Indiana Department of Transportation
Innovative Operations
INDOT is applying different and creative solutions to transportation challenges that improve functionality, reduce operating expenses, and increase service. Dozens of activities have been upgraded, simplified, or improved through the use of technology and/or through new partnerships with the private sector. As a result, INDOT has been able to realize tens of millions of dollars in cost savings by utilizing innovative funding solutions to meet strategic needs, adopting more efficient policies and procedures, combining and streamlining procurement, and achieving reductions in operational costs. Compliance with vehicle weight limits protects Indiana’s roads and drivers. But building, staffing and maintaining weigh stations is a substantial expense — and many areas have no scales at all. Truckers, understandably, also object to delays at weigh stations. The innovative INDOT solution is Virtual Weigh Stations that use in-ground sensors to weigh trucks as they travel along interstate and intrastate roads. When a truck crosses the sensors, its weight, speed and axle spacings are recorded, while a camera snaps a photo of the vehicle. Any violations are forwarded to Indiana State Police, who stop the vehicle and weigh it using portable equipment or escort it to scales. INDOT partnered with the Indiana Department of Revenue’s Motor Carrier Services Division and the Indiana State Police’s Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division on this program, using a $300,000 federal grant from the Commercial Vehicle Information System Network. Eventually, the Virtual Weigh Stations likely will be integrated with other systems that track weather conditions, measure speed, count traffic, monitor air quality and check for electronic permit tags. The more quickly obstructions — including disabled or wrecked vehicles, debris or spilled cargo — can be cleared from the road, the safer for everyone, because secondary crashes can be avoided. In 2007, INDOT partnered with the Indiana State Police to address the issue in a structured way, and the outcome of that collaboration was a group named IN-TIME, Indiana’s Traffic Incident and Management Effort. Its mission is “to provide a common framework for development of traffic incident management policies and training programs across the various responder disciplines.” IN-TIME took its message of coordinated work and communications to state agencies first, and in FY 2010, widened its reach by hosting a statewide workshop for public safety officials, tow-truck drivers, first responders, environmental experts, state officials, emergency operations personnel and others. IN-TIME also worked with state legislators to update pertinent laws and policies. On average, this initiative results in one hour and 39 minutes of time saved per road closing event. INDOT is continually improving its methods to keep drivers informed of any problems they may encounter. In FY 2010, INDOT upgraded its TrafficWise Traveler Information website (www.trafficwise.in.gov), which receives anywhere from 40,000 to 90,000 hits per month from people checking traffic and road conditions. INDOT also added a new toll-free number, 800-261-ROAD. On the highways, INDOT continues to use dynamic message signs to alert motorists about travel information so informed decisions can be made while traveling. The Fort Wayne District, in on-going efforts to make more efficient use of resources, reduced the number of snow routes and deadhead miles (miles traveled to start a snow route) and also ignored subdistrict and unit borders and ran routes that “made the most sense.” Due to this district’s success with these efforts, other districts will be looking at doing the same. Some interesting snow plow statistics from the 2009-2010 winter season include: 1,966 drivers with commercial drivers licenses were available to plow; 382,000 man hours were utilized; 357,057 tons of salt were spread on roadways; and 2,758,013 gallons of brine were disbursed. On-the-Move Weigh Stations
Traffic Incident Management
Alerting Travelers
Predicting Travel Times
In late 2009, a travel time sign was installed on westbound I-80/94 (Borman Expressway) in Lake County to let motorists know how long it will take to get through traffic at a given time of day. The sign displays travel times to both S.R. 912 (Cline Avenue) and the Illinois state line. Sensors on the roads measure many factors including average vehicle speed and traffic volumes; projected travel times change as the data changes. Using such technology to reduce congestion, improve safety and smooth traffic flow on busy interstates has proven to be very successful in aiding motorists with their travels. Nearly 40 more of these signs will be installed in future years. Damage Wise
Each year, approximately 4,000 drivers damage infrastructure located along Indiana highways. This infrastructure includes guardrail, cable barriers, crash attenuators, lighting structures, signs, bridges, culverts, fences, traffic signals, pavement, and roadway drainage. In 2010, INDOT completed an investigation of potential solutions to the increasing financial burden to taxpayers of repairing and replacing damaged right-of-way infrastructure. As a result of that research, INDOT deployed a state-wide crash damage tagging, management and invoicing system that associates crash-damaged infrastructure to a police crash report and seeks reimbursement. As a result of the INDOT DamageWise program, reimbursement for repairing infrastructure damaged by motor vehicles has more than doubled to more than $4 million per year. INDOT also tabulates and monitors performance measures on a quarterly basis to evaluate the cost recovery process at the district and state level. These performance measures include annualized billings, elapsed time between crash date and the invoice date and the average percent of invoiced amount collected.Snow Operations
Technology Aids Traffic Counts
Collecting traffic counts on our highways is an important function at INDOT. With more than 12,000 counts performed annually, traffic volume data is vital for short- and long-term transportation planning, pavement design engineers, and state and local economic development groups. Either a pneumatic tube or tape sensors stretched across road lanes collect most traffic data on interstates and highways. However, the tube/sensors method is intrusive and poses a safety risk because technicians must navigate roadways to place equipment. Challenged to explore new methods to gather federally required traffic counts, INDOT’s Traffic Counting team implemented two new technologies – Laser Count and Video Count – that enhance safety and productivity while reducing operating costs. Laser Count, implemented in 2011, involves the use of non-intrusive, infrared ranging laser units that detect the number of axles on vehicles which makes it ideal for collecting data on high-volume corridors. Video Count uses video technology to measure intersection traffic turning movements, and roundabout, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic counts. Adopted in 2012, video count technology enables INDOT technicians to track turn movement over a specified period of time with 98 percent accuracy. Under the tube/sensors method of conducting traffic counts, INDOT district offices collectively spent approximately 3,100 hours each year on performing manual turning count movements. Automating the process saves more than $270,000 each year in set-up and labor costs while reducing the need for consultants. The use of laser technology has eliminated the need for traffic control for 516 interstate traffic count locations, which saves more than $1 million in reduced operational costs over a 2-year period.
Contact Information
Edward E. Pollack
Director-Innovation and Enhancement
Indiana Department of Transportation
100 N. Senate Ave., IGCN755
Indianapolis, IN 46204
317-234-7244
epollack@indot.in.gov
Barry K. Partridge, Ph.D, P.E.
Acting Director-Research & Development
1205 Montgomery Street
P.O. Box 2279
West Lafayette, IN 47906-2279
765-463-1521 x251
bpartridge@indot.in.gov
