Real-time Information Dissemination Requirements for Illinois per New Federal Rule: Project Extension (Phase II)

To satisfy the provisions of 23 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 511, state departments of transportations and other transportation agencies were required to establish real-time systems management information programs by November 2014. These programs are responsible for collecting and disseminating (1) travel times, (2) lane closures due to traffic incidents, (3) lane or road-closing construction activities, and (4) road weather conditions. The objective of this report is to provide the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) with guidance on compliance with 23 CFR 511. To meet this objective, the researchers applied the methods established in the first phase of the study, measuring the accuracy, availability, and coverage of the four key types of traveler information. Additionally, this project also guided the selection of routes of significance in the Chicago and East St. Louis metropolitan areas. The researchers collected the required data listed above by working with operations and construction officials in every district and the central office of IDOT. To measure the accuracy, the researchers compared samples of the information IDOT provided to the public with baseline sources. After assembling data samples, the researchers analyzed the accuracy level of the four main types of traveler information and found that the travel-time information in the Chicago area was 85.6% accurate, IDOT’s traffic incident information was 87.0% accurate, and IDOT’s construction information was 73.1% accurate. The study also identified the locations where traveler information was not provided to the public and identified data archiving practices that are needed for future evaluations. The researchers organized and held stakeholder meetings in the Chicago and East St. Louis metropolitan areas. During these meetings, officials discussed the factors that were appropriate for evaluating and selecting routes of significance. A utility analysis was applied to rank the potential routes based on the categories stakeholders selected and the data that were available. The stakeholders made the final selection of these routes, which should be included into IDOT’s real-time systems management information program by November 2016.