Facilitating Intelligent Transportation

Systems Deployment

Office of Operations

21st Century Operations Using 21st Century Technologies

The Challenge of 

Sustaining Mobility

In the post-interstate era, our nation has struggled to keep

pace with the ever increasing demand for travel by its population. This demand now exceeds the existing capacity of the

transportation system in many of our major metropolitan

areas and is pushing the limits in many others. To put it in

perspective, statistics show that the growth in vehicle miles

traveled increased by 80 percent between 1980 and 2000

while roadway lane miles increased just 3.8 percent during

the same period.

The result, as can be expected, is increased congestion that

continues to erode the quality of service being provided. The

magnitude of the problem is reflected in a recent survey that

cited poor traffic flow as being the most prevalent factor in

causing traveler dissatisfaction. We can expect a continued

trend of increasing congestion unless changes are made. One

such change is to focus on improving the operation of existing

systems by deploying and using 21st century technologies.

What We’re Doing 

Since the early 1990s, the Federal Highway Administration

(FHWA) has advocated the use of Intelligent Transportation

Systems (ITS) as a means of achieving greater operational

efficiency of our transportation system. However, uncoordinated deployment of independent systems that 

are not integrated and which cannot communicate with

neighboring or complementary systems provide little if 

any benefit. Accordingly, several programs have been established to address congestion and coordinated operations.

One of the tools developed for this purpose is the National

ITS Architecture (NA). The NA was developed to provide a

unifying framework for ITS infrastructure deployment to

ensure that technologies can work together smoothly and

effectively. TEA-21 requires that all ITS projects funded from

the Highway Trust Fund, including the Mass Transit Account,

conform to the NA and applicable standards. Specifically, most

State departments of transportation (DOTs) and metropolitan

areas are required to develop a regional ITS architecture using

the NA as a resource and to use a systems engineering

approach for developing ITS projects. The deadline for

completing a regional ITS architecture is April 8, 2005.

An important complement to the NA is the standards that

define how system components operate within a consistent

framework. By specifying how systems and components

interconnect, the standards promote interoperability. An ITS

Standards Program was established to encourage widespread use of standards, the interoperability of ITS systems,

and interchangeability of devices. This program is maturing

from a primarily standards development program by rapidly

moving into standards deployment support.

While progress has been made, many State and local transportation agencies still require assistance and support in

developing a regional ITS architecture and in understanding

how to properly use and maintain it once developed.

Likewise, assistance and support in applying standards is also

needed. The challenge is in providing the support necessary

to help these agencies in their transition to using advanced

technologies for improved operations in a systematic fashion

that focuses on integration and interoperability.

Statewide and Regional Architecture Development
April 2004

FHWA-OP-04-043

For more information on FHWA Office of Operations activities, visit our web site at

www.fhwa.dot.gov/operations

Future Direction 

Operational efficiencies will be increased and congestion will

be reduced when State and local agencies are provided the

necessary guidance and support to deploy and use ITS. To

that end, FHWA’s Office of Operations has established an ITS

Deployment Team charged with accelerating and facilitating

ITS deployment in a consistent manner across the nation.

The Deployment Team develops ITS program strategies and

provides technical and program expertise to Federal field

office staff in the focal areas of architecture, standards, systems

engineering, integration, and operations support. They are

equipped with the skills, knowledge, and information to

effectively support integrated ITS deployment and other key

ITS initiatives with State and local transportation agencies.

Both FHWA staff and contracted services provide technical

assistance for architecture and standards. The Peer-to-Peer

program has a network of over 120 U.S. DOT-approved ITS

professionals to provide technical assistance.

A suite of training courses and workshops has been

developed by the Office of Operations to support State DOTs

and local agencies in ITS architecture systems engineering

and standards implementation.

The architecture training suite of courses and workshops

are designed to assist in the development and implementation

of regional architectures. Efforts are currently under way to

expand the support material available to focus more on the

use and maintenance of completed architectures.

The system engineering suite of courses are designed to

build a solid foundation for successful ITS project planning,

deployment, and operations.

The ITS standards suite of courses and workshops are

designed to assist in the use of standards for planning,

designing, procuring, deploying and operating ITS systems.

Additional resources can be found on the 

ITS Deployment Team Web site at

http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/travel/Deployment_Task_Force/task_force.htm.