USER’S MANUAL 

FOR THE 

TIM BENEFIT-COST (TIM-BC)

TOOL (VERSION: 1.0.0)

Publication No. FHWA‐HRT‐15‐059

July 2015

 
FOREWORD 

The User’s Manual for the Traffic Incident Management Benefit-Cost (TIM-BC) Tool provides 

State and local engineers, decisionmakers, and other users with methods for evaluating and 

comparing the monetary value of TIM programs. In this version 1.0.0, TIM-BC features a 

subtool, Safety Service Patrol Benefit-Cost (SSP-BC), for evaluating State and local Safety 

Service Patrol Program. 

A Safety Service Patrol Program is an important part of a transportation agency’s traffic incident 

management strategy, the primary focus of which is incident management and emergency 

response. 

Through the use of text and screenshots of the tool, the user will become familiar with the SSPBC subtool and will be able to enter information into the software to obtain benefit elements and 

the benefit-cost ratio of SSP projects. 

Notice 

This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation 

in the interest of information exchange. The United States Government assumes no liability for 

the use of the information contained in this document. This report does not constitute a standard, 

specification, or regulation. 

The United States Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trademarks or 

manufacturers’ names appear in this report only because they are considered essential to the 

objective of the document. 

Quality Assurance Statement 

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) provides high-quality information to serve 

Government, industry, and the public in a manner that promotes public understanding. Standards 

and policies are used to ensure and maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of its 

information. FHWA periodically reviews quality issues and adjusts its programs and processes to 

ensure continuous quality improvement. 
i

TECHNICAL REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE 

1. Report No. 

FHWA-HRT-15-059 

2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient’s Catalog No. 

4. Title and Subtitle 

User’s Manual for the Traffic Incident Management BenefitCost (TIM-BC) Tool 

5. Report Date 

July 2015 

6. Performing Organization Code: 

7. Author(s) 

Jiaqi Ma, Taylor Lochrane 

8. Performing Organization Report No. 

9. Performing Organization Name and Address 

Leidos, Inc. 

11251 Roger Bacon Drive 

Reston, VA 20190 

10. Work Unit No. 

11. Contract or Grant No. 

DTFH61-12-D-00020

12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 

Office of Operations Research and Development 

Federal Highway Administration 

6300 Georgetown Pike 

McLean, VA 22101-2296 

13. Type of Report and Period Covered 

User’s Manual 

14. Sponsoring Agency Code 

HRDO-20 

15. Supplementary Notes 

FHWA Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative (COTR): Taylor Lochrane 

16. Abstract 

This document serves as a user’s manual for the Traffic Incident Management Benefit-Cost Tool (TIM-BC) 

Version 1.0.0 - Safety Service Patrol Benefit-Cost (SSP-BC) Tool, which is used to assist State and local 

engineers and decisionmakers with evaluating and comparing the monetary value of Safety Service Patrol (SSP) 

programs. The document describes how to use the tool by providing detailed instructions and screenshots of the 

tool. 

17. Key Words 

research, safety, user manuals, benefit cost 

analysis

18. Distribution Statement 

No restrictions. This document is available through the 

National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA 

22161. 

19. Security Classif. (of this report) 

Unclassified 

20. Security Classif. (of this page) 

Unclassified 

21. No. of Pages 

26 

22. Price 

N/A 

Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of completed page authorized 
ii

SI* (MODERN METRIC) CONVERSION FACTORS 

APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS TO SI UNITS

Symbol When You Know Multiply By To Find Symbol 

LENGTH 

in inches 25.4 millimeters mm 

ft feet 0.305 meters m 

yd yards 0.914 meters m 

mi miles 1.61 kilometers km 

AREA 

in2 square inches 645.2 square millimeters mm2

ft2 square feet 0.093 square meters m2

yd2 square yard 0.836 square meters m2

ac acres 0.405 hectares ha 

mi2 square miles 2.59 square kilometers km2

VOLUME 

fl oz fluid ounces 29.57 milliliters mL 

gal gallons 3.785 liters L 

ft3 cubic feet 0.028 cubic meters m3 

yd3 cubic yards 0.765 cubic meters m3 

NOTE: volumes greater than 1000 L shall be shown in m3

MASS 

oz ounces 28.35 grams g

lb pounds 0.454 kilograms kg

T short tons (2000 lb) 0.907 megagrams (or "metric ton") Mg (or "t") 

