Evacuation Route Traffic, Flood, and Wind Hazard Monitoring System

In the aftermath of Hurricane George, Louisiana emergency management and transportation officials realized that the State was probably not as well prepared for such an event as they may have originally assumed. One of the key areas of concern was the lack of access to timely and accurate information regarding the status of evacuation routes. Emergency management officials were in effect "working blind;" with little knowledge of which evacuation routes were flowing smoothly and which were in gridlock. As a result, they were unable to redirect traffic from routes that were over capacity to parallel routes, only miles away, that were carrying little traffic. In response to this problem the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) and Louisiana State University (LSU) initiated a research effort to develop innovative and cost effective ways to get access to timely traffic flow information. What has evolved is a partnership between the DOTD, LSU, the United State Geological Survey (USGS) and the private sector that is working toward the creation of a state-wide traffic, weather, flood, and bridge scour monitoring system for critical routes within the State. This paper summarizes the concept plan for the system and highlights many of the features and capabilities that have been incorporated into the pilot system. It also presents some of the unique aspects of the system and the unique partnership that has been formed between the DOTD and USGS to make this system a reality.