Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise Demonstrates RISC and Its Benefits to AASHTO

On September 18, 2006, Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise (FTE) played host to members of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) for a Rapid Incident Scene Clearance (RISC) exercise displaying the use of heavy towing equipment and technology to upright an overturned tractor-trailer.

Held at the FTE’s Orlando Headquarters as part of AASHTO’s annual national conference, the exercise presented in action one of the tools used to achieve the 90-minute goal for safe incident clearance and resumption of traffic flow established by the FDOT’s Open Roads Policy. Representatives from FTE, the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP), Orange County Fire-Rescue, and the Professional Wrecker Operators of Florida conducted the exercise —a successful example of intergovernmental agency cooperation—to demonstrate restoring traffic flow following a serious large-vehicle incident.

“The Florida Department of Transportation is pleased that the AASHTO conference affords us the opportunity to share with transportation executives from across the country the best practices and lessons learned, implementing the highly successful RISC Program on Florida’s Turnpike,” said Lap Hoang, FDOT’s State Traffic Operations Engineer. “Placing a priority on clearing our highways safely and quickly provides numerous benefits to all Florida residents and visitors alike.”

The FTE’s innovative RISC Program, the first such program in the nation, has reduced serious incident duration times by an average of 29 minutes, a decrease of almost 20 percent, since February 2004.

The RISC Program is incentive leveraged, providing qualified tow and clearance contractors the opportunity to earn bonuses for clearing major lane blockages within specific time limits.

The FTE’s Roadway Maintenance section has contracted with five towing companies that presently provide coverage on 75 percent of the FTE’s statewide roadway system. The contractors are dispatched from the FTE’s traffic management center (TMC) to major incidents involving tractor trailers or other large vehicles on the Turnpike mainline, the Sawgrass Expressway (Toll 869) in Broward County, the Southern Connector Extension and the Seminole Expressway (Toll 417) in central Florida, the Beach Line Expressway West (Toll 528), and a portion of the Holland East-West Expressway (Toll 408) in central Florida.

RISC contractors are required to respond to major incidents with two certified 50-ton heavy duty wreckers, plus a support vehicle carrying clean-up and maintenance of traffic (MOT) equipment. Contractors earn a $2,500 bonus if they respond to the incident site within 60 minutes and clear the roadway to traffic within 90 minutes of the FHP’s notice to proceed for clearance work. If the contractor fails to open the roadway within three hours, they are penalized $10 for each minute over.

The FTE’s RISC Program was activated 19 times in its first calendar year of 2004. The 2004 average RISC incident duration was 176 minutes. In 2005, the RISC Program was activated 88 times with the average incident duration decreasing 34 minutes to 143 minutes. In 2006, there have been 58 RISC activations as of October 11, with an average incident duration of 139 minutes. This significant improvement can be attributed to the hard work, cooperation, and training of every participant and agency involved in the program. In 2005, emergency responders and RISC contractors successfully met their arrival and clearance milestones in 95 percent of RISC incidents. It is important to note that these incidents primarily involved large size (DOT Class 8) trucks, sometimes overturned with debris/cargo spilled across the roadway.

When determining the value of the RISC Program, it is important to consider that for every one minute of lane closure, it takes approximately five minutes for traffic to return to normal flow. The benefits of being able to reduce the duration of incidents can be summarized in one word: Safety. By safely and quickly clearing travel lanes of incidents, the FTE becomes safer for the emergency responders at the scene and Turnpike motorists who deal with less delay and less chance for becoming involved in a secondary accident.

“The RISC Program is the single most important thing which can be done to prevent and relieve traffic backups due to crashes or other incidents,” said FHP’s Troop K Commander Chief Jim Lee. “While some delays are inevitable, having a mechanism in place to rapidly respond and remove obstacles to free traffic flow yields benefits to the public which are far beyond its cost. Major incidents are being resolved quicker and reducing delays on our roads.”

