California Architecture Demonstration

Overview
ITS in California emphasizes both system integration and infrastructure deployment. Caltrans developed the Statewide ITS Architecture (SWITSA) to provide California with a framework that supports much needed integration services beyond regional geopolitical boundaries for travelers.

To demonstrate how SWITSA can assist ITS system integration, Caltrans has identified several ITS projects that exemplify integration and coordination across jurisdictional boundaries. In these projects, stakeholders from multiple state, regional, and local agencies are working closely to achieve integrated traffic management, incident management, traveler information, goods movement, and other services. These integrated services are being built within the framework established in SWITSA, and are expected to improve the transportation system’s mobility, safety, and efficiency for travelers of the entire region. Among the list of ITS integration projects, two projects plan to expand and improve the transportation management across county and state borders, both in the northern California region. Caltrans has selected these two projects to demonstrate system integration. These two projects were combined to maximize the benefits of the integration effort. Caltrans is conducting high-level planning for the project, Integrated Tri-State Corridor Management System, to demonstrate how to use SWITSA to build multi-jurisdictional ITS integration.

The Integrated Tri-State Corridor Management System project was chosen to demonstrate how system integration can help the region’s transportation challenges from increasing traffic demand, an adverse natural environment, and safety concerns. The northern California region is characterized by substantial residential traffic in the urbanized area and a large volume of goods movement across state and county borders. Some sections of I-5 and the state highways in this region experience near capacity traffic volumes and are expecting increasing demand in the near future . Meanwhile, mountainous topographical features, adverse climate conditions, and lack of alternate routes often pose severe challenges to interstate drivers. Difficulties to reach help in the remote rural and mountain areas make transportation safety the most pressing need of the region.

To address the region’s transportation challenges, the local agencies need an integrated management scheme to provide an optimized solution to the region’s problems. Presently, ITS field devices have been deployed and will keep expanding along major highways in the region to enhance traffic monitoring, road condition detection, and en-route traveler information. Transportation management agencies and emergency response agencies in different districts and states, however, do not have a communication system to efficiently share the information from the field devices. Built on the existing ITS infrastructure and programmed projects, the Integrated Tri-State Corridor Management System promotes multi-jurisdictional transportation data sharing and information integration. Integrating information among the traffic management centers in the region will keep neighboring jurisdictions aware of changes in road conditions in the entire region. Freight operators will be informed about weather restrictions, and drivers can obtain road closure and incident information early enough to make itinerary changes or other driving decisions. The project is also an opportunity to examine a broader based ITS system, which can be applied to the future statewide I-5 corridor and demonstrate ITS capabilities for corridor management. The Integrated Tri-State Corridor Management System is consistent with the following proposed ITS projects in SWITSA:

In summary, the benefit of the Integrated Tri-State Corridor Management System will be reflected in the following aspects:
Economic Benefits – Improved traffic management information exchange and traveler information will reduce delay which will enhance efficiency for freight transportation and travelers.

Safety Benefit – Improved center-to-center communication will reduce incident response time, alert travelers of potentially dangerous driving conditions and closures, and reduce travelers’ and vehicles’ involvement in accidents and being stranded in adverse weather.

Traffic Management – The interagency traffic management will be enhanced from manual, phone-based information exchange to high-speed, automated data transmission, which will significantly improve capacity and efficiency of traffic management in the region. A low-cost concept has been developed to achieve this.

Traveler Information – Improved interagency coordination and information sharing will ensure that traveler information dissemination to cross-boundary travelers is comprehensive, consistent, and timely so that they can make route and itinerary decisions in advance.

Stakeholders

Agency	Division
Nevada DOT	Maintenance and Operations Division, ITS Operations Section
Nevada Highway Patrol (NHP)	Northern Command
Oregon DOT	Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS)
Oregon State Police (OSP)	Patrol Services
California Highway Patrol (CHP)	Northern Division
Caltrans District 2	Planning & Local Assistance / Traffic Operations
Caltrans District 3	Planning & Local Assistance / Traffic Operations
Caltrans Headquarters	Transportation Planning Division, Division of Research and Innovation, Division of Operations, Division of Admin & Information Technology
Counties and Cities in the region	Transportation Planning or Public Works Departments
Local emergency response agencies	Local police and fire departments
FHWA	FHWA California, Nevada, & Oregon State Offices
Goods-Movement-related organizations	West Coast Corridor Coalition, California Trucking Association