Kansas Demonstration Project: Improvements to the Homestead Lane/I-35 Interchange in Johnson County

The project described in this report was located at the intersection of I-35 and Homestead Lane in Johnson County, Kansas. Prior to construction, Homestead Lane was a two-lane highway passing over I-35 just outside Olathe, Kansas. There was no access to I-35 at this location. At the time of construction, I-35 was a four-lane interstate route carrying more than 25,000 vehicles per day. While the interchange design (diverging diamond) at this location is itself new to Kansas, the Highways for LIFE innovation involves the use of a real-time traffic system intended to provide direct information to the traveling public. It consists of a series of portable trailer-mounted message boards that display information from traffic detection trailers spaced along the route. The messages are intended to provide the public with information concerning travel time, delay, congestion, or other events within the work zone far enough in advance of their decision points to allow alternate route selection. The trailer-mounted sensors collect vehicle speed, classification, volume, and lane occupancy data for up to 10 lanes of traffic in each direction. These data are supplied to software via the internet and analyzed, resulting in a completely automated system to provide appropriate messages to the public through the variable message boards. There was only one crash reported during the construction period. However, the crash was reported as a “medical emergency” and was not considered related to the construction activities. The Smart Work Zone technology employed on this project did not eliminate any of the costs associated with traditional construction. All costs, excluding the construction costs, associated with the innovation were considered. An economic analysis showed that the implementation of the Smart Work Zone technology resulted in an additional cost of approximately $1,650,000. The majority of this cost was associated with the lease/purchase of the portable message system, the associated software and upgrades to existing software, and data analysis.

• Record URL:
  http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hfl/summary/pdf_2/Kansas%20HfL%20Final%20Report_12-18-14.pdf
• 
• Record URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/54512
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Title on cover: Kansas Demonstration Project: The Use of Smart Work Zone Technology During Construction of the I-35/Homestead Lane Interchange in Johnson County Kansas.
• Corporate Authors:

  Applied Research Associates, Incorporated

  100 Trade Centre Drive, Suite 200
  Champaign, IL  United States  61820

  Federal Highway Administration

  Office of Infrastructure
  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Bledsoe, Jay
  • Raghunathan, Deepak
  • Ullman, Jerry
• Publication Date: 2014-12

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Appendices; Figures; Maps; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 57p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Construction; Costs; Demonstration projects; Design; Economic analysis; Interchanges; Technological innovations; Work zone traffic control
• Identifier Terms: Highways for LIFE
• Uncontrolled Terms: Diverging diamond interchanges; Portable trailer-mounted message boards
• Geographic Terms: Johnson County (Kansas)
• Subject Areas: Construction; Design; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; I22: Design of Pavements, Railways and Guideways; I52: Construction of Pavements and Surfacings; I73: Traffic Control;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01577860
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: NTL, TRIS, ATRI, USDOT
• Created Date: Oct 3 2015 4:11PM