The Total Cost to Deploy ITS Improvements Including Artificial Intelligence-Based Decision Support System (AI-DSS) on I-24 Freeway Was Approximately $74.5 Million, Including Around $5.8 Million for AI-DSS Development and Implementation.
Cost Data for AI-supported Transportation Management System in I-24 Corridor in Tennessee.
Nashville, Tennessee, United States
Murfreesboro
The Interstate 24 (I-24) corridor between Nashville and Murfreesboro, Tennessee, has experienced persistent congestion and safety challenges, creating a need for operational strategies that could improve corridor performance. To address these challenges, the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) and its partner agencies implemented intelligent transportation systems (ITS) integrated corridor management (ICM) strategies to enhance safety and efficiency along this corridor. Funded under the Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies Deployment Initiative (ATCMTD) grant program in 2021, TDOT deployed an Artificial Intelligence-Based Decision Support System (AI-DSS) to support real-time traffic management. Compared with microsimulation-based decision support systems (DSS), the AI-DSS was designed to be more economical, efficient, and transferable. The system utilized various transportation management technologies including variable Speed Limit (VSL) signs, Lane Control Signs (LCS), Dynamic Message Signs (DMS), video detection for emergency pull-offs, upgraded and connected traffic signals, new closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras, and Radar Detection Systems (RDS). The AI-DSS gathers traffic and incident data from field monitoring devices and TDOT’s SmartWay Central Software, analyzes corridor conditions in real time, and provides recommended actions to the Transportation Management Center (TMC). These actions included posting VSLs, sharing traveler information, supporting lane-control operations, and recommending traffic signal timing changes. The deployment extended along I-24 between the I-440 and I-840 interchanges, where TDOT constructed 67 overhead gantries placed approximately every half mile in each direction.
Cost reported are expressed in 2023 dollars and were obtained from construction bid documents and design and engineering cost summaries provided by the TDOT. The main project costs in 2023 contains the following items.
| Construction Costs (ITS Improvements) | $55,774,983.86 |
| Construction Engineering and Inspection (CEI) Costs (ITS Improvements) | $7,181,279.04 |
| Design Costs (ITS Improvements) | $5,814,451.32 |
| AI-DSS Cost (total grant value + funding match) | $5,772,000.00 |
| Total Project Cost (construction + CEI + design + AI-DSS costs) | $74,542,714.22 |
| Annual O&M Costs | $1,000,000 |
ATCMTD Final Report for the TDOT Artificial Intelligence-Based Decision Support System (DSS)
The total cost of the I-24 freeway ITS improvements and AI-DSS system was approximately $74.5 million, including planning, project design and engineering, procurement, and construction costs.
