The Rural Opportunities to Use Traffic Technology Enhancements (ROUTE) on U.S. Route 50, or ROUTE 50, project proposed a variety of Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) and connected vehicle (CV) technologies to dynamically manage traffic and thereby address safety, travel time reliability, mobility and quality of life issues. The ROUTE 50 project focuses on four areas: 1) incident and event management, 2) traffic management and safety, 3) traffic monitoring and performance management, and 4) traveler information. The study area consisted of 113-miles along U.S. Route 50 linking oceanside resort areas and the Baltimore-Washington metro area, including Queen Anne’s, Talbot, Dorchester, Wicomico, and Worcester counties, which are among the most rural counties in Maryland. The ROUTE 50 project was anticipated to be deployed and tracked over a period of 3.5 years.

METHODOLOGY

The ITS hardware proposed in this study included nine CCTV cameras, eight travel time signs, eight CV Roadside Units (RSUs), Curve Speed Warning systems, seven traffic sensors, two dynamic message signs (DMS), 48 traffic signal modifications for advanced signal system, and 48 RSU for Signal Phasing and Timing (SPaT). CV technologies utilize Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (CV2X) over the 5.9GHz band. Traffic detectors and vehicle re-identification detectors use Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and CCTV cameras operate on 4G. The list of proposed software included machine learning-based traffic prediction, Q2 (Quality of life and Queue management) Inverse Traffic Responsive Pattern Selection (TRPS) signal timing, Adaptive Signal Control Technology (ASCT), and Automated Traffic Signal Performance Measures (ATSPM).

FINDINGS

Table 1. Quantifiable Mobility Benefit Projections

Technology	Annual Improvement	Annual Benefit
Q² TRPS: US 50	267,897 hours	$5,290,953
Q² TRPS: Side Street in Towns	1,066 hours	$21,054
Travel Information	552,434 hours	$10,910,128
Incident Signal Timing Plans	48,000 hours	$948,000
Freeway Incident Traffic Management (FITM), Transportation Management Center (TMC), Advanced Traffic Management System (ATMS)	1,648,800 hours	$32,000,000
ASCT	12,439 hours	$245,670
ATSPM	437,468 hours	$8,640,000
Annual Benefit	2,968,104 hours	$58,055,808

Table 2. Quantifiable Safety Benefit Projections

Technology	Safety Improvements	Fatality Reduction
Q² TRPS	Significant. Not estimated.	-
CV Curve Warning	2 per year	-
CV SPaT	22 per year	0.33 per year
ASCT	15 per year	-
Q² TRPS	6 per year	-
All Others	45 per year	1 per year
TOTAL	90 per year	1.33 per year
Annual Benefit	$331,380 per year	$1.86M per year