Welcome to Florida’s Scenic Highways.

Florida Department of Transportation
State Traffic Engineering and Operations Office
605 Suwannee Street,
MS 36
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0450
Phone (850) 410-5600
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The
SunGuide Disseminator is a publication of:
Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) Traffic
Engineering and Operations Office 605 Suwannee Street, M.S. 36
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0450 (850)
410-5600 www.dot.state.fl.us.com |
December
2007
Edition

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Florida 511 Web Site—New
and Improved!
The FDOT Central Office ITS
Program and District 5 Traffic Operations have completed an upgrade of the
Florida 511 Web site (http://fl511.com/). The initial Web site was introduced
as part of the iFlorida Surface Transportation Security and Reliability
Information System Model Deployment. The initial Web site demonstrated the
applied technology, while providing early functionality to the motoring
public.
During the 2006 operational
period, FDOT used the knowledge and experience gained during the model
deployment to begin planning enhancements to the Web site. These
enhancements were needed to make the Web site more usable and to fully
apply other existing and planned ITS technologies in District 5.
Requirements were developed as part of SunGuide™ Software Release 3.0 in
late 2006 / early 2007 and the enhancement project kicked-off in March
2007.
The upgraded Web site is
powered by SunGuide Software using ITS standards to implement a
center-to-center-based software infrastructure. This software approach
provides District 5 with further efficiencies from system integration and
standardization. The new Florida 511 Web site is viewable from almost
every Web browsing software and follows American Disabilities Act
guidelines in an effort to reach every online transportation customer. The
Web site provides an enhanced “look and feel” that includes a more
user-friendly map. Google© was selected as the base map and many Google
features, such as panning, zooming, satellite imagery, and locating an
address, are now features of the Florida 511 Web site.
Traffic congestion per
roadway segment is graphically shown by color. Current messages on dynamic
message signs (DMS) can be viewed on the map by hovering over the desired
DMS icon. The data for speed, travel time, and delay information is
transmitted from the Orlando Regional Transportation Management Center
(RTMC) and the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority (OOCEA) using
the preexisting SunGuide center-to-center interface. Camera snapshots are
displayed by leveraging the existing SunGuide video capture
capability.

While a significant
milestone has been completed with the upgrade of the Florida 511 Web site,
improvements continue. Currently, the Web site relies on links to the
Florida Highway Patrol and the FDOT Construction Web sites for information
on traffic incidents and construction, respectively. The SunGuide Event
Management subsystem is scheduled to be installed at the Orlando RTMC in
December 2007. The SunGuide Event Management subsystem will allow
real-time incident and construction information to be displayed on the
Florida 511 Web site. This will provide the public with the most accurate
information available from the FDOT and OOCEA in a timely manner.

Through this project, ITS
technology continues to provide Florida’s citizens and visitors with
increased transportation services.
This article was provided by
Trey Tillander, FDOT Traffic Engineering and Operations. For information,
please contact Mr. Tillander at (850) 410-5617 or email to
Trey.Tillander@dot.state.fl.us.
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FDOT Freight/Traffic
Engineering/Transportation Planning/ CVO
Workshop
On October 22-23, 2007, the
FDOT Incident Management and Commercial Vehicle Operations Programs
sponsored an interactive workshop centered on Florida’s freight operations
and the important relationship freight movement and safety have with
traffic engineering, transportation operations, and planning to assure
Florida’s economic well being. This was the second annual workshop (held
in Tampa) dedicated to assisting transportation operations and planning
professionals to understand how their jobs greatly impact the freight
community (positively and negatively); and how the safety of Florida’s
citizens and the health of Florida’s economy can hang in the balance.
This year’s workshop was well attended by
over 50 registrants. Because of the value of the workshop, participants
included personnel from FDOT ITS programs, FDOT Operations, six different
metropolitan planning organizations from across the state, trucking
companies, motor carrier law enforcement, the Florida’s Turnpike
Enterprise, and two Florida university research centers as well as various
consultants. In addition to the participants from Florida, the workshop
drew Washington, D.C. representation from ITS America, the United States
Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration, and the
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Because the need for
educating transportation professionals on their impacts to the freight
community is not unique to Florida, this year’s workshop drew
participation from other states, including Indiana, California, Maryland,
Alaska, and Texas. As one could imagine, the open and frank dialog among
the diverse attendees was rich and eye-opening.
