Overview
Background
The Maryland DOT State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA) has become an industry example of how an agency can adapt to a changing transportation environment that fully commits to Transportation Systems Management & Operations (TSMO) principles.
The TSMO Strategic Implementation Plan outlined several business processes, most of which have resulted in pursuing activities the agency previously wouldn’t have embarked upon, such as:
- Developing a Reliability Roadmap and related processes (and tools) that are now helping to provide a travel time reliability analytical framework and inform transportation decisions.
- Including TSMO alternatives in long range planning studies and incorporating TSMO components in existing build alternatives
- Developing a TSMO Combined Freeway and Arterial Operations Plan to integrate two major operational components within MDOT SHA that have operated on parallel policies and procedures.
- Developing a Mobility Data Business Plan.
- Developing an Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) ConOps for the I-95 Corridor linking Baltimore and Washington.
Systems and Technology
The CMM workshops and associated TSMO Strategic Implementation Plan identified a number of areas where technology might enable future opportunities - and MDOT SHA has capitalized on many of those opportunities including:
- Embarking upon a statewide Telecommunications strategic planning effort to enable a backbone and network architecture that is future ready.
- Development of the US 1 Innovative Technology Deployment Corridor program.
Performance Measurement
A key element of the TSMO Plan was to develop data- and performance-driven approaches to support TSM&O planning, programming, implementation and evaluation decisions. This culture-change can be readily seen in several performance driven areas including:
- The Annual Mobility Report and Mobility Dashboard that demonstrates a focus on applying a performance based approach to providing a high quality and reliable highway system.
- The CHART Program, with over 70,000 assists last year, a primary contributor to an annual user cost savings of $1.5B as documented in annual CHART benefit reports.
- The deployment of Virtual Weigh Stations to monitor commercial vehicle operations, with an archival tool that allows search for trends and repeat overweight offenders.
Culture
- Formalizing internal MDOT SHA policies that enable continuity of culture even in an environment where political and financial forces might challenge an organization in the future.
- Implementing a communications and outreach plan with the goal of mainstreaming the TSMO message across the organization.