Prior to the RISC Program, the FTE did not have a standardized procedure for responding to major traffic incidents. Often incident responders were dispatched to an accident without the proper equipment to clear the roads in a timely manner, resulting in lengthy delays to Turnpike customers. As a result of the RISC Program, major incidents are cleared more quickly, resulting in less delay to our customers.

An integral part of each RISC Program is the post-incident debriefing session. Following each RISC activation, the FTE reviews, debriefs, and prepares a detailed incident report. All of the parties involved in responding to the incident are brought together to openly discuss the event. The incident report describes the incident, the actions of the involved parties, and the lessons learned from the incident.

“Through our debriefings, we continue to learn about the program’s strengths and weaknesses,” Lee said. “We will build upon our strengths and work to minimize our weaknesses. The Turnpike Enterprise is an innovator and we are constantly trying to improve our services to our customers.”

This article was provided by Catherine Werner, Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise. For information, please contact Ms. Werner at (954) 934-1122 or email to Catherine.Werner@dot.state.fl.us.

* * * *

Return to top

SunGuide^SM Software Deployed at TERL

The SunGuide^SM Software was successfully set up in the Traffic Engineering Research Lab (TERL) during the second week of October. This setup will allow TERL to:

• Test ITS devices locally as well as remotely;
• Test center-to-center (C2C) communications;
• Perform software change management, independent verification, and validation
• Evaluate DYNASMART and other ITS software;
• Monitor the statewide 511 system;
• Evaluate and test statewide central data warehouse applications; and
• Simulate and evaluate transportation management center operations.

The hands-on experience gained from this setup process will be shared with TERL’s university research team, which is now in the process of setting up this sophisticated software for real-time transportation data analysis.

This article was provided by Liang Hsia, FDOT Traffic Engineering and Operations. For information, please contact Mr. Hsia at (850) 410-5615 or email to Liang.Hsia@dot.state.fl.us.

* * * *

Return to top

Vehicle Infrastructure Integration Update

Much has been happening with Vehicle Infrastructure Integration (VII) since we initially reported on it in the August 2004 SunGuide Disseminator. BMW, DaimlerChrysler, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Nissan, Toyota, and Volkswagen formed the VII Consortium (VIIC) so they could cooperatively pursue development and testing of the in-vehicle technology.

The VIIC is under contract with the U.S. Department of Transportation for much of this work. “Day 1 Use Cases” for initial deployment and much of the standards work for dedicated short-range communications (DSRC), which provides the link between the vehicle and the infrastructure, have been initially completed. DSRC is the only communications platform capable of meeting the latency requirements needed to support safety applications.

Examples of some Day 1 Use Cases identified for initial deployment are:

• Traveler Information
• Traffic Management:
  • Ramp Metering, Signal Timing Optimization, Corridor Management Planning Assistance, Corridor Management Load Balancing
• Weather Information:
  • Traveler Notification
• In-vehicle Signing
• Electronic Brake Lights
• Signal Violation Warning
• Electronic Payments:
  • Toll Roads

At Day 1, VII will provide anonymous detailed probe data, such as speeds, braking, and acceleration information which will be used to better manage the transportation network and improve safety. This data will be shared with other equipped vehicles for real-time routing and safety messages, and with all users through dynamic message signs, 511, and the media.

DSRC operates in the 5.9 GHz ITS radio service (ITS-RS) band. This band is licensed by the Federal Communication Commission and is intended primarily for vehicle safety applications; however, private applications are permitted provided the safety applications needs are met.

The lower layers of the protocol are covered by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) P802.11p. The upper layers are covered by IEEE 1609.2, 1609.3, and 1609.4. These standards define the architecture, communications model, management structure, security mechanisms, and physical layers for wireless communications in the vehicular environment. The standard message set to be passed between vehicles, and between vehicles and the infrastructure is covered by Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Recommended Practice J2735.

A key component of VII is the communications link from the DSRC radio located along the roadside back to a service delivery node (SDN). The SDN is where users of VII data, such as transportation management centers, will connect to the VII network and receive/send the data to run applications such as those listed in the Day 1 Use Cases. With an estimated 250,000 roadside units this is an enormous deployment effort. The VII Working Group is currently evaluating delivery methods for this critical element of the VII network.