This year’s agenda included a summary of the freight
impacts on Florida’s economy. Participants learned about the various FDOT
CVO programs that are underway as well as unique initiatives undertaken by
several planning organizations across the state. Issues were discussed,
including truck parking and greenhouse gas initiatives, and the impacts of
special events (Super Bowl, hurricanes, construction projects, etc.) on
the trucking community. In addition to discussions on freight related
technologies that can be leveraged by the planning and operations
communities, the workshop also included freight operations (hands-on)
demonstrations in the field. This year’s site visits included a visit to
the IH-4 weigh station to get a first hand look at the dangers created by
the close proximity of dual truck highway entry lanes weaving with high
volume dual exit lanes for passenger traffic. The site visit also included
a trip to the Tampa Fairgrounds to see the hand held infrared brake
testing technology, the gamma radiation truck inspection equipment called
VACIS (Vehicle and Cargo Inspection System), and the process of weighing
trucks at roadside using portable scales.
The end objective of the workshop was for each
attendee to return to their job with a new understanding of how seemingly
trivial everyday work decisions that they’ve made in the past can impact
the freight community. More than one attendee stated that they will keep
freight considerations in mind now that they’ve learned how interconnected
passenger and freight issues truly are.
This article was provided by
Michael Akridge, FDOT Traffic Engineering and Operations. For information,
please contact Mr. Akridge at (850) 410-5607 or email to
Michael.Akridge@dot.state.fl.us.
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Rapid Incident Scene
Clearance Goes Statewide
For each minute that a
travel lane is blocked, it takes four minutes for traffic to recover or
resume normal speeds. When one out of three travel lanes is blocked, 50
percent of the roadway’s capacity is lost. The cascading effects of the
delays caused by one incident on our Interstates can be felt for many
hours after the incident has been cleared.
The FDOT’s Rapid Incident
Scene Clearance (RISC) program is a highly innovative program to help meet
the goal of clearing major incidents and truck crashes in 90 minutes or
less. RISC was started by the Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise (FTE) in 2004
and ensures that only highly-trained, certified wrecker and heavy-recovery
equipment operators with the proper equipment respond to incidents to
clear the scene quickly and efficiently.
RISC is an incentive-based program that
provides bonuses to wrecker operators upon successfully removing all
wreckage and re-opening the roadway within 90 minutes of receiving a
Notice-to-Proceed. The wrecker operators are paid a bonus of $2,500 if
they successfully meet this requirement. Additionally, if specialty
equipment is approved for use during the incident cleanup, an additional
bonus of $1,000 is paid. These bonuses are in addition to what the wrecker
operators charge for their regular tow services. However, if the travel
portion of the roadway is not cleared within three hours of the
Notice-to-Proceed, the wrecker company can be assessed a penalty of $10
per minute ($600 per hour) until the roadway is reopened to traffic. The
FTE bills the insurance companies for reimbursement of the bonuses paid
and currently has an 80 percent success rate for reimbursement recovery.
In July 2007, the FDOT
Executive Board voted to expand the RISC program as a statewide effort.
This will be effective July 2008 with the first year funding set at
$2,000,000 and each FDOT District initially receiving $100,000. A reserve
of $1,300,000 will be held to be provided to the Districts as needed
The Traffic Incident Management Section is currently
drafting procedures to be used by this statewide program. To ensure that
the funds are not rapidly depleted, the program will operate only on the
Interstates and other limited-access facilities and will be used for the
removal of tractor- trailer combinations, heavy trucks, buses, and motor
home/motor coaches that are blocking travel lanes or affecting a travel
lane.
A successfully operated
statewide RISC program will relieve congestion, reduce the chance for
secondary collisions, create a timely movement of goods and services, and
support the Open Roads Policy between FDOT and the Florida Highway
Patrol.
This article was provided by
Mike Akridge, FDOT Traffic Engineering and Operations. For information,
please contact Mr. Akridge at (850) 410-5607 or email to
Michael.Akridge@dot.state.fl.us.
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District 7 ITS
Program—Evolution From Necessity
In early 2007, the
resignation of the District 7 Freeway Operations Manager coincided with
the staffing of the new building which houses the Tampa Bay SunGuide™
Regional Transportation Management Center (RTMC). Filling the position
became the catalyst for a review of District 7’s approach to ITS design
and operations.
