Gulf Region
Intelligent Transportation Society
Spring 2017
IN THIS ISSUE:
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President’s Bio and Message
2017 Spring Workshop
2016 Annual Meeting Recap
State News and Updates
Academic Scholarships
2017 Annual Meeting information
Meet our GRITS President: Jonathan Fox,
Intelligent Transportation Systems LLC
Jonathan Fox is a Principal with Intelligent
Transportation Systems LLC and has been serving
the public in the Traffic Engineering and ITS
industry for over 15 years. His background is Civil
Engineering, Traffic Signal Design and
Intersection Analysis, but the thrills of
technology advancements for transportation
have brought him to be part of a Company
exclusively focused on ITS. Over the last 8 years
he went through the officer ranks as Secretary,
Vice President, President (2012), and Past
President of GRITS. He continued to serve the
Chapter on the Past President’s Council as well
as participated in the planning committees for
local and annual meetings. Also, he has been an
active member of Deep South Institute of
Transportation Engineering (ITE) since 2003.
Jonathan is a licensed professional engineer in
the GRITS states and holds certifications as a
Professional Traffic Operations Engineer (PTOE)
as well as a Project Management Professional
(PMP). Jonathan has a gorgeous wife named
Kallie, a dog named Ricci, and helps coach his
nephews’ baseball and basketball teams. When
not working, coaching, or spending time with
family, he’ll squeeze out a moment to slalom
water ski or go fishing.
Hello Gulf Region ITS Members and Friends,
I hope this Newsletter finds you well. I’m very excited to be your 2017 GRITS
President. Apparently someone thought it was a good idea to let me lead the
chapter once again (I was president back in 2012), and everyone else went
along with it. All jokes aside, I am honored and humbled to serve and want to
do my absolute best for our members. At any time, feel free to reach out to
me with any thoughts on how our chapter may be able to better serve the
members ([email protected]).
If you’ve already flipped through the Newsletter (and have decided a
thorough read is now warranted), you’ll have seen there are many things
going on in our region. Likewise, GRITS has been busy working for you by
setting achievable goals for this year. One key way has been looking for ways
to enhance our website to make it easier for both the users (e.g., meeting
registration) as well as for the GRITS Board Members to post useful
information. Our goal was to have the website updated by the end of the year
and right now it is scheduled to be ready for early May 2017. Related, we had
great success late last year with our 2017 elections in using a 3rd party
website. We’re looking to continue using this process for our future elections
and continuing to get more member participation in nominations and
elections. Another goal has been to make sure that our committees are
setting goals and meeting regularly to better evolve our chapter. All of our
committees have met, set goals, and are scheduled to continue to meet
throughout the year. If you are interested in serving on a committee, please
let us know ([email protected]).
Without further ado, I’ll let you move onto the rest of the Newsletter. Once
again, thank you for your interest and participation in GRITS! We hope you
have a great year and look forward to seeing you at our meetings.
-Jonathan Fox
Louisiana Tech University Ruston, LA
8TH ANNUAL MEETING
L’AUBERGE HOTEL – BATON ROUGE
The 2016 Annual Meeting is in the books! Thank you to all of the
presenters, attendees, exhibitors, and sponsors for making the
meeting a success!
In addition, the 2016 Annual Meeting Recap page is up and
running! It contains links to the presentations as well as the
program, PDH form, the conference dailies, and some photos of the
event!
THANKS AGAIN FOR MAKING THE 2016 ANNUAL MEETING A
SUCCESS! See you next year in Florence!
2016 Annual Meeting Sponsors:
ALDOT NEWS
Traffic Incident Management (TIM)
Via: ALDOT website http://www.dot.state.al.us/maweb/tim.html
Crashes, spilled loads and stalled vehicles are all examples of traffic incidents. Here in
Alabama and throughout the nation, these situations and the traffic congestion caused by
them account for approximately one-fourth of all delays on our highway system. Traffic
incidents also significantly impact the safety of both motorists and emergency responders.
Responding effectively to incidents on the highway requires a planned and coordinated
effort by many different individuals -- from law enforcement and fire departments to
emergency medical personnel, towing companies, HAZMAT/spill response firms, and the
Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) maintenance crews.
ALDOT Traffic Incident Management (TIM) Program brings together all agencies involved in
clearing an incident from the roadway. Together, they strive to make incident management
safer for the responders and motorists, and work to reduce the time needed to reopen travel
lanes and get traffic moving again.
TIM is a collaborative and coordinated multi-disciplinary process to detect, respond to, and
clear traffic incidents so that traffic flow may be restored as safely and quickly as possible.
Effective TIM reduces the duration and impacts of traffic incidents and improves the safety
of motorists, crash victims and emergency responders.
