Metropolitan Transportation Management

Center

A Case Study

Michigan Intelligent Transportation Systems

Improving Safety and Air Quality While

Reducing Stress for Motorist

October 1999
Metropolitan Transportation
Management Center

A CASE STUDY

Michigan Intelligent
Transportation Systems

Improving Safety and Air Quality While

Reducing Stress for Motorists

October 1999
Foreword
Dear Reader,

We have scanned the country and brought together the collective

wisdom and expertise of transportation professionals implementing
Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) projects across the United States.
This information will prove helpful as you set out to plan, design, and
deploy ITS in your communities.

This document is one in a series of products designed to help you

provide ITS solutions that meet your local and regional transportation
needs. We have developed a variety of formats to communicate with
people at various levels within your organization and among your
community stakeholders:

• Benefits Brochures let experienced community leaders explain in their

own words how specific ITS technologies have benefited their areas;

• Cross-Cutting Studies examine various ITS approaches that can be

taken to meet your community’s goals;

• Case Studies provide in-depth coverage of specific approaches taken

in real-life communities across the United States; and

• Implementation Guides serve as “how to” manuals to assist your

project staff in the technical details of implementing ITS.

ITS has matured to the point that you don’t have to go it alone. We have
gained experience and are committed to providing our state and local
partners with the knowledge they need to lead their communities into
the next century.

The inside back cover contains details on the documents in this series,
as well as sources to obtain additional information. We hope you find
these documents useful tools for making important transportation
infrastructure decisions.

Christine M. Johnson Edward L. Thomas

Program Manager, Operations Associate Administrator for
Director, ITS Joint Program Office Research, Demonstration and
Federal Highway Administration Innovation
Federal Transit Administration

NOTICE
The United States Government does not endorse products or manufacturers.
Trademarks or manufacturers’ names appear herein only because they are
considered essential to the objective of this document.
The following case study provides a snapshot of Michigan’s Intelligent Preface
Transportation Systems transportation management center (MITSC). It
follows the outline provided in the companion document, Metropolitan
Transportation Management Center Concepts of Operation—A Cross Cutting
Study, which describes operations and management successful practices
and lessons learned from eight transportation management centers in the
United States and Canada.
This case study reflects information gathered from interviews and
observations at the downtown Detroit transportation management
center. The authors appreciate the cooperation and support of the
Michigan Department of Transportation and its partners in the
development of this document.

Background 1 Contents
Design and Implementation 3
Operations 5
Maintenance 6

1
Background
The Michigan Intelligent Transportation System Transportation Manage-
ment Center (MITSC) contains both an original system dating from 1981
covering 32.5 miles, and an expansion of the system to cover a total of
180 centerline miles of freeway that is still being constructed. The original
system concept was prepared in 1969. On the basis of the performance of
the original system, there was a desire within Michigan Department of
Transportation for system expansion, but acquiring the necessary funding
was a problem. Two years of Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality
funding was eventually identified to fund the expansion.
A formal set of goals and objectives are being developed. Based on discus-
sions to date, the primary system objectives are to:
• Improve safety and air quality
• Reduce stress for motorists.
The focus of activity in the MITSC is to make the traveler’s trip less stressful
by providing better information to the traveler. When a problem occurs,
the MITSC helps Michigan State Patrol and others correct it quickly.

Courtesy of MapQuest

2
 Design and Implementation
General system design parameters for Michigan’s Intelligent The Detroit TMC
Transportation System Transportation Management Center are the developed special
following:
procedures to smooth
• The older portion of the system includes ramp meters, detectors, and traffic flow to and
closed-circuit television with communications via coaxial cable. The from major parking
portion being implemented includes the same components and
Highway Advisory Radio, communicating via microwave and spread sites for its large
spectrum to an OC-48 fiber optic network. downtown special
• The control center is above the Greyhound bus garage in downtown events venues.
Detroit with close access to the freeway. The control room is roughly
30 feet by 80 feet. The front of the room contains two dozen 25-inch
color video monitors and an 8-foot by 9-foot video wall. Front to
back, the room contains a row of four operator positions, a supervisor
console, and then two rows of cubicles for Michigan State Patrol
dispatch and other services. The rear of the room provides closed
offices for the Michigan State Patrol.

3
Design and Implementation
Method of • The new system is being implemented through a firm fixed-price
design/build/warranty contract. The contractor was selected based
Implementation
on best perceived value. The original system was implemented and
has been expanded through conventional consultant design and low-
bid construction contracts.

