George Jetson would be jealous. Sure, he flew to work in a domed commuter pod, but could his skyway tell him where the congestion was before he was stuck in it? I think not. But that’s exactly what we’re working on for some of the busiest highways in the Seattle area.
Have you ever found yourself sitting in traffic wondering, “Where IS this traffic coming from? A wreck? Obama’s motorcade?” You don’t know whether it will clear up around the next bend or if there’s a mass evacuation you didn’t hear about.
Well, your commute is going to get a lot less mysterious with automatic, real-time traffic information and a congestion-alert system that brings you the 411 as fast as backups can start to form miles up the road. We’re calling it Smarter Highways.
Starting with I-5 and SR 520 in summer 2010 and then I-90 by spring 2011, new signs will warn drivers of slow traffic ahead to reduce the rear-enders that cause more than a quarter of the congestion on our busiest highways. The system will deliver the info automatically by calculating traffic data from sensors embedded in the pavement. The information will reach drivers faster than ever to make it easier to switch lanes or pick another route before getting caught in the bumper-to-bumper mess.
Soon we’ll begin installing 15 new sign bridges, spaced a half-mile apart, over the northbound lanes of I-5 from Boeing Access Road to I-90. They’ll support variable speed-limit and lane-status (arrows and Xs) signs over each lane and one large electronic message board at each location. So, what will this look like?
Sign progression of Smarter Highways:
Mile 1: When traffic flows freely, the variable speed limit signs are black.
Mile 1.5: Seconds after a collision occurs three miles up the highway, the speed limit drops and a sign warns drivers of backups ahead.
Mile 2: As vehicles approach the collision area, the speed drops again.
Want to learn more? Check our information about I-5 and SR 520/I-90 Active Traffic Management on our website. You can also download our Building Smarter Highways folio (pdf 2mb) and view our Building Smarter Highways video.
So hold on to your space helmet, Elroy! It’s going to be a smooth ride.
http://wsdotblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/how-high-tech-tools-can-improve.html?showComment=1256255727035#c6676187947070833019'> October 22, 2009 4:55:00 PM PDT
Active Traffic Management couldn't have come sooner to this side of the Atlantic. Bravo to WSDOT for focusing on management instead of constant expansion!
http://wsdotblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/how-high-tech-tools-can-improve.html?showComment=1257460219913#c8743691894142083245'> November 5, 2009 2:30:00 PM PST
What a joke and a waste of money.
Why not focus on real problems, 405 Bellevue to Tukwilla, 520 bridge, the viaduct?
http://wsdotblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/how-high-tech-tools-can-improve.html?showComment=1258422311503#c1124819518813586403'> November 16, 2009 5:45:00 PM PST
In my opinion, 'smarter highways' and ideas like the 'express tolls' are a waste of money, time, and effort. We need real solutions that increase flow, volume, and save time each of us time - now and in the future. Using some creativity and foresight, we could very well design a solution that would last generations instead of piddling around with a project that we aren't even sure will make a difference today. With creativity, we can make use of the land we have to improve roads and add lanes - and with foresight,we can create something once that will last. How much money will we waste on these projects that won't ever add up to a great infrastructure improvement? However, if we decided what a 'great' infrastructure improvement was and then broke it up into pieces... we would at least someday have something we could be proud of. A city slowly dies when people waste their time away from productive activities with their family and job and instead, spend it on the road away from their family and jobs increasing their stress levels. and breathing in smog. How much less pollution would we have if people halved their commutes? How much time would that save us, if we multiplied it for every person, every day, every year, for the next 30 years? How much less waste would we have if we didn't have to tear up our roads every few years because we didn't do it right the first time? Instead of adding only one lane in each direction on the 520, couldn't you at least have one more? If it would cause 'too much congestion on the I-5' then put some planters in the extra lane until it didn't. We seem to focus so well on saving on the little things, like changing our bulbs to CFLs, all the while missing out on opportunities to save big.
http://wsdotblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/how-high-tech-tools-can-improve.html?showComment=1258576685599#c7458234727736077560'> November 18, 2009 12:38:00 PM PST
This is a sorely needed application. Would be more convincing if some estimates of travel time savings and speed improvements or real time results data from elsewhere were shown. The slide show focuses on accidents, which are only one part of the congestion problem. Also, since there are other peak travel breakdown events such as recreational travel peaks that impact the travel experience as well, it seems a new slogan is in order "How high-tech tools can reduce your travel delay".
http://wsdotblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/how-high-tech-tools-can-improve.html?showComment=1259104641345#c1247139568091123851'> November 24, 2009 3:17:00 PM PST
What a waste!!! Does it save lives? Does it speed commerce? Let's ax this program and put our $ into something that matters!!!
http://wsdotblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/how-high-tech-tools-can-improve.html?showComment=1259144348046#c326147781190919122'> November 25, 2009 2:19:00 AM PST
It might be a godo idea, but putting up new "infrastructure" (poles and pylons) that just have to be taken down when the SR-520 works really gets going, does not really seem like such a smart move.
http://wsdotblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/how-high-tech-tools-can-improve.html?showComment=1259613921161#c3999006297456118083'> November 30, 2009 12:45:00 PM PST
405(N)->520(E) and 520(W) after the 148th street onramp are two huge issues that this will not solve (unless you're lucky enough to get on 520(W) before the 148th street exit AND one of these signs happens to be there AND it lets you know that 520(W) is clogged prior to the next exit). These are just two examples I'm intimately familiar with, but I've seen these problems in other sections of highway around the region.
The real issue in these cases has to do with how we manage onramps, offramps, and merging. Cases in point -- 405(N) has two onramps and up to three lanes of enter/exit merging. It's a weaving nightmare. The 520(W)->405(S) exit has a tight, slow-speed turn that backs up easily, throwing a monkey wrench into the 520(W)->405(N) lane -- the line of cars waiting for 405(S) preventing people being able to quickly get out of the 405(N) lane and onto 520(W), and also preventing people in any of the left-most lanes getting onto 405(N) (more prominent when the right lane has backed all the way up to the carpool lane). If you're lucky and patient enough to get onto 405(S) from 520(W) on a bad day, then you have to accelerate from 30MPH or slower up to 60MPH and merge into full-speed, full-density traffic in the course of 600-700 FEET. Many people have difficulty being lead-footed in this stretch, so the right-most lane on 405(S) will tend to slow down as a side-effect if 520(W) gets too badly congested on that offramp.
The result of these poorly-designed exits and entrances is increased weaving, decreased speed, and decreased safety. More exits, better-spaced on/offramps, longer on/offramps, and NOT having onramps that feed directly into offramps will improve flow and reduce accidents much better than an electronic system for introducing slower speeds and more merging.
FYI -- I'm a born and raised Seattleite, and I know we can't merge worth a darn, just like we can't drive in the snow for crap. Ask anybody from almost any other state (or Spokane, in case of snow). How anybody planning the roads wouldn't know this, and would try to solve our problems by introducing more merging, I have no idea. We'll just get a bunch of jerks cruising in the blocked lane and merging last-second, like we do today when there are construction signs saying "merge left/right." The backup will happen all the same.