T R A N S P O R T A T I O N S Y S T E M S M A N A G E M E N T A N D O P E R A T I O N S 

ENHANCING TRANSPORTATION: CONNECTING TMSO AND DESIGN

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Joseph Gregory, Federal Highway Administration

(202) 366-0610 | Joseph.Gregory@dot.gov

The typical highway project life cycle starts with planning 

and then moves to design, construction, and maintenance. 

Historically, the day-to-day operation of the facility after 

project completion has received less attention. Design 

personnel, transportation planners, and operations staff 

can work together to enhance the linkage between 

design and operations. For example, some States are 

now working to more fully incorporate operations into 

their project development processes and design manuals. 

Considering facility operation during the design process 

and incorporating TSMO strategies into facility design can 

improve system performance for little cost. 

TSMO strategies help agencies improve the safety, reliability, 

and cost-effectiveness of their infrastructure projects. 

Designing with TSMO in mind results in several benefits, 

including: 

 A safer and more operationally efficient facility design

for all users (motorized and non-motorized), emergency

responders, maintenance staff, and other operators.

 Lower costs for future operational and intelligent

transportation systems (ITS) deployments, as

foundational ITS infrastructure can be included in

highway designs during construction.

 Less congestion and greater travel time reliability from

the implementation of TSMO strategies.

DESIGN

How has this worked in practice? 

 The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) recommends

participation and input from various fields of expertise on each project

development team during the planning, design, and construction phases. The

traffic unit provides capacity studies and operational analyses and develops safety

and delay indices.4

 The Pennsylvania DOT has developed design checklists for a number of ITS

elements for both standalone projects and as components of a larger project. The

checklists address the design of closed circuit televisions, dynamic message signs,

highway advisory radio, vehicle detectors, ramp meters, and travel time systems.

They ensure that a thorough list of location, safety, power, communications,

maintenance, usability, and other factors or requirements have been considered in

the design of the ITS element.5

 The Colorado DOT requires all projects to undergo a TSMO evaluation during the

design scoping review phase of its projects. The three part assessment (safety,

operations, and ITS) ensures TSMO elements are considered early in the project

lifecycle (e.g., managed lanes, service patrols, real-time traveler information,

incident response teams, transportation management centers).6

FHWA-HOP-18-088

December 2018

WHAT IS TSMO?

Transportation systems management 

and operations (TSMO) is the 

use of strategies, technologies, 

mobility services, and programs to 

optimize the safety, mobility, and 

reliability of the existing and planned 

transportation system. A significant 

cause of congestion and unreliable 

travel is non-recurring events, such as 

crashes, and transportation network 

disruptions, such as bad weather, and 

special events. TSMO enables agencies 

to target the underlying operational 

causes of congestion and unreliable 

travel through innovative solutions 

that typically cost less and are quicker 

to implement than adding capacity. 

TSMO expands the range of mobility 

choices available to system users, 

including shared mobility and nonmotorized options. 

This Fact Sheet is part of a series that 

explains how TSMO relates to other 

State and local transportation agency 

functions and offices. Other Fact 

Sheets focus on how TSMO relates 

to: asset management, performance 

management, maintenance,

construction, environment, planning, 

human resources, and safety.

Enhancing Transportation:

connecting tsmo 

and Design

4 Designing for Transportation Management and Operations: A Primer, FHWA, 2013. Available at: https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop13013/fhwahop13013.pdf.

5 Ibid. 

6 TSM&O Evaluation, Colorado Department of Transportation, 2018. Available at https://www.codot.gov/programs/operations/tsmo-evaluation.

The SHRP2 Reliability by Design tool can help with analyzing how design strategies 

can improve travel time reliability. This is a spreadsheet-based analysis tool that helps 

agencies estimate the effectiveness and comparative economic benefits of design 

treatments at specific locations. 

To download the tool, go to: http://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/169768.aspx.

