Innovative Traffic Data QA/QC Procedures and Automating AADT Estimation

This case study highlights two noteworthy practices at the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) regarding short-duration traffic count validation procedures and an automated annual average daily traffic (AADT) estimation process. SEMCOG maintains a centralized traffic count database and receives traffic counts from the local agencies in southeast Michigan. SEMCOG conducts 46 validity checks on all traffic count data to identify invalid data available in the database but not adequate for analysis. After implementing the system, SEMCOG reduced labor costs associated with converting and entering data and was able to spend more time analyzing data. SEMCOG developed an algorithm that works inside its geographic information system (GIS) to improve AADT estimates by searching for uncounted segments with nearby counted segments. When a counted segment is identified, the algorithm calculates the weighted average of two nearby segments and assigns that AADT to the uncounted segment. This process was automated using Python scripts, which results in an increase in the number of AADT estimates without requiring additional field data collection.

• Record URL:
  https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/rsdp/downloads/fhwasa17035.pdf
• 
• Corporate Authors:

  Texas A&M Transportation Institute

  Texas A&M University System
  3135 TAMU
  College Station, TX  United States  77843-3135

  Federal Highway Administration

  Office of Safety
  1200 New Jersey Avenue SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Holik, William
  • Tsapakis, Ioannis
  • Vandervalk, Anita
  • Turner, Shawn
  • Habermann, John
• Publication Date: 2017-3

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 23p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Annual average daily traffic; Data quality; Quality assurance; Traffic counts; Traffic data; Traffic estimation; Traffic volume
• Identifier Terms: Southeast Michigan Council of Governments
• Geographic Terms: Michigan
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Planning and Forecasting;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01641482
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: FHWA-SA-17-035
• Contract Numbers: DTFH6116D00004
• Files: TRIS, ATRI, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Jul 24 2017 9:54AM