 | $450,000 |
| New York | Niagara International Transportation Technology Coalition (NITTEC) | I-90 within the Buffalo-Niagara region, including the Peace Bridge and the I-190/I-90 interchange to the south and the I-190/I-290 interchange to the north. | $200,000 | $284,800 |
| Oregon | City of Portland | I-84 from downtown Portland encompassing over 45 square miles. Light rail and streetcar routes. Local streets. Bus and bike routes. | $191,680 | $239,600 |
| Texas | City of El Paso | IH-10 from US-54 to Loop 375, US-54/IH-110 from IH-1 to Loop 375. This project is 16 miles combined. Bus routes. | $200,000 | $250,000 |
| Texas | City of Austin | IH-35 between US 183 and SH 71 | $200,000 | $300,000 |
| Utah | Utah Transit Authority and the Utah DOT UTA and UDOT | Major north-south roadways, representing approximately 25 miles, from downtown Salt Lake City to Lehi City, including I-15, State Street and Redwood Road. Commuter rail services. | $200,000 | $250,000 |
| Virginia | Virginia DOT | Northern Virginia east-west corridors including I-66, SR 7, US 29, US 50 and SR 267. The Virginia Railway Express Manassas line, Metro Silver and Orange lines, commuter bus routes, and commuter parking lots. | $200,000 | $315,000 |
| TOTAL | $2,571,680 |