The VII Working Group is currently focusing on development of a Proof of Concept (POC) deployment in 2007 in the Detroit area. This location was chosen due to its closeness to most of the automaker’s research and development facilities. The POC will demonstrate a functioning VII system with 20 private and public applications. This POC is a key step in getting to a decision in 2008 by the public sector and the automakers on when to deploy VII nationwide.

This article was provided by George Gilhooley, FDOT District 5. For information, please contact Mr. Gilhooley at (407) 264-3902 or email to George.Gilhooley@dot.state.fl.us.

* * * *

Return to top

2006–07 State Traffic Engineering and Operations Research Projects

This year the State Traffic Engineering and Operations Office had several research topics approved for funding.

Specifically, these projects are:

• Intersection and Pedestrian Safety Research
• Impact of Communication/Detection Degradation on Advanced Traffic Management Systems (ATMS) Operations
• Safety and Operational Performance Evaluation of Two-Lane Exit Ramps with Optional Lane on Florida Interstate System

Intersection and Pedestrian Safety Research
The purpose of this project is to outline a research program that can improve our knowledge about sign legibility in order to develop appropriate guidelines for both the FDOT and local governments. This research program will rely on human factors principles and methodologies which are critical to being able to fulfill the initiatives of FDOT’s Elder Road User Program. The research will emphasize meeting the needs of younger, middle-aged, and older Floridians in the following areas:

1. Functionality of traffic signs and signals for motorists of varying ages
2. Functionality of traffic signals for pedestrians of varying ages
3. Guidelines for signage to accommodate ambient light and weather extremes

Dr. Neil Charness with the Florida State University, Department of Psychology, is the Principal Investigator for this project and Gail Holley is the FDOT’s Project Manager.

Impact of Communication/Detection Degradation on ATMS Operations
Substantial capital investment has been made in ATMSs throughout the state by the FDOT. This investment has not been consistently protected by effective maintenance, particularly in ATMS-related communications, which facilitates traffic signal coordination, status reporting, etc., and detection, which directly impacts efficiency.

It is the objective of this project to understand and/or simulate the impact of communications or detection failure through a typical ATMS architecture. This can lead to the development of more effective maintenance plans that target cost-effective resources to critical portions of the FDOT’s ATMS communications/detection infrastructure.

An investigator has not been identified for this research project, and FDOT is currently finalizing the Request for Proposal (RFP). This project will be conducted at the Traffic Engineering Research Lab facility.

Safety and Operational Performance Evaluation of Two-Lane Exit Ramps with Optional Lane on Florida Interstate System
The main goal of this proposed research project is to develop tailored technical guidelines that will govern the selection of optimum exit ramp types to be used on our freeways. Possible exit ramp types include, but are not limited to:

• two-lane exit ramps with an optional lane,
• two-lane exit ramps without optional lane,
• single-exit ramps with widening to two lanes on the ramp beyond the exit gore,
• three through lanes reduced to two through lanes with the third lane feeding exit ramps, and
• single-lane exit ramps.

The safety performance of these exit ramp types will be evaluated based on historical crash data using FDOT’s Crash Analysis Reporting System (CARS) and/or based on field traffic conflict data. For traffic conflict analysis, test sites will be selected and video cameras will be installed at these sites to record traffic conflicts. Traffic conflict data will be reduced and analyzed in research labs. For traffic operational performance evaluation, video cameras will be installed at selected sites to record vehicle movements so that performance data, such as delay, operating speed, number of necessary or unnecessary lane changes/merge, lane utilization, vehicle queue length, level of service, capacity, etc., can be obtained for each exit ramp type.

Dr. John Lu, with the University of South Florida, will be the Principal Investigator for this project. The FDOT has two project managers for this project: Bijan Behzadi, District 7 Design Engineer and Fred Heery, FDOT Traffic Engineering and Operations Studies Engineer.

