Innovative tools and techniques in identifying highway safety improvement projects : technical report.

PDFTech Report0-6912Project 0-6912Highway safetyTraffic safetyTexasUnited StatesTexas A&M Transportation InstituteTsapakis, IoannisDixon, KarenLi, JingDadashova, BaharHolik, WilliamSharma, SushantGeedipally, SrinivasLe, JerryTexas A&M Transportation InstituteTexas. Dept. of TransportationUnited States. Federal Highway AdministrationUS Transportation CollectionThe Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) aims to achieve a reduction in the number and severity of fatalities and serious injury crashes on all public roads by implementing highway safety improvement projects. Although the structure and main components of the Texas Department of Transportation\u2019s (TxDOT\u2019s) HSIP comply with relevant requirements, a review of modern safety assessment methods and tools revealed that there are several areas for improvement. As national safety assessment methods have evolved, legislation mandates that the use of safety performance methods be elevated. This research addresses how TxDOT can allocate funds in the most cost-effective manner; create a level playing field for all districts participating in the HSIP; promote district participation in the program; and minimize the amount of time and resources required to identify HSIP projects. To address these objectives, this study focused on improving and streamlining four (of six) components of the framework: a) network screening; b) diagnosis; c) countermeasure selection; and d) project prioritization. The researchers developed and applied a network screening process for roadway segments; conducted a pilot study for intersection network screening; developed and implemented a Crash Analysis and Visualization process that creates various informational products that display crash data and locations where certain types of safety countermeasures can be implemented; and developed a project prioritization spreadsheet. Among various improvements, the main benefits gained from using these tools include an increase in the number of HSIP projects identified by TxDOT districts by up to 57 percent and a reduction in the time and effort required to select projects by 20\u201350 percent