Until early 2007, the
District 7 ITS program was primarily focused on design and construction.
With the completion of the RTMC, and several ITS roadway projects coming
on line, there was a need for significantly more focus on operations.
After review and discussion, management decided to restructure the ITS
staff and redefine their responsibilities to compliment the evolving ITS
program and deployment. The District 7 ITS Section is now structured as
follows:
District
ITS Program Manager—Bill Wilshire, P.E. The ITS Program Manager is
responsible for the entire ITS section and all activities. He provides the
vision, tone, and direction for the ITS Program as well as oversight.
Direct reports are the ITS Operations Manager and ITS Project
Manager.
ITS
Operations Manager—Terry Hensley The ITS Operations Manager is
responsible for all ITS Operations; effectively, everything after project
construction is complete, including operation of the RTMC, ITS field
device maintenance, Road Rangers, traffic incident management (TIM),
facility management, and the contractors/consultants performing or
assisting with those services. Direct reports include the ITS Support
Manger and all contractor staff.
ITS
Project Manager—Rob Lopes
The ITS Project Manager is responsible for planning, design, and
construction of ITS projects on the Interstate system, as envisioned in
the Ten-Year ITS Cost Feasibility Plan. This includes oversight of the
consultants/contractors assisting FDOT with these functions. He also
provides coordination and technical assistance to the Traffic Design
Section in the District 7 transportation development and is responsible
for the ITS project development of advanced traffic management system
projects off the Interstate system.
ITS
Support Manager—Romona Burke The ITS Support Manager is
responsible in assisting the ITS Operations Manager and ITS staff with
coordination and facilitation of contracts, purchasing, facility
maintenance, Road Ranger oversight, and TIM coordination.
District 7 is confident that
the revised structure will result in a more efficient and cohesive
approach to the challenges that come with our expanding system.
This article was provided by
Bill Wilshire, FDOT District 7. For information, please contact Mr.
Wilshire at (813) 615-8610 or email to
Bill.Wilshire@dot.state.fl.us.
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FDOT District 7 Tampa Bay
SunGuide™ Center Officially Opens
The FDOT District 7 is proud
to announce that the Tampa Bay SunGuide™ Regional Transportation
Management Center (RTMC) is officially open! The grand opening ceremony
was held on Friday, October 19, at the RTMC.
The ceremony included
comments from District 7 Secretary Don Skelton, Elizabeth Birriel (FDOT
Central Office), Lt. Colonel John Czernis (Florida Highway Patrol), and
Ken Haddad (Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission). Secretary Skelton
officially cut the ribbon to the new facility. Elizabeth Birriel, as the
current President of ITS Florida, presented Secretary Skelton with a
Certificate of Outstanding Achievement plaque on the opening of the new
RTMC. Tours were held for any interest guests. Members of the media in the
Tampa Bay area attended and interviewed FDOT and Florida Highway Patrol
regarding the purpose and benefits of the RTMC.

Since July 2007, the RTMC has been operating 7 days a week, 24
hours per day. The facility is a 21,000 square foot state-of-the-art RTMC
that took approximately two years to build at a cost of approximately $9
million, including all interior systems. District 7 was fortunate to have
the Florida Highway Patrol and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission collocate in the center with them to enhance the coordinated
communications and responses between all agencies. In addition to those
physically located in the RTMC, District 7 ITS staff have developed
relationships with other state and local emergency and incident
responders, District 7 Road Rangers, other local traffic management
centers, asset management contractors, local law enforcement, United
States Coast Guard, and the State Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to
coordinate and share information that affects traffic on the area
roadways. The RTMC includes a 16-screen video wall, workstations,
administrative offices, and two conference rooms. It is located behind the
FDOT District 7 Headquarters building in Tampa.
Currently, the RTMC is
operating 41 closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras on the Skyway Bridge
and Interstates 4 and 275, and 18 dynamic message signs (DMS). By the end
of this year, there will be another 26 fully operation CCTVs on
Interstates 4, 75, and 275. Upon completion of all scheduled projects, the
RTMC will be operating 136 miles of fiber optic cable, 130 CCTVs, 74 DMS,
and 275 traffic detection stations throughout Hillsborough, Pinellas,
Polk, and Manatee Counties. This system, when completed, will cover 128
miles of roadway.