In addition to these projects, the FDOT has also received approval for research projects that will be conducted at the TERL as follows.

Florida-Specific NTCIP MIB Development for Actuated Signal Controller, Closed-Circuit Television and Center-to-Center Communications with SunGuide^SM Software and ITS Device Test Procedure Development
This research project will provide FDOT with an interactive and coordinated problem-solving testing tool that will be used to ensure quick and efficient resolution to today’s complex transportation engineering and ITS device evaluation problems. This project will focus on National Transportation Communications for ITS Protocol (NTCIP) research and testing across the entire life-cycle of traffic operations, ITS, and statewide communications deployments. This life-cycle includes design, development, operations, and maintenance.

Specifically, the research efforts will provide the processes needed to allow the FDOT to test ITS software, closed-circuit television (CCTV), actuated signal controllers (ASC), and center-to-center (C2C) communications, as well as support the ongoing change management, integration, and acceptance testing of the FDOT SunGuide^SM software system.

Dr. Leonard Tung with Florida State University is the Principal Investigator and Liang Hsia is the FDOT’s Project Manager.

Quality Assurance Monitoring and Sampling Method Development For ITS and Traffic Control Signal Devices
Florida has invested multi-billion dollars to build, operate, and maintain signalized intersections and ITS throughout the state. To insure these systems are designed, deployed, and managed to the greatest possible degree of effectiveness, there is a need to ensure that the devices that make up these systems meet the highest possible quality standards.

It is imperative that end-users of these transportation devices, both the FDOT and maintaining agencies, receive high quality devices that perform well within their life-cycle. University-level research support, with experience in the latest quality assurance (QA)/quality control (QC) techniques and methods, is needed to provide research and development activities.

Based on the sampling methods derived from this research, draft sampling procedures will be developed. These processes will be expected to save the state of Florida millions of dollars by keeping only high-quality transportation devices in the state; therefore reducing maintenance hours due to failures. Improved safety will be an added benefit to improving the quality of product being placed in the field.

Dr. Jim Simpson with Florida State University is the Principal Investigator and Jeff Morgan is the FDOT’s Project Manager.

Performance and Evaluation Criteria for Signal Systems
Based on a discussion at a District Traffic Operations Engineers’ meeting, it was determined that the current traffic control device certification program should be expanded to include the evaluation and approval of traffic signal systems. The FDOT has invested substantial resources in the procurement, deployment, operation, maintenance, testing, and certification of traffic control equipment.

Currently, the TERL staff reviews and evaluates traffic control signal devices that are used throughout the state of Florida with the Approved Products List (APL) being the result of this effort.

At this point, the APL is device-oriented, where each device is reviewed and approved on its own merits. The ability of a device to function within a system is addressed, but what is lacking in this process is a methodology for evaluating a complete traffic signal control system as opposed to the individual devices that comprise the system. This research project will improve our knowledge in this area and support the deployment, operation, maintenance, test, and certification of this critical component of our transportation system.

There is no investigator identified for this research project and FDOT is currently finalizing the RFP.

Additional information on the FDOT Traffic Engineering and Operations Research Programs can be found at www.dot.state.fl.us/TrafficOperations/Research/Research.htm.

This article was provided by Gail Holley, FDOT Traffic Engineering and Operations. For information, please contact Ms. Holley at (850) 410-5414 or email to Gail.Holley@dot.state.fl.us.

* * * *

Return to top

We invite you to have some fun and complete the SunGuide Disseminator Word Challenge!
Unscramble the letters to complete the word for the clue found under the boxes.
Use the letters in the red circles to complete the final puzzle.
An answer guide follows the Announcements.

Enjoy and Good Luck!

* * * *

Return to top

Wi-Fi at FDOT Rest Areas

In the coming months, the FDOT will be introducing wireless Internet access (Wi-Fi) service for travelers at various locations along Florida’s Interstate Highway and Turnpike systems. FDOT wishes travelers to have access to travel information, including weather and road conditions, construction updates, Amber Alerts, and emergency notifications along with the ability to check email and surf the Web. The potential benefits are numerous. Business travelers would be able to keep in touch with clients; truckers would be able to keep in touch with their companies; and the FDOT would have another tool to share important travel information through our 511 traveler information services.

