TEL8 Continues to Expand Offerings

TEL8, the Federal Highway Administration's telecommunications system dedicated to transportation in Region VIII, plans additional programming. The already successful program offers transportation-related programming and training to its six-state, nine-site videoconference network.

North Dakota DOT employees in Bismarck, ND, take part in a graduate education course via TEL8 from North Dakota State University in Fargo.

Now offered are the popular InfoX and TranxX Department of Transportation (DOT) sponsored series, FranklinCovey courses, professional management and training classes, technology transfer seminars and teleconferencing among the network's DOT's and Mountain-Plains Consortium (MPC) universities.

This year's plans from TEL8 will include graduate level courses in transportation, an MPC research report seminar series, MPC short courses and several professional management training seminars.

The programming effort is led by Julie Rodriguez, TEL8 program director and UGPTI transportation economist. Rodriguez initiates and coordinates TEL8 program development and chairs the TEL8 programming committee. The programming committee includes members from all nine TEL8 sites and is responsible for assessing and evaluating TEL8 programming.

The past year two TEL8 DOT sites, Utah and Wyoming, expanded their in-state network to incorporate district-level videoconference systems. A total of eight district-level DOT sites participated in TEL8 events during 1999-2000. Additionally, a third TEL8 DOT site, South Dakota, initiated an expansion to three of their districts with plans to activate these sites during 2000.

ATAC Studies ITS for Small- to Medium-Size Cities

The Advanced Traffic Analysis Center (ATAC) is a technology support center for small to medium size urban areas in their efforts to improve traffic operations. ATAC assists through powerful analysis tools and advanced technologies. They currently have several studies underway to assist their home metropolitan area, Fargo and West Fargo, N.D., and neighboring Moorhead, Minn.

ATAC has partnerships with North Dakota State University departments of computer science and civil engineering. With them, ATAC is conducting research on applications of artificial intelligence for traffic signal control and on effective traffic management in construction zones. Two graduate students and three undergraduate students work with the program.

Among studies, which include both professional and student staff in research, are:

• North Dakota's Intelligent Transportation System Plan examines the unique characteristics of the transportation system, users and agencies in North Dakota to outline potential areas for intelligent transportation system (ITS) deployment. The plan aims to develop a framework for guiding ITS projects in the state to be consistent with national ITS architecture and standards, and that would allow seamless operation of various systems in state and out-of-state.
• Analysis of Construction and Maintenance Zones Traffic Management studies work zone traffic management practices in both rural and urban work zones.
• Evaluating Transit Signal Priority. Using real-time tracking of buses and priority treatment at traffic signals, this project examines the potential of implementing transit signal priority in a medium-size urban area. The study examines different trade-offs of expediting bus operations through signalized intersections and the associated increase in delays to automobiles.
• Corridor Signal Timing and Coordination partners ATAC with local and state transportation officials to improve traffic operations on key corridors. Initial work was in Fargo-Moorhead but work is underway to identify other corridors in other metropolitan areas in the region. these analyses involve extensive data collection and applying analysis software to improve traffic flow and reduce delay to motorists.

The ATAC traffic laboratory is equipped with powerful computers and state-of-the-art software. The traffic laboratory also serves as the ATAC training facility and provides hands-on opportunities for exploring various traffic control strategies using traffic signal controllers and traffic simulation.