Case Studies
Apr 11, 2017

Strategic Methods for Modernizing Traffic Signal Maintenance Management and Quantifying the Impact of Maintenance Activities

Publication: Journal of Infrastructure Systems
Volume 23, Issue 4

Abstract

In a period of increasingly constrained budgets, traffic engineers must develop more cost-effective maintenance strategies for traffic signal systems. Existing literature suggests that many agencies lack methods to systematically identify signal maintenance opportunities, and even fewer measure the impact of maintenance activities. This paper presents a method of using high-resolution signal controller data to identify intersections with failed inductive loop detection, which can result in substantial misallocation of green times and unnecessary vehicle delay. An application of this methodology is explored on a major urban arterial, with the resulting repairs translating to approximately $900,000 in annual user benefits. The results presented in this paper are easily implementable, given the increasing adoption of high-resolution signal controller data. Such methods can also be used to more clearly communicate maintenance success stories with the general public and elected officials.

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Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Go to Journal of Infrastructure Systems
Journal of Infrastructure Systems
Volume 23Issue 4December 2017

History

Received: Oct 28, 2015
Accepted: Dec 8, 2016
Published online: Apr 11, 2017
Discussion open until: Sep 11, 2017
Published in print: Dec 1, 2017

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Authors

Affiliations

Technical Programs Specialist, Institute of Transportation Engineers, 1627 I St. NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20006 (corresponding author). ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4439-7145. E-mail: [email protected]
Jim Sturdevant [email protected]
P.E.
Director of Traffic Management, Indiana Dept. of Transportation, Indy TMC, 8620 E 21st St. Indianapolis, IN 46219. E-mail: [email protected]
Darcy Bullock, Ph.D., M.ASCE [email protected]
P.E.
Professor of Civil Engineering, Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN 47907. E-mail: [email protected]

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