FDOT District 7 would like
to thank everyone that contributed in making this center a success.
This article was provided by
Bill Wilshire, FDOT District 7. For information, please contact Mr.
Wilshire at (813) 615-8610 or email to
Bill.Wilshire@dot.state.fl.us.
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I-95 Corridor Coalition
—Southern Region Incident Management Information Exchange
Program
The 1-95 Corridor Coalition
(Coalition) is in the final development stages of a project to facilitate
communications regarding traffic incidents. The Southern Region Incident
Management Information Exchange program will establish regional incident
notification protocols for Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, and South
Carolina, ensuring that appropriate jurisdictions are notified during
major incidents, contraflows, etc. that have potential multi-state
impacts.
I-95
Corridor Coalition Background The I-95 Corridor Coalition is an
organization supporting the 16 states through which I-95 passes (plus
Vermont and Pennsylvania); the Canadian Provinces of New Brunswick and
Québec; numerous toll and other transportation authorities and
organizations; and local transportation agencies. The Coalition includes
public safety agencies in addition to transportation agencies. The
Coalition provides a forum for key decision and policy makers to address
transportation management and operations issues of common interest. This
volunteer, consensus-driven organization enables its myriad of regional,
state, and local member agencies to work together to improve
transportation system performance far more than they could working
individually. The Coalition has successfully served as a model for
multi-state/jurisdictional interagency cooperation and coordination for a
decade and a half. Some of the “mega facts” about the Coalition include:

More details can be found at
www.i95coalition.org/.
Project
Background For some
years now, there has been a mechanism to share major incidents and
emergency information among the member agencies in the northern and
central regions of the corridor. The Information Exchange Network (IEN)
has been operated for the Coalition by TRANSCOM since late 1999. The
purpose of the IEN is to distribute incident information among Coalition
member agencies about transportation incidents that have regional impact.
The states in the southern
region (Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida) were the
most recent to join the Coalition. Florida joined in 2003. Upon the
establishment of all four states as members, the Southern Region Highway
Operations Group (HOGs) was established to join four other regional HOGs
that already existed.
The southern states
currently lack the interoperability of the IEN to effectively coordinate
inter-jurisdictional incident and traffic management activities. Often
times, this type of inter-jurisdictional coordination is helpful for
weather-related emergencies, large-scale hazardous materials incidents, or
terrorist acts that may require contraflow evacuations that affect several
states. This coordination would also be valuable during major traffic
incidents that impact neighboring states in the southern region. To date,
during these major events, the states have communicated by e-mail, fax,
and telephone, but this process is cumbersome, can lead to
miscommunications, and can delay critical information from reaching the
appropriate officials.
The Southern Region Incident Management
Information Exchange Program is being created to develop interstate
incident notification, information sharing, and
inter-jurisdictional/inter-disciplinary coordination across state lines.
This program will be integrated with IEN.
The project involved the
identification of stakeholders, outreach to those stakeholders to acquaint
them with the project and gain their support, and tabulation of the
characteristics of the ITS and transportation management centers (both
existing and near future) in each state. A Concept of Operations,
currently in development, will define the principles by which the Southern
Region Incident Management Information Exchange Program will successfully
operate, and it will address the software delivery system. Letters of
agreement have been obtained from all four states to indicate their
participation in this program, and this will be re-enforced at a media
event at the Georgia DOT statewide NaviGAtor Transportation Management
Center in Atlanta, Georgia, which has been selected as the pilot “home”
for the initial deployment.
The outcome of this project
will be improved service to the motoring public during major
emergencies.
This article was provided by
Capt. Henry de Vries (HDevries@dot.state.ny.us), Christine Macaulay
(C.Macaulay@delcan.com), and Charles Wallace
(Charles.Wallace@telvent.abengoa.com).
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Transpo2008: The Transpo Legacy Lives
On!
Transpo2008 is less than a year away, so mark
your calendar and save the date. If you have attended any of the previous
Transpos you won’t be disappointed. The theme is “ITS—Piecing It All
Together.” Four aspects of the theme will be featured —plan, Implement,
manage, and innovate— guaranteeing to appeal to planners and engineers
alike. The conference will be at the Rosen Centre Hotel in
Orlando.
Transpo has a proud legacy.
