Oregon Department of Transportation—Local Adaptive Signal Timing on U.S. 101

Traffic backups along U.S. 101 in Lincoln City, Oregon, caused merchants to worry about business and travelers to crawl through town while getting stuck at traffic signals. To fix this, ODOT used the Advanced Transportation Controller and the latest Intelligent Transportation Systems national standards for developing a cost-effective local adaptive control system.  Vehicle and queue detection monitoring allow the system to real time adjust the splits, cycle lengths, and signal timing to fluctuating traffic volumes -difficult tasks for traditional system timing. Local roadside control provides cost savings in IT and staff resources and improves operational reliability. The roughly $550,000 project improved travel time by 23 percent, cut traffic complaints overall, and produced a model for the future.