Coordinated Traffic Incident and Congestion Management (TIM-CM) : Mitigating Regional Impacts of Major Traffic Incidents in the Seattle I-5 Corridor

2018Project Manager: Doug Brodin, 360-705-7972PDFTech Reporthttp://www.wsdot.wa.gov/research/reports/fullreports/878-1.pdfWA-RD 878.1Agreement T1461 Task 41Congestion management systemsCoordinationIncident managementTraffic congestionTechnological innovationsCongestion Management SystemsTraffic Incident ManagementTransportation ManagementSeattle (Washington)Washington (State). Dept. of Transportation. Office of Research and Library ServicesHaselkorn, MarkYancey, SarahSavelli, SoniaWashington State Transportation CenterWashington (State). Dept. of TransportationUniversity of WashingtonWashington (State). Dept. of Transportation. Office of Research and Library ServicesSeattle. Dept. of TransportationNTL-OPERATIONS AND TRAFFIC CONTROLS-CongestionNTL-OPERATIONS AND TRAFFIC CONTROLS-Traffic FlowUS Transportation CollectionWithin the Seattle metropolitan area, traffic incident management (TIM) operations provide a multi-jurisdictional and coordinated strategy to detect, respond to, and clear traffic incidents so that traffic flow can be restored quickly and safely. There is a need to extend TIM to include congestion management (CM), a complex activity for managing incident-generated congestion and for mitigating regional impacts after the actual incident has been cleared. This project identified challenges and opportunities for the enhancement of regional TIM to incorporate CM processes and operational coordination, supported by innovative technologies. The researchers engaged regional stakeholders in a series of iterative scoping and participatory design activities to identify and articulate desired enhancements to the regional management of major incidents on the Seattle I-5 corridor. These activities were used to identify TIM and CM stakeholders, identify and review relevant policy, work with stakeholders to model the \u201cas-is\u201d TIM and CM processes and procedures, use the as-is model to facilitate stakeholders in identifying current pain points and opportunities for system enhancement, and articulate desired interventions made possible by innovative applications of emerging technology. The report includes recommendations for enhancing regional TIM to incorporate CM and a five-stage approach for conducting Phase 2 of this research