With over 114,000 miles of roadway and 25,000 bridges in the state of Iowa, the days of significantly expanding the transportation network are behind us.  As we seek to maximize every transportation dollar, we envision a smaller transportation system where travelers and goods move seamlessly among modes with more choices and better levels of service.  Rooting prioritized investments in performance management, asset management, and operations will be keys to advancing this shift. 

In Iowa, we saw 321 fatalities in 2014, as well as over 800 traffic incidents per month.  We believe this to be 321 fatalities too many, which is why we have adopted the goal of “Zero Fatalities”.  Well managed systems operations can lead to increased safety, greater mobility, and more reliability.  This is why in 2013, staff took advantage of the Strategic Highway Research Program’s (SHRP) Capability Maturity Model self-assessment.  Recognizing the need to mature Iowa’s Transportation Systems Management and Operations (TSMO), Iowa received FHWA SHRP2 funding assistance to develop a TSMO program plan.   Iowa’s TSMO program plan will communicate strategic direction, program development, and specific steps for management and operations in Iowa.  The performance-based plan is intended to illustrate not only the performance of the surface transportation system, but also the strategies and business processes that will help improve overall system performance and safety. 

As Iowa’s TSMO program continues to develop, we have taken big and small steps to improve performance.  In 2013, the agency created a new Office of Traffic Operations, which is responsible for active traffic management and real-time traffic operations.  The agency also invested in Iowa’s statewide Traffic Operations Center, established a statewide Traffic Incident Management Program, and developed an industry leading work zone management program we call the Traffic Critical Projects program.

To highlight one unique strategy, the Traffic Critical Projects program has improved traffic operations by not only warning travelers of backups in real time, but also providing active management capabilities for work zone traffic.  Traffic operations staff work with District offices to identify construction projects with the most critical traffic concerns and then deploy a combination of operational approaches to address those concerns.  These approaches include intelligent work zones, in which sensors in construction zones automatically trigger portable dynamic message signs when traffic queues develop.  Other approaches include development of project-specific plans for Traffic Incident Management, as well as early traffic analysis to guide work zone planning and design. 

More broadly within Iowa DOT, the emphasis is shifting toward a performance management culture.  The agency recently created a new division called the Performance and Technology Division.  The Division is rooted in geographic information systems, asset management, and future research and technologies.  Although broad, these important programs allow for integration of data and systems across the agency as a key step toward a greater operations focus and performance management.  

The Iowa DOT has also shifted the focus toward operations and highway safety by sharing safety messages on electronic signs, termed Message Monday.  The messages, which can sometimes be humorous, are intended to seriously educate drivers about the five driver behaviors of distracted driving, drowsy driving, intoxicated driving, reckless driving, and driving without a seat belt.

In Iowa, we place high value on data and information about the surface transportation system, realizing that data about the system directs and informs performance and future investment.  In terms of operations, we continue to refine the performance measures and data sources that serve as key benchmarks.  Ultimately, we envision providing high quality, machine ready data, suitable for consumption among public or private groups and markets.  In taking these steps, we are shifting from end-user applications toward becoming a supplier of high-quality data.  We believe this shift will facilitate better integration of operations and infrastructure data into market products focused on connected and autonomous vehicles.  In this way, manufacturers and vendors can get the right information to drivers at the right time, in the right way.

One thing for which we are particularly excited is the delivery of one of the nation’s first production-level autonomous vehicles to the University of Iowa.  The University of Iowa is currently testing the Volvo XC90’s on-board autonomous systems, which rely substantially on clear pavement markings.  With these technologies developing in our own backyard, Iowa DOT is working with the University of Iowa and several local groups and communities to develop a slow speed autonomous vehicle network in the Iowa City area.  This autonomous network will benefit travelers by providing improved mobility and safer vehicles.  Iowa’s rich tradition of automotive innovation continues to offer real opportunities for investments in technology and infrastructure.

Like many DOT’s across the country, we believe that shifting seamlessly from one mode to another, arriving safely and reliably at your destination, and keeping goods moving are all worth the tough decisions and challenges that we wrestle with on a daily basis.  Well managed, prioritized investments will ultimately lead to a better quality of life and help Iowa deliver on our mission to get you there safely, efficiently, and conveniently.