The first, Transpo2000, was sponsored by the Florida Department of
Transportation (FDOT), Florida Division of the Federal Highway
Administration (FHWA), Florida Transportation Builders Association (FTBA),
Florida Section, Institute for Transportation Engineers (FSITE), the
Intelligent Transportation Society of Florida (ITS Florida), and the
University of Florida Transportation Research Center. Held in Orlando,
with 110 exhibitors and 750 attendees, topics ranged from SuperPave, a new
innovative material, to ITS applications and space travel. The event was a
great success, but because several of the sponsors were concerned about
competing with other statewide conferences, it was decided not to continue
a broad-based Transpo series. ITS Florida offered to sponsor future
Transpos biennially as ITS events.
Transpo2002 was held in
Orlando in association with the ITS Florida and the FSITE Annual Meetings;
the latter having asked to co-sponsor the event. FDOT and FHWA were also
invited back as co-sponsors. The Transpo2002 theme was “Safety Under the
Sun: Technology for Safe and Secure Transportation.” Attendance exceeded
500.
Two years later, Transpo2004
was held in Jacksonville and ITS Florida and FSITE invited their
counterparts in Georgia to co-sponsor the first Southeast Regional
Transpo. The theme was “Border Wars: Building Bridges to Overcome
Barriers.” Deemed a success, a second joint state event is
tentatively planned for Transpo2010 or 2012.
Transpo2006 was held at the
Innisbrook Golf Resort in Palm Harbor with the theme of “Empowering our
Mobile Society.” Every Transpo conference is an
opportunity to learn, network, and view and exhibit new technologies and
services. Don’t miss Transpo2008—the legacy lives on!
This
article was provided by Denise Bunnewith.
For more
information on ITS Florida, please check the ITS Florida Web site at http://www.itsflorida.org/ or email
itsflorida@itsflorida.org.
If you
wish to contribute an article to the SunGuide Disseminator on
behalf of ITS Florida, please email Mary Hamill at
MaryKHamill@global-5.com.
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Editorial Corner—What Cool Hand Luke
Can Teach Florida’s ITS Industry About Better
Transportation
Every person involved in ITS in Florida has a right
to be proud of the important work they do to keep Florida moving forward.
Yet, there’s a frustration that the general public has little appreciation
for the importance of transportation and any understanding of how ITS can
make their daily lives better. Well, to borrow a line from the classic
1967 motion picture “Cool Hand Luke” starring Paul Newman –
“What we’ve got
here is a failure to communicate.”
Effective Communication In a nutshell, a lack of real
communication is the greatest problem confronting the transportation
industry. An astute individual once said that, “Doing business without
advertising is like winking at a stranger in the dark … you know what
you’re doing, but no one else does.” That’s where we in the transportation
industry are today: we know what we’re doing, but no one else does! And
then we wonder why TRANSPORTATION funding has decreased as a percentage of
government spending, or “transportation” doesn’t register on public
opinion polls?
We can and must do a much
better job of communicating with the “outside world”—what I call the 3 Ps:
the Public, the Press, and the Politicians. But to do so, we’ll need
to:
| A.) |
Recognize that transportation
is NOT about asphalt, concrete, and steel. Ultimately, its really
about moving PEOPLE (and the stuff they deem valuable), safely and
efficiently. |
| B.)
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Understand
that communication is a “contact sport” and that we’ll need to
translate what we’re doing to tell the 3 Ps—without using jargon—why
it matters. |
Sell
Truth & Offer Hope Many years ago, it was decided in
Europe to build a rail line from Vienna, Austria to Venice, Italy across
the mountainous Alps. This rail line was successfully built … even before
a train actually existed that was capable of making the trip! This is a
transportation metaphor of “hope.”
Floridians are a hopeful
people, and we should tell them the truth about today’s transportation
challenges—really “sell” them the truth—and then offer hope through the
work we do to meet these transportation challenges.
Seven
Simple Suggestions With gratitude to Dr. Frank Luntz
for his work on effective communication in the political/ governmental
world, I offer the following seven suggestions for better
communication:
- Time is a precious
commodity—What do people really want? More free time! More Floridians
would rather get a free day off than a free day’s pay. We’ve been good
at counting dollars and cents … now it’s time to start counting minutes
as well. Talk about how your work will save PEOPLE time!
- Solutions are what
Floridians demand—When developing plans, emphasize solutions. Every time
you talk about challenges, follow with solutions that will make a
difference in Floridian’s daily lives.