TEMPERATURE (exact degrees) o

F Fahrenheit 5 (F-32)/9 Celsius oC 

or (F-32)/1.8 

ILLUMINATION 

fc foot-candles 10.76 lux lx 

fl foot-Lamberts 3.426 candela/m2 cd/m2

FORCE and PRESSURE or STRESS 

lbf poundforce 4.45 newtons N 

lbf/in2 poundforce per square inch 6.89 kilopascals kPa 

APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS FROM SI UNITS 

Symbol When You Know Multiply By To Find Symbol 

LENGTH

mm millimeters 0.039 inches in 

m meters 3.28 feet ft 

m meters 1.09 yards yd 

km kilometers 0.621 miles mi 

AREA mm2

 square millimeters 0.0016 square inches in2 

m2 square meters 10.764 square feet ft2 

m2 square meters 1.195 square yards yd2 

ha hectares 2.47 acres ac 

km2 square kilometers 0.386 square miles mi2 

VOLUME 

mL milliliters 0.034 fluid ounces fl oz 

L liters 0.264 gallons gal 

m3 cubic meters 35.314 cubic feet ft3 

m3 cubic meters 1.307 cubic yards yd3 

MASS 

g grams 0.035 ounces oz

kg kilograms 2.202 pounds lb

Mg (or "t") megagrams (or "metric ton") 1.103 short tons (2000 lb) T 

TEMPERATURE (exact degrees) o

C Celsius 1.8C+32 Fahrenheit oF 

ILLUMINATION 

lx lux 0.0929 foot-candles fc 

cd/m2 candela/m2 0.2919 foot-Lamberts fl

FORCE and PRESSURE or STRESS 

N newtons 0.225 poundforce lbf 

kPa kilopascals 0.145 poundforce per square inch lbf/in2

*SI is the symbol for th International System of Units. Appropriate rounding should be made to comply with Section 4 of ASTM E e 380. 

(Revised March 2003)
iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Purpose ............................................................................................................................ 1

2. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1

3. Required User Inputs........................................................................................................ 2

3A. Project Name Screen........................................................................................................ 2

3B. Project Details Screen ...................................................................................................... 3

3Bi. Cost Calculator Sidebar................................................................................................. 3

3C. Segment Information Screen ........................................................................................... 4

4. Use Case: Estimating Benefits and Costs for an SSP Program............................................ 5

4A. Home Screen .................................................................................................................... 5

4B. Project Name Screen........................................................................................................ 9

4C. Project Details Screen .................................................................................................... 10

4D. Segment Information Screen ......................................................................................... 13

4E. Project Output Screen.................................................................................................... 20

   
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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Screenshot. The Home screen. ........................................................................................ 6

Figure 2: Screenshot. The About screen......................................................................................... 6

Figure 3: Screenshot. Learn More screen....................................................................................... 7

Figure 4: Screenshot. Open Dialog Box after user clicks Upload Project Data button................... 8

Figure 5: Screenshot. Project sidebar............................................................................................. 9

Figure 6: Screenshot. Enter Project Name screen........................................................................ 10

Figure 7: Screenshot. Demonstration of typing new project name. ............................................ 10

Figure 8: Screenshot. Project Details screen. ............................................................................... 11

Figure 9: Screenshot. Example data entry on Project Details screen........................................... 12

Figure 10: Screenshot. Calculate Program Cost screen................................................................ 13

Figure 11: Screenshot. Example Data Entry on Calculate Program Cost screen. ......................... 13

Figure 12: Screenshot. Full Segment Information screen. ........................................................... 14

Figure 13: Screenshot. Segment screen with data entered. ........................................................ 15