The FDOT’s ITS Program has partnered with Coach Connect to procure, install, service, and maintain Wi-Fi access for travelers at rest areas, welcome centers, service plazas, and weigh-in-motion stations located along Florida’s Interstate Highway and Turnpike systems. Travelers would utilize their own wireless-enabled devices, such as a laptop computer, cell phone, or personal digital assistant (PDA), to access the wireless network. This project includes the procurement, installation, service, and maintenance of separate flat panel LCD or Plasma screen display panels suitable for outdoor mounting (approximately 40 inch) at rest areas. The panels would provide traveler information services, Amber Alerts, weather information, and other public service messages.

This project also includes the procurement, installation, service, and maintenance of separate traveler information kiosks, provided by the vendor at all welcome centers and service plazas, to allow the general public traveling without a wireless-enabled device to access the Internet service. The vendor would be responsible for procuring, installing, servicing, and maintaining all proposed equipment and services at no cost to FDOT. The vendor may charge a reasonable subscription fee to users for this service

The Web site home page will provide a link to www.myFlorida.com when users initially access the service. The following links will also be included on the Web site home page:

• FDOT Web site
• Traffic information provided by 511
• Construction information provided by 511
• Road conditions
• Weather information
• Amber Alerts
• Tourist attractions
• Tourist accommodations

As part of Coach Connect’s Customer Service plan, Wireless Internet access service will be provided 365 days a year, 24 hours a day with Internet site filtering at kiosk sites to prohibit inappropriate content from being displayed on the kiosk screen. Coach Connect will also provide customers user-friendly and accessible instructions and/or services on-site, via email, toll free number, and/or brochures.

Providing motorists important travel information and access to these services will enable them to stay informed and make better travel decisions as they make their way through the state of Florida!

This article was provided by Elizabeth Birriel, FDOT Traffic Engineering and Operations. For information, please contact Ms. Birriel at (850) 410-5606 or email to Elizabeth.Birriel@dot.state.fl.us.

* * * *

Return to top

ITS Florida Awards Coming Up

Additional awards that may be awarded are the following:

• ITS Florida President’s Award—to an ITS Florida organizational member for sustained superior service to ITS Florida.
• ITS Champion—to any proponent of ITS for outstanding service in promoting ITS in the state of Florida, or nationally.
• Certificate of Outstanding Achievement—to an organization or individual for outstanding accomplishments worthy of recognition by ITS Florida.

The award categories are:

ITS Florida Member of the Year Award—This award is to recognize an ITS program, project, or other accomplishment that is of significant benefit to the transportation industry and to the traveling public.

ITS Professional of the Year Award—This award is to recognize a person, or persons, who have contributed significantly to the ITS community during the past year.

ITS Florida President’s Award—This award recognizes superior career achievements in ITS and extraordinary service to ITS Florida.

ITS Champion Award—This award may be given to an individual (ITS Florida member or not), who has made significant contributions to advance the cause of ITS in Florida.

Certificate of Outstanding Achievement—This is an “open-ended” class of awards that may be given by ITS Florida for outstanding service by individuals or organizational units.

The 2006 ITS Florida awards will be announced at the Awards Banquet on November 29th at the Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Florida.

This article was provided by Diana Carsey, ITS Florida Executive Director. For more information on ITS Florida, please check the ITS Florida Web site at www.itsflorida.org or contact Ms. Carsey at (727) 409-5415 or email CarseyD@msn.com.

* * * *

Return to top

Editorial Corner–Change Management Board Is All About Change

For those of us in the ITS industry, we’re all too familiar with change. The increasing demands placed on our transportation systems, coupled with constantly evolving technology, make change a normal course of the ITS business.

