I’ve
often heard people comment that there are two seasons in Idaho: winter and road
construction.
It
certainly is road construction season in the Treasure Valley. Dozens of
projects are underway; likely the most visible to most of us are rebuilding the
Interstate 84 interchanges at Meridian Road, Broadway Avenue, and Gowen Road.
However,
there are also many other projects underway or planned that are not visible and
lack the fanfare of large construction projects, yet make our transportation
system run more smoothly all the same. These types of projects are generally
called “Transportation System Management and Operations,” or TSMO, and provide
a variety of services that many of us don’t really notice or think about, but
we definitely all benefit.
For
example, have you ever seen the yellow “incident management” trucks along I-84
that assist motorists who run out of gas, have a flat tire, or have car trouble?
Incident management is one example of a TSMO program that quickly gets those
motorists back on the road – and off of the shoulder – to help keep traffic
flowing freely and safely.
Do
you follow the Ada County Highway District (ACHD) on Twitter to get tweets
about traffic incidents? Have you seen the Idaho Transportation Department’s lighted
signs over the interstate and state highways that tell you when traffic is
backed up? Have you noticed how the traffic lights stay green longer on certain
roads after big events, such as a concert at the Idaho Center or a BSU football
game, to help get traffic out of the area more quickly? These are all examples
of TSMO that already are in use in Ada and Canyon Counties.
While
these are fairly visible TSMO projects, many others are equally important, but much
less visible, such as establishing agreements across agencies for sharing fiber
optic infrastructure, integrating additional local agencies into the regional
traffic management center to improve communications, or establishing policies
to install conduit (tubes for running wires or cables) whenever road construction
occurs, whether the conduit is needed then or not, so that roads don’t have to
be torn up later to add it after the fact. These are certainly “behind the
scenes” projects and may seem boring or inconsequential, but the improvements
they bring to our transportation system are wide-reaching all the same.
COMPASS
recently completed a 10-year plan for TSMO projects in Ada and Canyon Counties.
The plan identifies 30 regional strategies ranging from providing real-time
parking availability information to drivers to upgrading surveillance and
security on public buses, to implementing a regional emergency alert system to
be used for natural disasters and other regional emergencies.
This
10-year plan was developed simultaneously with Communities in Motion 2040 (due to be presented to the COMPASS
Board for adoption in July). This timing was intentional; the TSMO plan
specifically supports the goals of Communities
in Motion 2040 and outlines numerous projects that focus on maintaining our
current transportation system – the focus of federal funding in Communities in Motion 2040 – and helping
that existing system work better, all with a significantly lower cost than
traditional road construction projects.
While
they may not warrant a ground breaking or ribbon cutting ceremony, the next
time you see an incident management truck helping a motorist or notice conduit
laying in a construction site ready to be buried, consider how these
behind-the-scenes projects are helping get you to your destination a little
more quickly, smoothly, and safely.