Figure 14: Screenshot. SSP Program Information screen............................................................. 16

Figure 15: Screenshot. Traffic Information screen. ...................................................................... 17

Figure 16: Screenshot. Segment cloning function........................................................................ 18

Figure 17: Screenshot. Incident Information screen. ................................................................... 19

Figure 18: Screenshot. Project Output/Calculate Ratio screen.................................................... 20

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Acceptable data elements for SSP Project Name/Project Title fields. ............................. 2

Table 2: Acceptable data elements for the Project Details screen. ............................................... 3

Table 3. Acceptable data elements for the cost calculator. ........................................................... 3

Table 4. Acceptable data elements for Segment Information fields.............................................. 4
1

1. Purpose

The purpose of this document is to describe to users how to use Federal Highway

Administration’s (FHWA’s) Traffic Incident Management Benefit‐Cost (TIM‐BC) Tool Version

1.0.0, featuring the Safety Service Patrol Benefit‐Cost Tool (SSP‐BC) subtool. This version of the

TIM‐BC tool was released on June 9, 2015 and future tools will include more subtools for other

TIM strategies, such as Driver Removal Law or Authority Removal Law.

2. Introduction

The SSP‐BC Subtool was developed primarily to assist State and local engineers and

decisionmakers with evaluating and comparing the monetary value of Safety Service Patrol (SSP)

programs. The following are the requirements for use of the Web‐based tool:

 9MB hard disk space; Microsoft® Windows® operating system, versions XP, 7, or 8.

 Microsoft Internet Explorer® browser version 10 or above, Google® ChromeTM browser

version 41 or above, Mozilla® Firefox® browser version 37 or above, and equivalent

browsers.

 Microsoft Excel® spreadsheet software.

If you are using a downloaded package of the software, after you unzip the package, go to

folder “...\SSP‐BC‐Tool\dist” and double‐click “index.html” to open this tool.

An expansion of the tool to cover three to five additional TIM strategies is currently under

development, planned for a late 2015 completion.  

Data must be entered by the user in order to get estimates from the tool. These data are

described in Section 3, Required User Inputs. If exact local values are not known for an entry, a

general estimate can be made by using regional or national default values.  

The SSP‐BC Subtool consists of a series of screens through which users navigate, beginning with

high‐level SSP program information, then with segment‐specific information, and ending with a

summary screen showing the calculated benefit elements and the benefit‐cost ratio. A

description of each of the screens follows. The user can move directly to any of these

screens by clicking the button.

 Home Screen. Users can begin a new SSP project or load an existing SSP project file from

this screen. Users can also click the “Learn More” link for resources about the

tool, as well as click the   button to see more information about the tool, such

as whom to contact with questions or if issues are found.

 Project Name. This screen allows users to enter or modify the name of the current SSP

project.

 Project Details. On this screen, users enter project‐level information, including the State

in which the program is located, the number of segments in the SSP program, the

duration of the study period, the annual number of incidents on the program roadway,

and the annual total program cost. The user can open a cost calculator to estimate a

cost if the total is unknown.
2

 Segment Information. This screen allows users to enter the details about the specific

segment of the SSP program. If more than one segment exists in the current project,

users can switch between segments on this screen. This screen requires the following

types of input: roadway geometry, traffic information, incident information, and SSP

operation time and incident duration savings. The list of all required inputs is included in

Section 3, Required User Inputs.

 Project Output. This screen summarizes the calculated benefits and benefit‐cost ratio of

the SSP program based on user inputs. It calculates benefits in terms of delay savings (in

hours), fuel savings (in gallons), secondary incidents prevented, and emissions savings

(MT (in metric tons)). Users can generate text reports with the results on this screen.

3. Required User Inputs

The required user inputs listed below are essential to develop accurate estimates of benefits

and costs. The data elements are arranged in the order they appear in the tool, assuming users

move through the tool in the default order. The tables below describe, for each required input,

the acceptable data types and ranges.   