Photo Source: Getty Images
ENHANCING TRANSPORTATION: CONNECTING TMSO AND DESIGN ENHANCING TRANSPORTATION: CONNECTING TMSO AND DESIGN

Designing for TSMO can reduce the frequency 

and impacts of temporary transportation 

system disruptions that cause congestion and 

unreliable travel times. For example:1

 Impacts from traffic incidents can be 

reduced by design treatments. Treatments 

can decrease the frequency of incidents 

(e.g., queue warning systems, runaway 

truck ramps), minimize the number of 

lanes they block (e.g., crash investigation 

sites, vehicle turnouts), reduce the time 

the lanes are blocked (e.g., emergency 

crossovers, drivable shoulders), and shield 

the incident from the view of passing 

drivers (e.g., extra-high median barriers, 

portable incident screens).

 Adverse weather conditions on the 

roads can be mitigated with treatments 

to prevent snow or sand from 

blowing across the roadway, limit the 

accumulation of snow and ice, or increase 

the efficiency of lane-clearing practices. 

 Congestion caused by surges in demand 

can be alleviated by incorporating 

mechanisms into the design that 

temporarily increase capacity in the 

direction of major travel (e.g., divert 

demand to alternate routes, and limit 

freeway entrance and exit options). 

TSMO can play multiple 

roles in the infrastructure 

design process.

 TSMO can be an alternative to adding new 

capacity or reduce the new capacity needed.

 Future TSMO and technology needs can be 

incorporated into a traditional design to 

preserve capacity and extend the functional 

life of the facility.

 TSMO strategies can help mitigate 

substandard or problematic geometrics.

 TSMO strategies can serve as a useful tool 

in performance-based practical design.2

Considering TSMO in the Project Design Phases

TSMO strategies can be implemented at each point of the design process to improve project 

outcomes and long-term operational efficiency. Agencies benefit from developing formal 

policies and procedures for including TSMO strategies and making operational considerations 

throughout the design process, as outlined in Figure 1.

 Project Scoping Phase. The 

project’s fundamental purpose 

and need are identified, and 

the potential to include TSMO 

strategies is the greatest during 

this initial phase. This is an ideal 

time to develop agreements or 

requirements for project-specific 

TSMO strategies. 

 Preliminary Design Phase. Many project alternatives are still being considered, providing 

an important opportunity to incorporate TSMO strategies instead of the more traditional or 

costly solutions such as adding lanes. At this point, items such as full-width shoulders may 

be considered since narrow shoulders may require maintenance personnel to shut down 

lanes to perform their duties.3

 Final Design Phase. Plans and detailed specifications for construction work are prepared. 

Adjustments to the design to accommodate TSMO are still possible, but may be more costly 

than at earlier stages. 

Sample design treatments that support TSMO:

 Emergency crossovers in medians

 Gated median barrier

 Queue-jump and bypass lanes

 Drivable shoulders

 Vehicle turnouts

 Crash investigation sites

 Ramp widening and closure

 Runaway truck ramp

 Improvements to detour routes

 Snow fences

 Wildlife fencing, overpasses, and 

underpasses

Figure 1. Project Design Phases

1 Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2) Report S2-L07-RR-2: Design Guide for Addressing Nonrecurrent Congestion, 2014. Available at: 

http://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/169768.aspx. 

2 Transportation Systems Management and Operations and Performance Based Practical Design Case Study 4: Demonstrating Performance-Based 

Practical Design through Regional Performance-Based Planning, FHWA, 2016. Available at https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop16038/

index.htm.

3 Designing for Transportation Management and Operations: A Primer, FHWA, 2013. Available at https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop13013/fhwahop13013.pdf

Performance Based Practical Design modifies the traditional highway design process by 

taking a “design up” approach, where transportation decision makers exercise engineering 

judgment to build up the improvements from existing conditions to meet both project 

and system objectives. By taking into account TSMO strategies during the performancebased practical design process, designers can expand the variety of design options 

available to them and perhaps postpone or reduce the need for conventional capacity 

improvements. For example, designing shoulders to support the TSMO strategy of parttime shoulder use by public buses reduces delay during peak congestion periods and 

provides additional capacity as needed, but the shoulder reverts to its original use during 

non-peak travel periods.

Photo Source: Getty Images