- Common sense is what
Floridians think is so lacking in government—Rather than bleeding heart
liberals, raging moderates, or compassionate conservatives … what people
really want from their government is “common sense.” All of your
solutions should be framed using a “common sense approach.”
- Don’t talk about
process—Nothing turns off the public faster than talking about a
government process. As long as the process is fair, ethical, and legal,
then Floridians don’t really care about the process … they care about
the outcome. Talk about the purpose of your plan … and don’t use
acronyms. Tell Floridians what you’ve done and what you are trying to do
… without getting mired in all the technical, bureaucratic ways of
government.
- Talk about consumers—From
cell phone service, to satellite TV providers, to the variety of
shopping and restaurant choices available today… the public is more
consumer-oriented than ever before. Floridians want more choices, more
options, and more flexibility in transportation. Give it to them.
- Floridians are looking
for a balanced approach to virtually everything—The public wants their
government’s plans to strike a balance between competing interests. Make
your plans and proposals transparently balanced.
- Floridians want sincerity
and simplicity—The public will not trust any plan, proposal, or policy
that seems too complicated. They are against complexity not because they
don’t think life is complex. They know its complex. The public just
distrusts complexity because they think that government folks hide
behind complexity. Be sincere in the development of your plans … and
simple in their presentation. And if you doubt the public’s distrust of
complexity, here’s all you really need to know about government and
bureaucracy:
- Pythagorean Theorem: 24
words
- Lord’s Prayer: 66 words
- Archimedes’ Principle:
67 words
- 10 Commandments: 179
words
- Gettysburg Address: 286
words
- Declaration of
Independence: 1300 words
- US Government
regulations on the sale of cabbage: 26,911 words
Time’s a wasting, and the
job before us is much too important to wait. So remember to “translate” to
effectively communicate, and let’s all get busy “selling truth and
offering hope” so we can Keep Florida Moving Forward!
This editorial was provided
by Douglas J. Callaway, Floridians for Better Transportation. For more
information, please contact Mr. Callaway at (850) 521-1256 or email
DCallaway@bettertransportation.org.
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Inside the TERL
The FDOT has a goal to
assure that only a safe and uniform ITS and traffic control system is
implemented in state of Florida. The Traffic Engineering Research Lab
(TERL) plays a part in obtaining this goal by satisfying Florida Statute
316.0745 - Uniform Signals & Devices. Below is a look Inside the TERL
at activities that help accomplish our goal.
Product
Evaluation Product
evaluation is why the TERL exists. The TERL received 73 submittals for
product to be added to the FDOT Approved Product List (APL) in 2007; of
this total, 34 are open and active evaluations. All others are incomplete
or failed submittals.
Approved traffic control
signals and signal devices can be viewed at www3.dot.state.fl.us/trafficcontrolproducts. Approved
ITS devices can be viewed at http://www.dot.state.fl.us/TrafficOperations/Traf_Sys/ITS%20APL/TemporaryITSAPL.shtm.
Product
Specifications There are currently six
specifications under active development and 11 proposed for future
development or revision. Product specifications are needed to evaluate and
place a device on the APL.
Specifications for a
generator panel and uninterruptible power supply for traffic cabinets are
both near completion. These specifications will provide for easy and
continued signalized intersection operation during a storm or other
conditions causing power loss.
Updates to FDOT
specifications for light emitting dioxide (LED) internally illuminated
signs, LED signals, and changeable message signs are planned for the
future as well as new specifications for dynamic message signs for
arterial and toll roads; master hub cabinet; core switch/hub switch for
ITS cabinets; in-pavement crosswalk lights; 24/7 flashing beacon;
countdown pedestrian signal; and trailer-mounted camera/detector
system.
APL
Vendor Quality Assurance Program Out of a total of 117
manufacturers that have submitted material for the FDOT APL vendor quality
assurance evaluation, 78 have successfully completed the evaluation and
have been added to the qualified list.
The vendor quality assurance
evaluation was included as part of the device approval process in 2002,
and has proved to be a very successful program. Feedback from end-users
has been positive and, since all APL manufacturers are required to have a
minimum quality system in place to stay on the APL, the quality of
transportation devices has improved. In fact, many manufacturers who first
saw the added requirement as just another hurdle to jump without any real
benefit, have since told TERL staff that the additional quality assurance
requirement has forced them to become better, more efficient, and
competitive manufacturers.
