MnDOT has been a leader in investing funding in new technologies to help reduce congestion and improve safety. Once such example is the Active Traffic Management (ATM) system on I-35W and I-94 which includes intelligent lane control signals (ILCS) spaced every half mile over every lane to warn motorists of incidents or hazards on the roadway ahead. The ATM system is used to warn motorists of hazards ahead through the use of icons that warn motorists when a lane is obstructed. Variable Advisory Speed Limits are also used to warn motorists of congestion ahead on the mainline, however, one area the system could be improved is in providing warning of queues or shockwaves that effect a single lane of traffic. One example would be WB 94 approaching the ramp from NB I-35W where shockwaves in the right lane lead to crashes within the I-94/I-35W interchange. Another example would be on SB I-35W approaching Hwy 62 where queues backing up from Hwy 62 impact the right most lanes of I-35W which has contributed to crashes on the corridor. This project would develop a system that could identify potential queues on the mainline and then send a warning to motorists upstream by utilizing the existing ATM infrastructure.
Mainline Queue Warning System
Tags: i94 i35w interchange high speed messaging intelligent lane control system shockwave driver warning
