Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) has begun preparations to host a year-long U.S. DOT pilot program known as Integrated Corridor Management (ICM), which officials hope can reduce traffic in the nation’s fifth-most congested city.
ICM works to improve traffic flow by taking all transportation assets in an area—including public transit, surface streets and highways—into consideration, treating them all as one connected system. Data is collected on all elements of the system and relayed through analysis software; relevant agencies can then access data online and determine how to approach current traffic conditions.
Traffic information would be relayed to the public several ways, including electronic message signs on the roads and new website 511DFW.com.
Dallas and San Diego were chosen in 2009 as the first test sites for the U.S. DOT ICM pilot. Dallas’ congestion ranking among major U.S. cities was part of the decision, as was the plethora of existing transportation assets—such as high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes, public transit and a tollway—along U.S. 75, which will serve as the main testing ground. The highway sees an average daily traffic of 250,000 vehicles.
U.S. DOT is contributing $5.3 million to the pilot project; $3 million will come from local sources and another $1 million will come from other federal sources.