Among other things, the FDOT Central Office ITS Program is responsible for developing systems that are compatible with each other and that ensure a seamless network of ITS functions along Florida’s major transportation corridors. Change management is the process the FDOT uses to monitor changes in the ITS deployed in Florida and their effects. According to Carnegie Mellon University’s Software Capability Maturity Model, the purpose of Software Configuration (Change) Management is to establish and maintain the integrity of the products of the software project throughout the project’s software life cycle.

To facilitate change management in the FDOT ITS world, a Change Management Board (CMB) was established in late 2003. The CMB is charged with managing change in ITS deployments in Florida, with specific emphasis on implementing changes in a deliberate, controlled manner that takes into account the impact on regional and statewide systems. To guide the CMB, a document titled Change Management Process for the Deployment of ITS in the State of Florida was developed and approved by the CMB on March 9, 2004.

Since the initiation of the CMB, the 11 members have been busy managing change in accordance with the systems engineering process under the excellent leadership of CMB Chairman Gene Glotzbach from the FDOT Central Office. There have been nine CMB meetings in the last three years focusing on controlling change in the areas of SunGuide^SM Software, Center-to-Center Communications, Statewide ITS Architecture, ITS Devices, and Central Data Warehouse.

With the aggressive pace of ITS deployment in Florida, the CMB will only get busier. As new ITS, subsystems, and components are planned, designed, and implemented, the role of change management becomes more crucial to ensure a high level of system operability and maintainability.

To help keep Florida’s ITS Program moving forward, the CMB counts on the experience and knowledge of long-term members along with the innovative ideas that newer members bring. While new CMB members inject energy into the group, long-term CMB members provide the linkage to the past to benefit from lessons learned.

At the August 29, 2006, meeting, the CMB elected a new chairman, Steve Corbin from FDOT District 4. Steve and the other ten CMB members have their work cut out for them over the coming year and they are up to the challenge. Congratulations to Steve and thanks to all of the CMB members who have committed extensive time and effort over the past three years!

This article was provided by Trey Tillander, FDOT Traffic Engineering and Operations Office. For information, please contact Mr. Tillander at (850) 410-5617 or email to Trey.Tillander@dot.state.fl.us.

* * * *

Return to top

FDOT Equipment Certification

The FDOT Traffic Engineering and Operations Office, through the Traffic Engineering Research Laboratory (TERL), is responsible for approving all traffic control signal devices. Approved devices are kept on the FDOT Approved Products List (APL), a listing of devices that may be relied upon as meeting FDOT specifications, standards, or other criteria.

The APL is a means for the FDOT to meet Florida Statute 316.0745, Uniform Signals and Devices, which states, “All official traffic control signals or official traffic control devices purchased and installed in this state by any public body or official shall conform with the manual and specifications published by the Department of Transportation pursuant to subsection (2).”

More information on the FDOT APL may be viewed at www.dot.state.fl.us.TrafficOperations/ TERL/APL.htm. Specific approved products in the FDOT APL may be searched at rite.eng.fsu.edu/iapl/page1.php.

For more information, please contact Carl Morse, FDOT Traffic Engineering and Operations Office, at (850) 410-5417 or email Carl.Morse@dot.state.fl.us.

* * * *

Return to top

Announcements

Traffic Operation Traffic Incident Management General Consultant
The FDOT Traffic Engineering and Operations Office is pleased to announce that PBS&J has been awarded the new Traffic Incident Management (TIM) General Consultant contract. PBS&J will be working with the TIM Section in shaping Florida’s future with TIM by assisting in the development of multi-discipline training, Road Rangers operations, and public outreach.

* * * *

Mark Your Calendars!
FDOT’s Annual ITS Working Group Conference is being planned in the first weeks of April 2006, in Orlando, Florida. Look for more conference information in the upcoming newsletters. Additionally, all conference information will also be available on the ITS Program Web site at www.dot.state.fl.us/trafficoperations/ITS/Projects_Deploy/WGM.htm.

For more information, please email Ms. Karen England at email KarenEngland@pbsj.com.

We hope you will make plans to attend!

* * * *

Return to top