3A. Project Name Screen

Tables 1–4 show the acceptable data elements for the various fields. Refer to the Microsoft®

Excel® spreadsheet “SSP_BC_Input_Output_Variables.xlsx” for more detailed explanations of

each variable used in this tool.

Table 1: Acceptable data elements for SSP Project Name/Project Title fields.

ID Information Corresponding

Interface Element Format/Type Valid Options RequiredInput?

1 SSP Program

Name/Project Title

Text entry box String Any string Yes

   
3

3B. Project Details Screen

Table 2: Acceptable data elements for the Project Details screen.  

ID Information Corresponding

Interface Element Format/Type Valid Options RequiredInput?

2 State Drop‐down box String Any of the 50

United States

and the District

of Columbia

Yes

3 Annual Program

Cost

Text entry box Double or

Long

Any value > 0 Yes, unless

cost details

(#3a–3h) are

provided.

4 Number of incidents

on program

roadway

Text entry box Long Any integer >= 0 Yes

5 Number of

segments in

program roadway

Text entry box Integer Any integer

between 0 and

30

Yes

6 Study Period

Duration in months

Text entry box Integer 1, 2, 3, ... 12 Yes

3Bi. Cost Calculator Sidebar

If the overall total annual program cost (element 3 in table 2) is not known by the user, relevant

program information and data can be entered into the sidebar in the following fields to build

the cost:

Table 3. Acceptable data elements for the cost calculator.

ID Information Corresponding

Interface Element  

Format/

Type Valid Options RequiredInput?

3a Patrol vehicle type Text entry box String Any string Yes,

unless

overall

annual

program

cost

estimate

(#3) is

provided.

3b Driver's salary ($/hour) Text entry box Double Any value > 0

3c Fuel (gal/month) Text entry box Double Any value > 0

3d Vehicle maintenance

($/month)

Text entry box Double Any value >= 0

3e Hours per day Text entry box Integer Any integer >= 0

3f Days per month Text entry box Integer Any integer >= 0

3g Number of vehicles Text entry box Integer Any integer >= 0

3h Provided Gas

($/month)

Text entry box Double Any integer >= 0

3i Other ($/month) Text entry box Double Any integer >= 0
4

3C. Segment Information Screen

Table 4. Acceptable data elements for Segment Information fields.

ID Information Corresponding

Interface Element

Format/

Type Valid Options RequiredInput?

6 Segment Number Drop‐down box String Segment #, where

# = (1, 2, 3, ... n)

and "n" is user

input #5

Yes

7 Segment Region Drop‐down box String Various options

within State

chosen in input #2

Yes

8 SSP Operation Time

on Segment

Option selection 1, 2, or 3

options to

select

AM Peak, PM

Peak, Off‐Peak

Yes

9 Study Period Duration

in months

Text entry box Integer 1, 2, 3, ... 12 Yes

10 Incident Duration

Savings Metric

Option selection Toggle

button

Average duration,

by lane blockage

Yes

11 Average Duration

Savings (minutes)

Text entry box Double >= 0 Only if

"Average

Duration" is

selected in

input #10.

12a Shoulder Blockage

(duration savings)

Text entry box Double >= 0 Only if "By

Lane

Blockage" is

selected in

input #10.

12b One‐Lane Blockage

(duration savings)

Text entry box Double >= 0

12c Two‐Lane Blockage

(duration savings)

Text entry box Double >= 0

12d‐

g

Duration savings

estimates for three‐,

four‐, five‐, and six‐

lane blockages

Text entry box Double >= 0

13 Segment length in

miles

Text entry box Double >= 0 Yes

14 Number of traffic

lanes by direction

Text entry box Integer Any number

between 2 and 6  

Yes

15 General terrain Drop‐down box String Flat, Level, Rolling

hills, Mountainous

Yes

16 Horizontal curvature Drop‐down box String Straight, Mild,

Sharp

Yes
5

17

Posted mainline

speed limit, miles per

hour (mph)

Text entry box Integer

37.3–74.5 mph

(Note that this value is

the actual speed range

for calculation. Since

the speed may be

reduced according to

ramp density and

curvature, the actual

input range may be

slightly different than

this.)

