LESSONS LEARNED : MN/DOT'S ICTM EXPERIENCE

Traffic congestion is crippling 25 percent of our freeways today. Vehicle trips and travel times are steadily increasing each year. Arterial routes are unable to provide relief. Traffic signals along these routes are riddled with signals owned and operated by different jurisdictions, making signal coordination almost impossible. This problem is compounded by contiguous routes being impaired by side street parking and inadequate geometrics. All of these factors contribute to traffic congestion on the freeway system. Traffic engineers are looking for creative ways to better manage and use the existing roadway infrastructure. The Integrated Corridor Traffic Management (ICTM) project is attempting to accomplish this through a combination of teamwork and technology. Federal, State, County and three cities have joined forces to tackle these problems. Their goal is to improve the efficiency of travel through a congested corridor. This will be accomplished by: Implementing an adaptive traffic control system; Developing corridor-wide traffic management strategies; Integrating freeway ramp meters and traffic signals; Enhancing the ramp metering system; Expanding the video surveillance system; and Deploying an arterial motorist information system. The ICTM project is expected to provide motorists with a more consistent and safer trip through the corridor. Motorists can make route choices based on timely corridor information. This paper will focus on the lessons learned to-date through the design, implementation and operations of the ICTM project. Specific topics that will be covered include partnerships, agreements, the adaptive control system motorist information system, and system maintenance and operations