The commissioner will also consider information gained from modifications. Changes may be made from time to time as the department learns what impact modifications have on specific locations and system wide. Ramp meters are not a long-term solution to congestion. In 1982, according to the Texas Transportation Institute, the Twin Cities area was the 43rd most congested region in the country. By 1997, the area had moved to 14th or 19th, depending on the survey used.
Projections indicate that congestion continues to accelerate and the region continues to grow.
These sensors are polled once every 30 seconds by a computer at the Traffic Management Center which then automatically either activates a meter, or determines it should remain in a flashing yellow mode. Q. How many metered ramps are actually active during the day, I ve seen different numbers reported. A. System-wide there are 430 metered ramps. Under the recently enacted ramp meter modifications, when a zone becomes so congested that metering would no longer be helpful to the efficient movement of traffic through it, the zones meters will simply continue to flash yellow. If congestion thresholds in a specific zone are met prior to the start of ramp meter operating hours, the meters in that zone will continue to flash yellow throughout the rush hour.