Enable Temporary Fiber Repair to Immediately Restore Uptime Followed by Comprehensive Scheduled Repairs.
Implementation of a Statewide ITS Resilience Project in North Carolina Included Field Investigations of Fiber Optic Cable Infrastructure.
North Carolina, United States
Statewide ITS Resiliency Project
Summary Information
In 2022, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) owned and operated 689 cameras, 352 dynamic message signs, and four ramp meters. The agency determined that only about 48 percent of these ITS devices were consistently available due to maintenance issues. The downtime impacted the effectiveness of the state’s incident management and traveler information systems, prompting the agency to initiate a Statewide ITS Resilience Project. The goal of the project was to improve ITS device uptime to an aggressive goal of 93 percent.
The project included a pay-for-performance model for preventative and responsive ITS device maintenance, an ITS maintenance dashboard, and the buildout of the state’s Fiber Asset Management System. The latter involved field investigations of fiber optic cable infrastructure to enable more accurate and effective documentation and population of the system.
Implementation of the Resilience Project was aided by extensive coordination among NCDOT Divisions, the NC Department of Information Technology, the NCDOT GIS Unit, and a contractor. Key lessons learned include the following:
- Enable temporary fiber repair to immediately restore uptime, followed by comprehensive scheduled repairs. NCDOT found that fiber often impacts several devices, causing downstream impacts if not prioritized for repair.
- Continually update and monitor system assets. Asset management, facilitated by NCDOT’s Resilience Project contract, was vital to proper and timely maintenance of its ITS devices.
- Coordinate among agency divisions and with state, regional, and contractor representatives. For NCDOT, this coordination was needed for a successful performance-based maintenance contract, particularly since its maintenance and construction activities had overlapping project limits.
