GRITS Chapter Newsletter Spring 2016

NEWS

GULF REGION INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SOCIETY NEWLETTER

Spring 2016 IN THIS ISSUE

Presidents Message

MSU Workshop Agenda

2015 Fall Mee ng Re‐Cap

DOT News

Academic Scholarships

President’s Message—Laura Hartley, P.E.

Thank you for being a part of the Gulf Region Intelligent Transporta on Society.

Our partners in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi work hard everyday to be er the lives of our ci zens, visitors and travelers in our region. Through the safety improvements technology imparts we are making the roadways safer and easier to drive. Our chapter has seen tremendous growth in the last seven years and in 2015 GRITS was recognized as an “Outstanding State Chapter” by ITS America. This award has been a goal of ours since the beginning of the organiza on and is verifica on that we are making a difference on a na onal level.

Please enjoy your mee ng and I encourage you to get involved with GRITS and help us push our region forward and stay in the forefront of the ITS industry.

There is s ll much to do and we need your help to do it!

Many Thanks to our Spring Workshop Sponsors!

ITS COMMUNICATION GRITS 2016 SPRING WORKSHOP Foster Ballroom in Colvard Student Union April 21, 2016

AGENDA

WELCOME

10.15 am

10:45 am

11:15 am

11:45 am

12:45 pm

1:15 pm

1:45 pm

2:15 pm

3:00 pm

3:00—5:00 pm

6:30pm

MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSTY

Laura Hartley P.E., 2016 GRITS President Dr. Kari Reeves, Associate Dean of Engineering, Mississippi State University Regional Communica ons for Traffic Incident Management, John Gilligan MDOT

Wireless Technology, Wayne Kairdolf, Deep South Communica ons Signalized Intersec on V2I Research, Dr. Zhang, Mississippi State University Lunch—Address by Dr. Dennis Truax, Mississippi State University Managed Services for ITS and Communica ons, Jon Gifford Inline

Cellular Service in ITS, David Fink AT&T LADOTD Statewide Flooding Event, Bill Icenogle LADOTD Mass Communica ons, Rob Pe t/Morgan Miller MDOT Workshop Adjourn GRITS Board of Directors Mee ng GRITS Board of Directors Dinner

2015 ANNUAL MEETING RE‐CAP The Gulf Region Intelligent Transporta on Society (GRITS) chapter hosted the 7th Annual mee ng October 11– 14, 2015 at the Golden Nugget Resort and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. A endees were able to network with colleagues and professionals in the region as well as see some of the most state-of-the-art equipment in the industry.

We were pleased to host the new ITS America President and CEO, Regina Hopper who was able to share her plans for the future of ITS America and discussed growth poten al and the amazing technological changes that con nue to occur in ITS. We were also pleased to host Dennis Mo ani, Execu ve Director of FHWA’s Na onal Opera ons Center of Excellence. He later blogged about his experience.

“I believe GRITS should serve as the model for an effec ve regional ITS chapter. Congratula ons to the GRITS board of directors and their members on hos ng an extraordinary event. From speakers to technical sessions to entertainment, everything was top notch.”

The Mayor of Biloxi Mississippi, “FoFo” Gillich opened up our event along with Wes Dean, Asssistant chief engineer of MDOT and our 2015 Gulf Regional ITS President Wayne Curry.

Technical sessions covered Commercial Vehicles, Traffic Opera ons, Workzones, Aerial/Drone Technology, Connected Vehicles and Emerging Technology.

And lastly a GRITS mee ng along the GulfCoast would not be complete without taking advantage of the wonderful off-site tours and a er-hours events, from Shrimp Boils to Sunset Cruises and visits to Ingalls Shipyard and Keesler Air Force Base.

We hope to see you again in the Fall of 2016 in Baton Rouge for another produc ve mee ng!

2015 ANNUAL MEETING photos and Memories!

ALDOT NEWS ALDOT WILL OFFER A REAL‐TIME TRAFFIC APP Via WSFA.com Bethany Davis, published March 18th, 2016

ALDOT also announced the launch of the “ALGO” Traffic app and ALGOtraffic.com, a new public website that will help motorists plan their day-to-day traffic routes.

According to ALDOT’s officials, the new site will help consolidate traffic condi ons for motorists by providing them with up to the minute road condi ons and work zone updates in one convenient loca on.

“We are pleased that ALDOT now has a new tool in ALGOtraffic.com to improve the safety and reliability of Alabama’s transportaon network,” said Allison Green, Drive Safe Alabama coordinator with ALDOT. “The features we’re providing can help travelers avoid conges on and have a safer drive to their des na ons.”

The home screen for ALGOtraffic.com is a map of Alabama where users can zoom into Birmingham, Mobile or Montgomery maps for road informa on specific to those areas.

From the menu on the le side of the screen, users can select which details they want to see, including:

 Traffic cameras  Electronic highway informa on signs  Incident informa on  Road construc on updates  Highway travel speeds Addi onal features and geographic coverage will be added to ALGOtraffic.com during 2016. ALDOT would like to remind motorists to never text, tweet, or use a mobile device while opera ng a vehicle.

LADOTD NEWS WHY YOU NEED A MAINTENANCE PROGRAM NOW! Via Akhil Chauhan, Arcadis North America VP of Transporta on Services, published April 5th, 2016

According to the U.S. Department of Transporta on’s Federal Highway Administra on, Americans drove more than 3.1 trillion miles in 2015, se ng a new record. If that number doesn’t impress you, the DOT also reports an expected increase of more than 70 million people in 11 “megaregions” by 2045. 70 million. That’s a lot of people on the road in densely populated areas where mobility is already considered a top concern.

