Pilot Car Wait-Time Notification System
Publication: Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 135, Issue 11
Abstract
The Kansas Department of Transportation does routine roadwork that requires traffic on two-lane highways to be narrowed to one lane. This operation usually involves use of a pilot car to direct the flow of traffic. The main objective of this research was to determine the most cost-effective method of informing drivers of delay time when approaching a pilot car operation at the two-lane rural highway work zones. Since most rural construction zones are outside existing commercially available communication systems, such as cellular coverage, success of the project hinges primarily on the acquisition of a low-cost, easily deployable work zone data communication system. The method employed in the design of the notification system involved using global positioning system receivers to track the pilot car, an algorithm to determine the time the pilot car would take to reach the two ends of the work zone and 900-Mhz radio transceivers to send the information to the display. The information was displayed on a light-emitting diode timer, mounted on a specially designed sign. The system worked as designed during a 2-hour test run at an actual work zone and was well accepted by the drivers that were surveyed.
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Acknowledgments
The writers wish to express their appreciation to Keith Kovala and Chelsi Wieland, undergraduate students in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Kansas State University, for their hard work and dedication to the project. The funding for this project was provided by the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) through a grant to Kansas State University. All statements and opinions presented in the project are the sole responsibility of the writers, and may not necessarily reflect those of the KDOT.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 135 • Issue 11 • November 2009
Pages: 858 - 863
Copyright
© 2009 ASCE.
History
Received: Dec 18, 2007
Accepted: Jun 4, 2009
Published online: Oct 15, 2009
Published in print: Nov 2009
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