This project evaluated the impacts of roadway performance information delivery on freight operations in Texas. The USDOT-sponsored Freight Advanced Traveler Information System (FRATIS) is a collection of freight-specific applications intended to leverage connected vehicle technologies to maximize freight flow. FRATIS was deployed in the form of the I-35 Traveler Information during Construction (TIDC) system in Dallas, Texas, in association with major reconstruction work on I-35, a corridor that includes 11 of the 100 most congested roadway locations in Texas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Texas Department of Transportation enhanced the TIDC\nsystem to help freight operators increase productivity, improve operational\nefficiency, and reduce safety-related incidents. The evaluation focused on the\nimpacts of delivering the TIDC information to trucking companies. That information included pre-construction closure notifications, delay\npredictions, and real-time construction delay information. One regional and one\nnational trucking firm provided information on the performance of truck\ndeliveries that moved through the I-35 construction zone. The evaluation was based on a year-long\nbefore\/after analysis, with six months of data collected before the firms\nstarted using TIDC information (March to August 2017) and six months of data\ncollection afterward (starting September 2017). \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The evaluation found that the provision of TIDC information had little measurable impact on the trucking firms\u2019 travel times or travel time reliability. Consequently, no significant changes in fuel use, delay, labor hours, or other benefits occurred. However, this lack of quantifiable change was due primarily to the geography of the location, as I-35 between Dallas and Austin lacks alternative routes that would help truckers avoid construction delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nevertheless, both participating trucking firms reported\nenthusiasm for the TIDC. Both saw enough value in the construction delay\ninformation that they are seeking internal company resources to improve their\nability to incorporate TIDC data into their existing business processes. The\nbenefits they cited included the ability for drivers to prepare for unusual queues during their trips, thereby lowering their crash\nrisk, and to pre-select when and\nwhere to stop for breaks. Both participating trucking firms also\nreported that they expect to obtain more quantifiable benefits from work zone\ndelay information when such information becomes available for geographic\nlocations where alternative routes exist and when it can be automatically fed\ninto their existing business systems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a result of this evaluation, the authors recommended that\nthe USDOT pursue the development of standard data feeds that private companies\ncan incorporate. In addition, they recommended that the USDOT engage the\ncompanies that provide scheduling, routing, and fleet management software to\ntrucking companies in this discussion, as well as providers of general\nnavigation software, to ensure that these data streams can be directly absorbed\ninto the software that most trucking companies use to determine routing and\nscheduling business decisions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n