With Americans spending so much me in their cars, and ci es facing inadequate funding for long term infrastructure needs, local agencies have become reliant upon innova ve and cost-effec ve alterna ves such as Intelligent Transporta on Systems, or ITS. Benefits of ITS include traffic monitoring, improved traveler informa on and the ability to quickly detect and respond to traffic incidents. Widely deployed across the world over the last 30 years, ITS is everywhere.

But like any other type of technology, ITS needs to be maintained for it to con nue to work properly. Despite the presence of roadway technology throughout the United States, and the world, many local agencies don’t have a proper maintenance system in place to monitor and evaluate ITS performance.

Bypassing this essen al step can, and o en does, result in a variety of problems from system malfunc ons to secondary crashes to the misuse of public funds. The Federal Highway Administra on categorizes ITS maintenance in two ways – planned and unplanned. A recent case study concluded that by being proac ve and addressing the former, we can greatly reduce the la er.

The state of Louisiana is at the forefront of ITS technology, having integrated advanced systems into a full range of opera ons throughout the state. The system is wide-reaching and complex, and is monitored by qualified personnel through a comprehensive statewide maintenance program that provides regular data to the Louisiana Department of Transporta on and Development (LADOTD).

Rou ne maintenance is defined as just that – it’s a regular checkup for ITS devices. Twice per year, work orders are scheduled through Maintenance Management System (MMS) so ware for device checkups all around Louisiana. Responsive maintenance occurs when one of those devices unexpectedly breaks down. A er the root of the problem is iden fied, the device can be repaired by a technician in a mely manner.

During the study, the LADOTD found that by performing regular maintenance, the overall number of emergency work orders decreased over me. Iden fying poten al trouble spots early on in the process contributed drama cally to site improvement. The performance of closed circuit television cameras, for example, improved by 30 percent.

A carefully maintained ITS system can mean a smoother, safer and more efficient ride. With the help of a data and performance measures driven strategy, LADOTD’s maintenance program successfully balances rou ne and responsive maintenance to increase the reliability and performance of LADOTD-owned ITS

MDOT NEWS TRAFFIC ON I‐10 WILL BE GETTING SMARTER SOON IN JACKSON COUNTY Via Sunherald.com Karen Nelson, published April 2nd, 2016

Workers are laying fiber-op c cable along Interstate 10 this week for a $10 million traffic project that looks to the future.

The Intelligent Traffic System is coming to I-10 in Jackson County this year to deliver a modern driving experience that uses smart boards and speed detectors to keep drivers informed along the route -- changes in traffic flow, accidents to avoid, travel mes and explana ons for delays.

Traffic engineers say it's been 10 years coming, and for Jackson County, it's not a minute too soon.

The State Department of Transporta on is installing the system first in Jackson County because the safety need is greater there and federal highway safety money was available, said Wes Dean, assistant chief engineer for the state.

The 30-mile segment of I-10 is four-lane, has fog, deals with smoke from na onal wildlife refuge burning and has frequent wrecks on the long Pascagoula River bridge. But the rest of the Coast, he said, shouldn't be far behind in ge ng the same technology.

The system in Jackson County will consist of 92 video traffic cameras, 40 advisory boards and sensors that detect vehicle mo on -- some as radar on poles -- and nine overhead electronic message boards that will be placed 24 feet in the air, all connected by a fiber-op c cable.

The data collected will be transmi ed to an MDOT informa on hub in Lyman, north of Gulfport. That traffic-management center will communicate directly with drivers, aler ng them via the message boards or having them tune to a certain AM radio frequency for details.

When the boards are not warning about traffic accidents, they can inform drivers entering Jackson County from Biloxi, for example, that "under current traffic condi ons, it will take 25 minutes to reach Mississippi 63 in Moss Point."

The system will also have traffic-update kiosks at the Welcome Center and both rest areas in Jackson County. The whole system is data-driven, Dean said. And he sees it coming to the rest of the Coast "sooner be er than later. But we have to figure out the funding." In the mean me, Jackson County is expected to be finished and func oning within 18 months, engineers said.

"It's definitely a major project we're very proud of," said Michael Flood, MDOT spokesman. "You guys are going to love it."

Academic Commi ee News

2016 GULF REGION ITS SCHOLARSHIPS The Gulf Region Intelligent Transporta on Society – Gulf Region (GRITS) is solici ng applica ons for up to FIVE scholarship winners up to $1500 each that will be awarded at the GRITS Annual MeeƟng at in Baton Rouge, LA for the 2016-2017 academic year. GRITS is an organiza on dedicated to the advancement of the Intelligent Transporta on and Traffic Engineering. Addi onal informa on about GRITS may be found at the following web addresses: www.gulfregionits.org. Applica ons should be submi ed to Jake Wimberly, Academic Commi ee Chair, 2567 North West Street, Jackson, MS 39216, no later than close of business, August 19, 2016. All inquiries should be directed to Mr. Wimberly, phone: (601)613-8918 or e-mail: Jwimberly@mdot.ms.gov

ELIGIBILITY: The successful applicant must be enrolled as a full- me student in a four year accredited university in the three state region, (Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi) and the applicant must have completed their sophomore year. This scholarship is open only to junior year or higher students, which includes graduate school. The applicant must complete the a ached applica on and submit a one-page essay choosing one of three topics en tled “Autonomous Vehicles and how they will Impact the Future, Connected Vehicles and How they can Increase Safety and How can ITS Help with Rural FataliƟes”.

CRITERIA: The following criteria will be used to award the scholarships to applicants: academic performance, awards and honors, extracurricular involvement, work experience and the wri en essay. The academic commi ee will select up to five (5) successful applicants following receipt of all applica ons based on the above deadline.

SAVE THE DATE! 2016 GRITS ANNUAL MEETING November 14‐16, 2016

Baton Rouge Louisiana L’AuBerge Resort Details at

GulfRegionITS.org