Overview
Part-Time Shoulder Use is a strategy that is increasingly being considered to provide additional roadway capacity when it is needed and preserving the benefits of a full-width shoulder for most hours of the day. This webinar provided an overview of part-time shoulder use and the range of implementations to date. The webinar also featured new FHWA research on practices for determining when to open and close a shoulder to traffic, particularly on dynamic facilities where the hours of operation vary in response to traffic conditions. Two agencies presented on recent dynamic part-time shoulder use installations as well. The webinar transcript is also available here.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the range of part-time shoulder use existing today
- Identify key factors and considerations to planning, designing, and operating part time shoulder use
- Understand the benefits of dynamic part-time shoulder use (variable hours of operation)
- Understand the decision-making process and considerations related to opening and closing the shoulder
- Learn about recent successes in the US
Instructors:
Moderator: David Hale, Leidos - Dr. David Hale is a senior transportation engineer and project manager for Leidos, Inc. in the Washington DC area. His 25-year career has focused on traffic analysis tool research and development. He has delivered 50 workshops, 75 conference presentations, and 50 peer-reviewed publications related to traffic analysis tools. In recent years he has served as a project manager and/or principal investigator for 24 FHWA funded projects. His service includes contributions to the TRB Joint Simulation Subcommittee, Highway Capacity Committee, Traffic Signal Systems Committee, and ITE Traffic Engineering Council Executive Committee.
Presenters:
- Greg Jones, FHWA - Mr. Jones has been with the Federal Highway Administration since 1984. He has been a member of the FHWA Resource Center since 1999. In 2006 Mr. Jones also accepted a dual appointment as a member of the FHWA Headquarters’ Office of Operations. As a member of the Operations Technical Support Team, Mr. Jones provides national technical support in the following areas:
- Active Transportation and Demand Management
- Managed Lanes
- Freeway Management
- FHWA Lead for the Hurricane Evacuation Liaison Team (Managed Jointly with FEMA)
Mr. Jones is a member of the Transportation Research Board’s High Occupancy Vehicle/Managed Lane Committee. He is chair of the TRB Freeway Management and Operations Handbook subcommittee. He is also an active participant on the Freeway Operations Committee and the Active Traffic Management subcommittee. Mr. Jones has a BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Tennessee.
- Pete Jenior, Kittelson & Associates, Inc. - Pete Jenior is a senior engineer with Kittelson & Associates, Inc. in Baltimore, and has bachelors and masters degrees in Civil Engineering from Georgia Tech. Pete is the principal investigator for FHWA’s project on Decision Parameters for Dynamic Part-time Shoulder Use, and was the lead author for FHWA’s 2016 Part-time Shoulder Use Guide. Pete is currently leading NCHRP 17-89 (Safety Performance of Part-time Shoulder Use) and a screening study for bus-on-shoulder implementation in Massachusetts. Pete is a member of the TRB Geometric Design Committee.
- Stephanie Palmer, Michigan DOT - Stephanie Palmer is currently the Region Traffic Safety and Operations Engineer for the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), University Region. Over the past 20 years, Stephanie has worked in both the private and public sector, specializing in traffic engineering and operations. Recently, she was the project manager for the ITS system for Michigan’s first Active Traffic Management (ATM) system which includes dynamic lane and shoulder use, a queue warning system and a variable speed advisory system.
- Stephen Harelson, Colorado DOT - Mr. Harelson is a Program Engineer for the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), responsible for Interstate 70 Design and Construction in Clear Creek County, west of the Denver Metro Area. He led the team that built the Eastbound Peak Period Shoulder lane in 2015, and is currently working on a similar project for the Westbound direction. Aside from the Peak Period Shoulder Lanes, other significant projects completed or underway include the Veterans Memorial Tunnel expansion, the Eisenhower-Johnson Tunnel Fixed Fire Suppression System, and the Floyd Hill expansion project. Originally from Leadville, Colorado, he has been with CDOT since 2002, and prior to that worked in the engineering consulting industry for 16 years.
Target Audience:
State DOTs, toll agencies, and MPO planners, designers, and transportation management center (TMC) managers and operators.