ATRI, DOT working to develop program to ease congestion on major U.S. freight corridors

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Updated Aug 12, 2016

Truck TrafficThe American Transportation Research Institute announced this week the beginning of a program coordinated with the U.S. Department of Transportation designed to cut down on traffic congestion along major corridors in the U.S.

After an April report from ATRI that found congestion cost the trucking industry nearly $50 billion in 2014, the group set out to address the congestion through an Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) program. ATRI says an ICM is a tool “that holds great promise for addressing urban congestion.”

ATRI, since that report, led the way in developing two primers for the DOT’s ICM program, which is intended “for transportation networks to realize significant improvements in the efficient movement of people and goods through integrated, proactive management of existing infrastructure along major corridors,” ATRI says.

One of the primers, “Integrated Corridor Management and Freight Opportunities,” examines how freight can be incorporated into an ICM, as well as what an ICM can do to address the challenges of moving freight in major corridors. ATRI says in the primer that an ICM has the potential to improve freight mobility through “freight-specific traveler information that allows freight companies to avoid congestion and make better planning and routing decisions.” ATRI adds it will take cooperation between public sector agencies and the freight industry to fully implement an ICM and improve congestion.

The other primer, “Integrated Corridor Management and Traffic Incident Management,” details how traffic incident management (TIM) can be integrated into ICM and describes the benefits of doing so. Integration of ICM and TIM would mean better managed corridors leading to fewer traffic incidents, and a more efficient response when incidents do occur.

More information about Integrated Corridor Management can be found here.