A PRACTICAL APPROACH TO CHANGEABLE MESSAGE SIGN SYSTEM DESIGN AND DEPLOYMENT; THE I-595 EXPERIENCE IN SOUTH FLORIDA

The application of a Changeable Message Sign System (CMSS) as an advanced transportation management tool is commonplace in many of North America's major urban areas. However until recently, South Florida (i.e., greater Miami and Ft. Lauderdale area) was not one of them. This paper will tell the story of the philosophy and the process promoted by the Florida Department of Transportation's District Four (Department) for developing the design and deployment approach to the installation of a CMSS along a 15 mile corridor of I-595 in South Florida's Broward County. Critical to the Department's selection of the I-595 corridor as their initial CMSS deployment, was the existence of accessible alternative travel routes which had available capacity to accommodate expressway traffic diversions. This issue was specifically addressed in the project's I-595 Incident Management System (IMS) Feasibility Study whose overall objectives were to identify the most cost effective intelligent transportation system (ITS) technology applications and deployment phasing strategies for managing incidents within the corridor. The systemwide assessment of these objectives was primarily accomplished through the utilization of FRESIM, a freeway operations simulation program. Air quality and safety benefits were also assessed outside the parameters of FRESIM. As part of the formal design process, a multi-attribute (or utility based) evaluation of various Changeable Message Sign (CMS) technologies was performed and augmented by a sensitivity analysis to assist the Department in making infrastructure investment decisions. The selection of the most effective I-595 CMS technology was driven primarily by the east/west alignment of I-595 and its complex interchange geometry. The CMS technology selection was also supported by extensive surveys of CMS manufacturers and suppliers, and interviews with operators of existing CMSS within North America. Other critical factors in the CMSS design phase involved consideration of the adverse environmental conditions inherent to South Florida (eg., lighting, heat and humidity, high wind load requirements for structures), and the institutional constraints placed upon the development of the I-595 system communications. The overall approach to the I-595 CMSS design was to provide the capability for system expansion while maintaining the integrity of the initial deployment phase. Concerning the maintenance and operation of the I-595 CMSS, it is expected that these services will be performed by a combination of Department forces and the private sector. In addition, the Department anticipates using a two-step bidding procedure whereby prospective system implementors (who meet pre-defined technical requirements) will be invited to submit bids with the construction contract being awarded to the qualified responder with the lowest approved bid.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Full conference proceedings available only on CD.
• Corporate Authors:

  ITS America

  1100 17th Street, NW, 12th Floor
  Washington, DC  United States  20036
• Authors:
  • Vorce, K E
  • Plass, M
• Conference:
  • Intelligent Transportation: Realizing the Future. Abstracts of the Third World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems
  • Location: Orlando, Florida
  • Date: 1996-10-14 to 1996-10-18
• Publication Date: 1996

Language

• English

Media Info

• Pagination: n.p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Air quality; Alternatives analysis; Deployment; Routes; Safety; Sensitivity analysis; System design; Traffic diversion; Traffic simulation; Urban areas; Variable message signs
• Geographic Terms: South Florida
• Subject Areas: Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Safety and Human Factors; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00741695
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Oct 6 1997 12:00AM