ALDOT recognizes the importance of TIM in maintaining the operational safety and
efficiency of the state’s roadways. The Traffic Incident Management Program is a
comprehensive multi-agency, multi-discipline program, led by the Alabama Department of
Transportation and the Alabama Department of Public Safety (DPS) and focused on the
three National United Goal (NUG) objectives:
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Responder safety
Safe quick clearance
Prompt, reliable incident communications
LA DOTD NEWS
2016 was a busy year for ITS in Louisiana, specifically related to bridges and water! The
New Orleans’ Pontchartrain Expressway has been supplemented with seven (7) new
ramp meters which are the first ramp meters in the New Orleans area. They were turned
on over the summer and are equipped with CCTV cameras for traffic monitoring on the
on-ramps and elevated roadways. Three projects are currently under construction to
automate the emergency cross-over gates on the I-10 Atchafalaya Bridge, I-10 Bonnet
Carre Spillway Bridge and I-55 Bridge. CCTV cameras and DMS are also under
construction on the I-10 Twin Span Bridges between New Orleans and Slidell. The LA 1
Port Fourchon project is upgrading the bridge mounted CCTV cameras, DMS, and adding
access platforms for maintenance. Topping off the water related projects is the Cameron
Ferry Traveler Message Signing project which includes seven (7) electronic sign sites to
provide notice to motorists of the ferry status. Unrelated to bridges, three (3) arterial
DMS have been turned on in the Kenner area. Nearly 500 ATC traffic signal controllers
have been installed throughout the state between early 2016 and March 2017. Not to
forgot there are a large number of traffic signal systems being connected into a
statewide ATMS. 2017 looks to hold at the same pace as 2016. Besides ramp up the
construction from the 2016 projects, there are new upgrades planned for some of the
existing systems which include backup generators, connecting existing traffic signal
corridors onto a fiber network, expanding the ITS in Monroe (additional cameras, DMS,
and railroad warning systems), further enhancing the 511 system, acquiring real time
traffic data services, and enhancing the LA toll system.
MDOT NEWS
WIRELESS IMPROVEMENTS TO GULF COAST TRAFFIC COMMUNICATIONS
Via GRITS Communications Committee
The Mississippi Department of Transportation has completed phase one of a comprehensive three phase wireless
communication system upgrade on the Highway 90 corridor along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
The original Highway 90 wireless network was installed after Hurricane Katrina in 2009 to quickly re-establish communications to
traffic signals on the Mississippi Beach front after the total destruction of existing traffic control devices and communications to the
area.
A wireless system was chosen over a more traditional fiber optic network due to the proximity of Highway 90 to the Gulf of Mexico
and the frequent flooding events that occur.
According to MDOT’s ITS Program Manager John Gilligan, “Wireless (communication) is well suited to the road network along the
Coast, particularly US 90, which is literally on the coastline and prone to flooding.”
Communications to the current modern traffic signal system allows the MDOT to monitor signal networks from anywhere in the
state saving the state time and money in maintenance, planning and operations activities. New software and traffic signal
technology give engineers the option to set multiple timing plans, establish signal grouping plans and even run signals on
flash during emergency conditions.
The DOT owned and maintained wireless system connects traffic signals from Biloxi to Waveland, covering over 50 miles of Highway
90 and collecting that data at the Regional Gulf Coast DOT office in Lyman, MS. Traffic data such as traffic volume, speed, occupancy
and video monitoring are utilized in planning tools to evaluate future traffic needs such as highway widening, intersection lane
configuration, left turn lane storage, signal cycle length. The benefits to the Department and the Public are endless.
The new project will replace and expand the original communication system to over 100 individual subscriber radio units and 5 long
haul microwave units housed on area water towers transmitting all the available information back to the Lyman center.
“The work will replace end of life equipment with improved wireless technology that enables expanded geographic coverage for
both our ITS technologies and Traffic Operations to enhance safety and improve mobility in the Gulf Coast region,” says John
Gilligan.
Once complete the wireless network will interface with existing fiber communications on I-10 and a microwave back-haul is being
used as a fail-over option for adjacent projects. The DOT planned the Jackson County ITS system to transmit traffic data and video to
the Highway 90 network to save monthly fees to private vendors.
John offered the following on how the public will benefit from this important project: “Enhanced safety, improved mobility, more
efficient movement of people, goods and services; and a greater awareness and coordination during hurricane evacuations.”
The Mississippi Department of Transportation is creatively using wireless networks to improve safety for the public at a much
reduced cost compared to in ground fiber networks or using a subscription based private network.
As technology progresses in the automobile industry, even more data points will be available from connected and autonomous
vehicles. The massive volume of data from private and public sources will allow the state to make better decisions for future
construction and keep the Mississippi Gulf Coast less congested and a safe place to travel.
Academic Committee News:
2017 GULF REGION ITS SCHOLARSHIPS
The Gulf Region Intelligent Transportation Society – Gulf Region (GRITS) is soliciting applications for up
to FIVE scholarship winners up to $1500 each that will be awarded on October 3, 2017 at the GRITS
Annual Meeting at in Florence, AL for the 2017-2018 academic year. GRITS is an organization
dedicated to the advancement of the Intelligent Transportation and Traffic Engineering. Additional
information about GRITS may be found at the following web addresses: www.gulfregionits.org.
Applications should be submitted to Jake Wimberly, Academic Committee Chair, 2567 North West
Street, Jackson, MS 39216, no later than close of business, August 25, 2017. All inquiries should
be directed to Mr. Wimberly, phone: (601)613-8918 or e-mail: [email protected]
ELIGIBILITY:
The successful applicant must be enrolled as a full-time student in a four year accredited university
in the three state region, (Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi) and the applicant must have
completed their sophomore year. This scholarship is open only to junior year or higher students,
which includes graduate school. The applicant must complete the attached application and submit a
one-page essay choosing one of three topics entitled “Smart Cities", "Connected or Autonomous
Vehicles", or :Freight as it pertains to ITS and the future.”"
CRITERIA:
The following criteria will be used to award the scholarships to applicants: academic performance,
awards and honors, extracurricular involvement, work experience and the written essay. The academic
committee will select up to five (5) successful applicants following receipt of all applications based on
the above deadline.
SAVE THE DATE!
Come on down and
join us for our 9th
Annual Meeting
Sunday, October 1, 2017~
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Follow us on social media:
#GRITS&Guitars2017