Abstract
This research was undertaken to comparatively assess the unprecedented travel and activity conditions related to the onset of coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) in the US in the first half of 2020. In this effort, roadway traffic volumes were used to relate government directives for social separation and COVID-19 case progression in ten diversely populated and located states. Among the key contributions of the research were its illustration of the amount and time scale of public response to activity restrictions across the country and the general finding that overall, governmental directives, as reflected in rapid traffic decreases, likely served their purpose. Another key finding was that by June 1st, no state had completely returned to routine levels of travel. Combined, the results of this study illustrate the effect of governmental action with respect to the course of the virus, including how varied timings of responses reflected outcomes based on the levels of threat and characteristics of individual locations. It is expected that this paper will be of use to practitioners, governmental, and researchers to assess and develop plans for future similar major events and emergencies.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code used during the study were provided by a third party. Direct requests for these materials may be made to the provider as indicated in the Acknowledgments.
Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge Joey Gordon of the Florida Department of Transportation for making statewide traffic count data available for this research. The authors would also like to thank Embry-Riddle Aeronautical students Tate Grant and Erika Shellenberger for their assistance in data collection and processing. The authors also recognize the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) for their continued support of the Gulf Coast Center for Evacuation and Transportation Resiliency at Louisiana State University (LSU), a collaborative University Transportation Center (UTC) and a member of the Maritime Transportation Research and Education Center (MarTREC) at the University of Arkansas and the Center for Cooperative Mobility for Competitive Megaregions at the University of Texas. Partial funding for this effort was provided by the National Science Foundation Award CMMI- 1822436, for which the authors are also grateful. The content of this paper is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of any of these sponsors.
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Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part A: Systems
Volume 147 • Issue 5 • May 2021
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© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Aug 10, 2020
Accepted: Jan 15, 2021
Published online: Feb 17, 2021
Published in print: May 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Jul 17, 2021
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