A list of manufacturers who
have passed the FDOT’s quality assurance evaluation can be viewed at www.dot.state.fl.us/TrafficOperations/apl_vendor_qualification.shtm.
Qualified dynamic message
signs can be viewed at www.dot.state.fl.us/TrafficOperations/fdot_dms_info.shtm.
For Your Information ITS Contractors ITS
contractors wanting to enter into the ITS market in Florida must be
pre-qualified to bid on construction contracts greater than $250,000.
Additional information is available at www.dot.state.fl.us/cc-admin/.
ITS
Manufacturers To sell an ITS device in the
state of Florida, the device must be listed on FDOT’s APL for ITS devices
located at http://www.dot.state.fl.us/TrafficOperations/Traf_Sys/ITS%20APL/TemporaryITSAPL.shtm.
This article was provided by
Jeff Morgan, FDOT-TERL. For more information, please contact Mr. Morgan at
(850) 921-7354 or email Jeffrey.Morgan@dot.state.fl.us.
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Announcements
I-10 and
I-95 Named “Corridors of the Future” The I-10 Freight Corridor and the
I-95 Corridor have been selected as federal “Corridors of the Future.” Out
of 38 applications submitted to the US DOT, six corridors were named.
Florida is involved in both the I-10 Freight Corridor and the I-95
Corridor Coalition.
The Corridors of the Future
program is aimed at developing innovative national and regional approaches
to reduce congestion and improve the efficiency of freight
delivery.
US DOT also indicated that
they wanted to sign a long-term commitment with each corridor where the
states agree to continue working together for the good of the corridor and
US DOT agrees to work toward procuring additional funding for the
corridors.
The I-10 Freight Corridor
second round “Corridor of the Future” application can be found at www.i10freightstudy.org/download/I-10_CFP_Application_Final_Complete.pdf
and the I-95 application can be found at www.i95coalition.org/travinfo_corridors-of-the-future.html.
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District 1 L.K. Nandam, DTOE Chris Birosak, ITS FDOT District 1
Traffic Operations PO Box 1249 Bartow, FL 33831 (863)
519-2490
District
2 Jim
Scott, DTOE Peter Vega, ITS FDOT District 2 Traffic
Operations 2250 Irene Street, MS 2815 Jacksonville, FL
32204-2619 (904) 360-5630
District 3 June Coates, DTOE Chad
Williams, ITS FDOT District 3 Traffic Operations 1074 Highway
90 East Chipley, FL 32428-0607 (850) 638-0250
District 4 Mark
Plass, DTOE Dong Chen, ITS FDOT District 4 Traffic
Operations 2300 W. Commercial Blvd. Ft. Lauderdale, FL
33309 (954) 777-4350 |
District 5 Richard Morrow, DTOE Michael Smith, ITS FDOT District
5 Traffic Operations 719 S. Woodland Blvd., MS 3-562 DeLand,
FL 32720-6834 (386) 943-5310
District 6 Debora M. Rivera, DTOE
Jesus Martinez, ITS FDOT District 6 Traffic Operations
1000 NW 111th Avenue, MS 6203 Miami, FL 33172 (305)
470-5336
District
7 Gary Thompson, DTOE Bill Wilshire, ITS FDOT
District 7 Traffic Operations 11201 N. McKinley Drive Tampa,
FL 33612 (813) 975-4216
Florida's Turnpike Enterprise John
Easterling, ITS Florida's Turnpike Enterprise PO Box
9828 Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33310-9828 (954)
975-4855 |
Lap Hoang State Traffic
Engineer (850) 410-5600
Elizabeth Birriel Deputy
State Traffic Engineer - ITS (850) 410-5606
Liang Hsia Deputy State
Traffic Engineer - Systems (850)
410-5615
Mike
Akridge Deputy State Traffic Engineer - Incident
Management and Commercial Vehicle Operations (850)
410-5607
Mark Wilson Deputy State
Traffic Engineer - Operations (850) 410-5419
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Physical Address Rhyne Building 2740
Centerview Dr. Suite 3-B Tallahassee, FL 32301 |
Mailing Address Burns Building 605
Suwannee St. M.S. 36 Tallahassee,
FL 32399 |
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SunGuide
Disseminator
December 2007
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