Testing • The operational objective is for 95 percent of the equipment to be up

95 percent of the time, with no entire subsystem ever less than 95
percent reliable.
• Subsystem level acceptance is under way. Test plans were developed
as part of the contract. Most testing is being performed by
contractor personnel and witnessed by Michigan Department of
Transportation staff.
• The operational readiness testing approach is being discussed. The
system is available for use in a partially functional condition at the
request of the Michigan Department of Transportation.

Training • The contractor will provide training and operator and system
documentation. Staff are being trained as new subsystems come
online. New system staff are provided “hands-on” training by the
Assistant Operations Manager.
• Once training materials are accepted, their upkeep becomes Michigan
Department of Transportation’s responsibility.

Documentation • Operations procedures documentation will be prepared by Michigan

Department of Transportation using word processing, computer aided
design, and charting software. The computer aided software
engineering tools the contractor used to develop the system software
provide additional software documentation. An index-driven online
help function is available.
• The implementation contractor is providing “as-builts” on CD-ROM.
Michigan DOT
greatly enhanced • The contractor prepared detailed requirements documentation in
response to the Request For Proposals, which had been prepared
coordination in
internally by Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) project
incident management staff.
by co-staffing the
TMC with Michigan
State Patrol.

4
 Operations
• There are two shifts, operated by three temporary personnel per shift. Workload and
Shift break is at noon, with roughly a 30-minute overlap. Michigan State
Patrol works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with different shift breaks.
Performance
• System operation is being privatized; the privatization contractor is
studying system operation.
• Typically six to twelve incidents that require active management occur
daily. The system is also used to provide information regarding
recurring congestion, including congestion related to the road
construction in the area.
• Operator actions are logged manually. The new system will provide
automatic logging of most activity.
• Operations staff work extensively with MDOT Construction and
MDOT Maintenance in identifying faults and repairing field
equipment. They also monitor radio traffic to maintenance staff and
field engineers, and answer the MITSC’s switchboard number.

• Verbal coordination works effectively between Michigan State Patrol Coordination

dispatch and MDOT operators. All personnel can view the front wall
monitors and the large screen display. Michigan State Patrol has a
Michigan Intelligent Transportation System workstation and video
monitors and will have video control. The MDOT assistant TMC
manager is stationed in the control room roughly 50 percent of the time.
• Coordination by telephone occurs with the Oakland County Roads
Commission, whose FAST-TRAC traffic signal system can send its
signal situation to MITSC. Oakland County Roads Commission can
view and control MDOT’s closed-circuit television cameras.
• Communication with the privately sponsored Courtesy Patrol is via
cellular telephone.
• MDOT Construction faxes work zones and road closures to MITSC,
where they are manually entered into the computer.
• There is no direct linkage between the MITSC control center and the
local transit provider, SMART, although a significant and increasing
amount of data from MITSC is available to SMART via the Internet.

• The system database presents a unique recommended solution to Conflict

each incident, based on incident location and type. Variable message
sign and highway advisory radio messages can be edited manually. Resolution
The TMC deputy manager and manager are located on site.

• Traffic management plans for special events are developed by ad hoc Nonstandard
teams. MDOT coordinates with major parking facilities during special
events. Operations
• An emergency operation planning process will be implemented once
the new system is accepted.
5
Maintenance
Fault Detection • The new system indicates equipment malfunction through changes in
icon color of the device on the system map. Not all devices are
and Correction
monitored constantly due to limitations on total communication
bandwidth.
• Failures noted in use or reported by the system are logged manually,
and calls placed to MDOT Maintenance, internal MITSC staff, or to
the contractor.

Configuration • The contractor currently maintains control for configuration

management of the computer hardware and software. No formal
Management MDOT configuration management program is in place for the total
system.

Logistics • MDOT Maintenance is identifying tools and spares that will be

required outside of the warranty. Some purchases will be difficult due
to limitations on sole-source acquisition. Acquisition of spares for the
older system is a problem as many parts and tools are no longer
available. MDOT is considering the upgrade or replacement of these
devices.

Maintenance • Maintenance is provided by two personnel from the MDOT district

office. Discussions are under way regarding contracting for full
system maintenance. Maintenance of the older system has become
problematic due to loss of expertise in its technologies.
• The contractor is presently supporting control room equipment under
a 2-year warranty that was included with the design/build/warranty
contract.

