Simulated deployment of Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) technologies on the I-394 corridor in Minneapolis show a benefit-cost ratio of 22:1 over ten years.

Results of the AMS ICM Phase 2 study for the ICM Pioneer site in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Made Public Date

10/31/2012

Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States

I-394 Corridor: Minneapolis, Minnesota,

United States

Identifier

2012-B00804

Integrated Corridor Management: Analysis, Modeling, and Simulation for the I-394 Corridor in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Summary Information

The I-394 corridor in Minneapolis, Minnesota is one of the US DOT's Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) Phase 2 Pioneer sites. As one of the Pioneer sites, the corridor utilizes analysis, modeling and simulation (AMS) tools and strategies to assess the impact of deploying ICM technologies on the corridor. This analysis allows Minnesota DOT (MnDOT) to see where potential gaps in their strategy may be, as well as examining which traffic situations have the greatest benefit from ICM in order to provide supporting technical documentation to the elected officials that decide to fund the projects.

I-394 is the major East-West corridor that runs from Minneapolis' western suburbs to the Central Business District. This commuter corridor has HOT lanes and general purpose lanes, along with intersecting freeways and parallel arterials. Buses and transit also operate along this corridor.

Findings
Based on the AMS methodology, MnDOT was able estimate the impacts of ICM deployment along the I-394 corridor through pre- and post-deployment comparisons.

The AMS process estimates that through travel time savings, fuel savings and reduced emissions, the expected benefits accrued over a ten year life cycle would be $85.9 million dollars.
The benefits come from an estimated savings of 132,000 person hours, 17,600 gallons of fuel, and 175 tons of emissions every year for ten years due to improved management of congestion that results from incidents on I-394.
Corridor throughput improved as result of the ICM deployment, reducing the length of extreme travel times.
Travel time reliability was also shown to improve based on greater information dissemination and traveler diversion during incidents.
Costs over the ten year life cycle of the ICM project are estimated to be $3.96 million total. This results in a benefit-cost ratio of 22:1 for the full life of the project.