In June, 1977 the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Mn/DOT signed a Memorandum of Understanding agreeing Eo cooperate in a demonstration of the use of highway advisory radio (HAR) as a part of the I-35W traffic management system. FHWA agreed to furnish the major system components and provide technical Information and consultation to Mn/DOT, and Mn/DOT agreed to install, operate and evaluate the system. This work was accomplished under the terms of the Minnesota Basic Agreement (DOT-FH-ll-8565) as Task Order No. 5, The system was developed on a 1.26 mile (2.03 Km) section of I-35W in Richfield, and became operational in December, 1977.
The purpose of this report is to present detailed information on the HAR system, and to document the results of the evaluation study.
This report presents an evaluation of the use of citizen's band (C.B.) radio in the I-35W traffic management system. The I-35W system, which extends along a 17 mile section of freeway south of downtown Minneapolis, has been in operation since April, 1974. This system includes ramp control signals, bypass ramps for high occupancy vehicles, a closed circuit television (CCTV) network, a motorist information program, and an incident detection and response program. Operation of the system is computer coordinated from the Traffic Management Center (TMC) near downtown Minneapolis. A listing of reports which document the design details, system hardware and software, and system evaluation is presented in the Appendix.
