DEVELOPING REAL-TIME PERFORMANCE MEASURES IN FREIGHT SIGNIFICANT CORRIDORS

There are numerous programs, initiatives and mandates that require transportation planning agencies - including regional development councils, metropolitan planning organizations and state departments of transportation - to incorporate freight projects and policies into their programs and plans. Related to this is a growing movement to develop system and corridor performance measures. Unfortunately, there is a dearth of data relating to accurate, operational freight data; without this, freight planning becomes limited and speculative in nature. The Travel Time in Freight Significant Corridors is a Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)-sponsored project that was conducted to identify the components and parameters associated with developing freight performance measures (FPM) on key corridors. The FHWA and the ATRI Team investigated how advanced vehicle tracking technologies and new mapping algorithms can be used to determine average vehicle speeds and times for segments of freight-significant highway corridors or for uninterrupted travel along entire corridors. The project's initial research and findings identified and beta-tested: (1) significant freight corridors; (2) appropriate measures to reflect carrier/system performance; (3) relevant technology-based data collection mechanisms; (4) and system for collecting and managing real-time freight performance measures.