Yes

18 Traffic volumes

(VEH/H/LANE) by

operation time

Text entry box   Long 500–2200

vehicle/hour/

lane

Yes

19 Truck percentage by

operation time

Text entry box   Double 0–25 Yes

20 Weather type and

percentage

Drop‐down box

(weather type);

text entry box

(percentage)

String,

double

Weather: Clear,

Light Rain, Heavy

Rain, Snow, Fog,

Icy conditions, Low

Visibility, Wind;

Percentage: 0–100

No

21 Average Incident

Duration (min)—by

Operation time and

lane blockage

Text entry box   Double 1–240 minutes Yes

22 Number of managed

incidents in study

period—by operation

time and lane

blockage

Text entry box Integer > 0 Yes

23 Percentage of

estimated secondary

incidents

Text entry box Double >= 0 Yes

4. Use Case: Estimating Benefits and Costs for an SSP Program

The remainder of this User’s Manual demonstrates how users would progress through each

main screen of the SSP‐BC Subtool to get an estimate of the benefit‐cost ratio of their SSP

program. The subsections include instructions and screenshots from the SSP‐BC Subtool.

4A. Home Screen

The Home Screen welcomes users to the SSP‐BC Subtool. From this screen, users can

initiate a variety of processes, described below. A screenshot of the Home screen is

displayed in figure 1.  
6

Figure 1: Screenshot. The Home screen.

The Home screen provides users with the following options:

 About/Information: This screen, accessed by clicking the question mark icon,

explains the purpose, development, and version of the SSP‐BC Subtool. It also

includes contact information for users to ask questions or provide feedback

regarding the tool. This screen is displayed in figure 2.

Figure 2: Screenshot. The About screen.

 Learn More: This screen, shown in figure 3, explains the history and purpose of

the tool. It describes the requirements for using the tool, including computer

settings and Internet browser requirements needed to run the tool. The screen

also includes a link to the User’s Manual (the document you are reading) and a

resource explaining the calculations of benefits and costs. Users can get to this

screen by clicking on the Home screen.
7

Figure 3: Screenshot. Learn More screen.

 Start New Project: Click the “Start New Project” button on the Home screen to

create a new SSP program configuration on which to estimate benefits and

costs. This selection walks the user though a set of data entry pages where

users enter details about the SSP program.

 Upload Project Data: Click the “Upload Project Data” button on the Home

screen to import a data file for a previously entered SSP program configuration

on which benefits and costs were estimated. When users select this option, a

dialog box (figure 4) opens to allow users to select a file saved locally on their

computer for import.
8

Figure 4: Screenshot. Open Dialog Box after user clicks Upload Project Data button.

Note that the file selected from this dialog box:  

o Must be a file generated by the SSP tool during a previous session and

saved locally to the user or another user’s computer.

o Must have a .json extension.

o Must not be modified by the user or another user after being saved

during the initial session.
9

The tool also includes a sidebar to aid in navigation between screens. This sidebar is available

from any screen in the tool. For the current project, it allows users to switch easily between the

Home screen, Project Name screen, Project Details screen, Segment Information screen, and

the Project Output screen. As required information is entered into each screen, the following

screens become activated and selectable. Users cannot select a screen from the sidebar if

required inputs on earlier screens are not entered. An image of the sidebar is shown in figure 5.

Figure 5: Screenshot. Project sidebar.

4B. Project Name Screen

The first screen requiring user input is the Project Name screen. On this screen, users

enter a name for the SSP project, such as “Northern Virginia Safety Service Patrol

Program.” This name should describe the project as it will be used in any reports and

saved data files.  
10

Figure 6: Screenshot. Enter Project Name screen.

The main screen for entering the project name is shown in figure 6. Position the cursor

in the text entry area and type the new name (figure 7). Click the “x” to the right of

the text entry area to delete the entry and start over.

Figure 7: Screenshot. Demonstration of typing new project name.

