Skip to main content

TransCore to design and build I-66 active traffic management system

One of the most congested interstates in Virginia, US, is to get an Active Traffic Management (ATM) system. The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has selected TransCore, a division of Roper Industries, to design and build its I-66 ATM system on northern Virginia’s main highway into the District of Columbia. The US$34 million contract is 90 percent federally funded and will support thirty-four miles of highway from the District of Columbia to Gainesville US-29 in Prince William County. The projec
February 15, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
One of the most congested interstates in Virginia, US, is to get an Active Traffic Management (ATM) system.  The 1747 Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has selected 139 Transcore, a division of 7018 Roper Industries, to design and build its I-66 ATM system on northern Virginia’s main highway into the District of Columbia.

The US$34 million contract is 90 percent federally funded and will support thirty-four miles of highway from the District of Columbia to Gainesville US-29 in Prince William County. The project is scheduled to be operational by the fall of 2014.

Due to limited right-of-way and construction funding, employing active traffic management technology can optimise mobility along the corridor by more effectively managing the congested conditions and increase safety, and reduce fuel consumption.

The active traffic management system will continuously monitor traffic and roadway conditions around the clock, collecting data using roadway monitoring equipment such as vehicle detection sensors and closed-circuit television cameras. The system will use such techniques as lane control signal systems, adaptive ramp metering, enhanced detection and camera systems, lane management systems, and queue warning systems. Active traffic management systems have been used throughout Europe for the last decade, but Transcore says this is a relatively new concept in the United States.

Benefits of the I-66 ATM system for motorists include: dynamic message and lane control signing advising motorists of incidents and delays by providing direction on lanes that are usable, and guidance on merging traffic; expanded use of shoulder lanes regardless of time of day in response to incidents and to manage traffic; improved monitoring of the roadway to provide quicker response by transportation, safety and law enforcement personnel.

TransCore, serving as prime contractor, will provide turnkey ITS design, construction, integration and testing services for the program. Once complete, operation of the system will be managed by the Virginia DOT Public Safety Transportation Operations Center.

“TransCore remains at the forefront of providing the most innovative intelligent transportation systems to improve trip reliability and maximise roadway capacity across our nation’s infrastructure,” commented Tim Fischer, TransCore’s senior vice president. “We’re pleased to support VDOT as it undertakes such a signature ITS project in the country."

Related Content

  • TransCore and KLD agree on distribution rights
    August 6, 2013
    TransCore and KLD have signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly pursue projects and provide TransCore with exclusive distribution rights for KLD's adaptive control decision support system (ACDSS). The deal means that US Departments of Transport already using TransCore’s TranSuite advanced traffic management system (ATMS) can now integrate KLD’s adaptive control decision support system (ACDSS) into the system to deliver an adaptive control strategy that can be used as part of a larger area-wide traffi
  • Real time active traffic management improves travel times
    July 17, 2012
    Traffic management centres (TMC) have traditionally served to provide surveillance and responses to traffic incidents and recurring and non-recurring changes in road networks. Typically, a TMC collected field data from the roadway and transit infrastructure and provided the integration necessary for operators to see what was happening and then coordinate a response. Standard operating procedures (SOPs) guided operators on how to respond to a given situation. It eventually became impractical for TMC operat
  • Ramp metering delivers - again
    January 27, 2012
    Though still controversial, ramp metering, which has been around for nearly 50 years, continues to deliver substantial benefits, and generally for relatively small cost. Kansas City is a case in point. In March 2010, Kansas City Scout, a partnership between the Missouri and Kansas Departments of Transportation to provide ITS for the greater Kansas City Area, activated the first ramp metering system in the region. The project is located on an 8.85km (5.5 mile) section of Interstate 435 from Metcalf Avenue to
  • North Florida signals coordinated approach to congestion management
    October 7, 2013
    David Crawford investigates innovative congestion management in Florida. The largest US city by area is well into the implementation of an ambitious congestion management system (CMS) on the scale of those of higher-profile centres such as Seattle and San Francisco. Regional agency the North Florida Transportation Planning Organisation (NFTPO) aims to ensure that commuters on major highways in Jacksonville can rely on a minimum 72km/h (45mph) driving speed in normal conditions.