6
For further information, contact:

Federal Highway Administration Resource Centers

Eastern Resource Center Midwestern Resource Center
10 S. Howard Street, Suite 4000 – HRA-EA 19900 Governors Highway
Baltimore, MD 21201 Suite 301 – HRA-MW
Telephone 410-962-0093 Olympia Fields, IL 60461-1021
Telephone 708-283-3510
Southern Resource Center
61 Forsyth Street, SW Western Resource Center
Suite 17T26 – HRA-SO 201 Mission Street
Atlanta, GA 30303-3104 Suite 2100 – HRA-WE
Telephone 404-562-3570 San Francisco, CA 94105
Telephone 415-744-3102

Federal Transit Administration Regional Offices

Region 1 Region 6
Volpe National Transportation Systems Center 819 Taylor Street
Kendall Square Room 8A36
55 Broadway, Suite 920 Fort Worth, TX 76102
Cambridge, MA 02142-1093 Telephone 817-978-0550
Telephone 617-494-2055
Region 7
Region 2 6301 Rockhill Road, Suite 303
1 Bolling Green Kansas City, MO 64131-1117
Room 429 Telephone 816-523-0204
New York, NY 10004
Telephone 212-668-2170 Region 8
Columbine Place
Region 3 216 16th Street, Suite 650
1760 Market Street, Suite 500 Denver, CO 80202-5120
Philadelphia, PA 19103-4124 Telephone 303-844-3242
Telephone 215-656-7100
Region 9
Region 4 201 Mission Street, Suite 2210
Atlanta Federal Center San Francisco, CA 94105-1831
61 Forsyth Street, SW Telephone 415-744-3133
Suite 17T50
Atlanta, GA 30303-3104 Region 10
Telephone 404-562-3500 Jackson Federal Building
915 Second Avenue, Suite 3142
Region 5 Seattle, WA 98174-1002
200 West Adams Street Telephone 206-220-7954
24th Floor, Suite 2410
Chicago, IL 60606-5232
Telephone 312-353-2789
Notes
 THIS DOCUMENT IS ONE IN A SERIES OF PRODUCTS THAT
ADDRESS ITS ISSUES PERTINENT TO A VARIETY OF AUDIENCES
ELECTED AND APPOINTED OFFICIALS • SENIOR DECISION MAKERS
TRANSPORTATION MANAGERS • TECHNICAL EXPERTS

Representing:

STATES • CITIES • COUNTIES • TRANSIT PROPERTIES • TOLL AUTHORITIES

EMERGENCY SERVICE PROVIDERS • METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATIONS
ADDITIONAL TRANSPORTATION STAKEHOLDERS

Products Available in This Series:

- Benefits Brochures quote how ITS - Technical Reports include results

technologies have benefited specific areas from various Field Operation Tests.

- Cross Cutting Studies present - Implementation Guides assist

current data from related ITS applications project staff in the technical details of
implementing ITS
- Case Studies provide in-depth
coverage of ITS applications in specific
projects.

ITS Topics Addressed in This Series:

• COMMERCIAL VEHICLE OPERATIONS • PLANNING AND INTEGRATION

• EMERGENCY SERVICES • REAL-TIME TRAVELER INFORMATION
• ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES • TRANSIT, TOLL, AND RAIL MANAGEMENT
• EMISSIONS MANAGEMENT • WEATHER INFORMATION FOR TRAVELERS
• FREEWAY AND ARTERIAL MANAGEMENT AND MAINTENANCE

FOR A CURRENT LISTING OF AVAILABLE DOCUMENTS, PLEASE VISIT OUR WEB SITE AT:
www.its.dot.gov
 ITS WEB RESOURCES

ITS Joint Program Office:

http://www.its.dot.gov
ITS Cooperative Deployment Network (ICDN):
http://www.nawgits.com/jpo/icdn.html
ITS Electronic Document Library (EDL):
http://www.its.fhwa.dot.gov/cyberdocs/welcome.htm
ITS Professional Capacity Building Program Catalogue:
http://www.its.dot.gov/pcb/98catalg.htm
Federal Transit Administration:
http://www.fta.dot.gov

INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS

U.S. Department of Transportation

400 7th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20590

Federal Highway Administration Federal Transit Administration

Room 3416, HOIT-01 Room 9402,TRI-10
Phone: (202) 366-0722 Phone: (202) 366-4991
Facsimile: (202) 493-2027 Facsimile: (202) 366-3765

FHWA-OP-99-007 FTA-TRI-11-99-20