4C. Project Details Screen

The Project Details screen (shown in figure 8) includes fields for the user to enter

project‐level information, including:  

o The State where the program operates.

o The number of segments of SSP operation (each up to 20 miles long).

o The duration, in months, of the study period. This entry relates to the

numerical entries in the rest of the tool. For example, if 12 months is entered

here, all numerical estimates based on a time period should be for this 12‐

month period.

o The number of annual incidents on the program roadway.

o Annual total program cost:

o If the user knows the annual total program cost, it can be entered in

the data entry box on this screen.
11

o If users do not know the annual total program cost, they can click the

“Calculate” button on the right. This opens the Calculate Program Cost

sidebar, which is explained below.

Figure 8: Screenshot. Project Details screen.

Figure 9 shows an example of data entered on the Project Details screen. Note that for

any of the data entry fields on this screen, the user can hover over the “i” icon to the

right of each label for a tooltip of the expected data entry value.
12

Figure 9: Screenshot. Example data entry on Project Details screen.

The Calculate Program Cost screen (shown in figure 10) assists the user with

estimating annual program costs. The user can enter an annual fixed cost value in the

upper data entry field, which may represent something like IT system costs that are

fixed throughout the annual period.

The user builds additional cost components by entering data into the rows (figure 11).

Users enter the numerical data, such as  a driver’s hourly rate, hours worked per day,

days worked per month, and resource use estimates, required in each column of the

table to get costs related to each patrol vehicle type in the SSP program. If there are

additional distinct patrol vehicle types in the SSP program, users can click the “Add

Row” button to show additional rows for data entry.  

For each row in the table, the monthly costs are calculated in the Monthly Total

column. The annual estimate of total costs, including the fixed cost component, is

shown at the top just under the Sidebar heading.

After completing the information in the sidebar, users click “Submit” to return to the

Program Details screen. The calculated annual total program cost appears in the

appropriate blank on this screen and will be carried forward through the tool.
13

Figure 10: Screenshot. Calculate Program Cost screen.

An example of a completed Calculate Program Cost screen is shown in figure 11.

Figure 11: Screenshot. Example Data Entry on Calculate Program Cost screen.

4D. Segment Information Screen

The Segment Information screen is the heart of the user’s data entry for the SSP‐BC

Subtool. Figure 12 shows a full screenshot of the Segment Information screen.  
14

Figure 12: Screenshot. Full Segment Information screen.

Users should note this section refers to the three panels, outlined in red rectangles,

shown in figure 12. Those panels are referred to as the “Left Panel,” “Central Panel,”

and “Right Panel.” The tool can identify erroneous data entered by the users. If there

are input errors, the panel remains blue. The panel turns green, as shown in figure 12,

once all inputs are correct. The tool can detect potential errors by turning the input

box red. As long as the panel is green, the tool will be able to calculate final results.

The images in this section each focus on a panel of the screen so that more details can

be shown. Each of the features is described subsequently, beginning with figure 13.

Left Panel Central Panel Right Panel
15

Figure 13: Screenshot. Segment screen with data entered.

Figure 13 shows the left panel of the Segment screen in which users enter the following

information:  

 Segment selection: From the drop‐down menu, users select which segment is

currently being edited. The number of segment choices available in this menu is

directly related to the number of segments entered on the Project Information

screen.

 Description: Under the Segment drop‐down menu, users can enter a brief

description of the current segment, such as “Interstate 99 NB.” This field is

limited to plain text.

 Region selection: Under the Description field, users select from the drop‐down

menu the region where the program operates. The regional choices are directly

based on the State selected on the Project Information screen.

 Segment Length in Miles: Users can enter a positive integer to indicate the

length of the segment in miles.  

 Number of ramps: Users can enter the number of entry and exit ramps within

the segment, using a whole number zero or greater.  
16

 Number of traffic lanes by direction: Users can enter the number of traffic lanes

in one direction on the segment by entering a whole number from two through

six. The data in this box will update the quantity of user entry boxes in the other

panels of this screen.

 General terrain: Users can select from one of the options to indicate the grade of

the segment. The options available are Flat, Level, Rolling Hills, and Mountainous,

which equate to around 0 percent, 2 percent, 5 percent, and 10 percent grade

on the roadway, respectively. If the actual grade is not equal to one of these

options, users should select the one that best approximates the actual grade.  

 Horizontal curvature: Users can select the horizontal curvature of the segment.

The options available are Straight, Mild Curves, and Sharp Curves. If the actual

horizontal curvature is not equal to one of these options, users should select the

one that best approximates the actual curvature or run the tool using two

different scenarios for this field to determine the benefit‐cost ratio.

This screen also includes the Calculate Ratio and the Reset Information buttons, shown

in figure 13. The Calculate Ratio button collects all the user inputs (for all the segments)

and calculates the benefit and cost elements. Note that this button should not be

selected until all required inputs for each segment have been entered correctly (i.e., all

panels turn green). Otherwise, the results on the Results screen may include partial

segments or incorrect information. The Reset Information button resets all user entries

on the Segment Information screen (for all segments) to the starting, or default, values.  

Figure 14: Screenshot. SSP Program Information screen.

Figure 14 displays the SSP Program Information screen (also shown in the top‐center of

figure 12). This screen allows users to choose the operational time (AM Peak, PM Peak,
17

Weekday Off Peak, or Weekend) to be incorporated in the analysis. Users need to enter

the average savings of their SSP program as a single averaged value by types of lane

blockages, if any. Users can use the recommended values provided in the tool or use the

local value from field data.

Figure 15: Screenshot. Traffic Information screen.  

Figure 15 displays the Traffic Information screen, also seen in the bottom‐center of

figure 12. This lower part in the Central Panel allows users to enter Posted Mainlane

Speed limits (in miles per hour), Traffic Volume (vehicles per hour per lane), and Truck

Percentage numbers (0–100) of the target roadway segment. Users can also enter

weather information for this segment. Note that the Free‐Flow Speed (FFS) used in this

tool will be based on ramp density and roadway curvature. The range of speed used in

calculations should be from 60–120 kilometers per hour (37.3–74.5 miles per hour),

within which the tool results are most accurate. If the calculated speed used in real

calculation is out of that range, after clicking “Calculate Ratio,” an error message

displays, indicating the calculated/reduced speed is out of range. Users should either

adjust speed input or ramp/curvature input to make the calculation valid. The tool still

produces suggested results by using the nearest reasonable value to your input on the

variable bounds in its calculation.  
18

Traffic volume ranges should be from 500–2,200 vehicles per hour per lane (VEH/H/L),

the range within which the tool results are most accurate. If entered values are out of

the range, the tool will use the nearest reasonable value to your input on the variable

bounds in its calculation.

Figure 16: Screenshot. Segment cloning function.

Additionally, the tool offers a convenient function for cloning segments, as shown in

figure 16. When users have completed all inputs for one segment, and if the information

is similar across all project segments, users can directly copy segments and modify new

segments as needed.
19

Figure 17: Screenshot. Incident Information screen.

This right panel of the Segment Information screen, shown in figure 17, allows users to

input detailed information for current incident information (including Incident Blockage

Severity, Average Incident Duration (Minutes), Number of Managed Incidents, and

Percentage of Estimated Secondary Incidents) for each analysis period and lane blockage

condition. The Average Incident Duration field is for current conditions with SSP

implemented. The Incident Duration Savings field (see figure 14) will be added to the

number to obtain the Incident Duration without SSP. Note that it is better to keep both

incident durations with and without SSP within the range of 1–14,400 minutes, a range

within which the tool calculation results will be most accurate. The tool will use the nearest

reasonable value to your input in its calculation if entered values are out of the range.

   
20

4E. Project Output Screen

Figure 18: Screenshot. Project Output/Calculate Ratio screen.

The Project Output screen (figure 18) displays after you click “Calculate Ratio.” You can view the

results on the right panel directly, but you can also access a printable PDF report with more

detailed results by clicking the “PRODUCE REPORT” button.