Best demand management approaches to congestion caused by highway re-construction?

[monkeyflower]

What are the best examples out there of using demand management techniques to maintain traffic flow and minimize congestion during a major reconstruction project?

The use case: we've got a major urban interstate that's coming up for much-needed reconstruction in our long-range plan. Our DOT is drawing criticism because they are planning to add additional lanes as part of the project, despite evidence of congestion being pretty limited, and even as they cry poverty whenever other road and bridge repair needs are brought up. Their response is that the additional lanes are necessary for maintenance of traffic flow during the reconstruction, so they might as well be made a permanent expansion.

We'd like to examine some alternative possibilities for dealing with during-construction travel. Accelerate plans for parallel rapid transit line development, LA 30/10 style? Work with major employers to shift commute times for their employees during construction? Ask manufacturers to shift just-in-time trucking out of peak hours?

Any case studies, best practices, etc of these or other strategies much appreciated!

[DetroitPlanner]

We successfully employed an HOV lane on a non-freeway state trunkline when the freeway was undergoing a serious reconstruction at a major interchange.

To be fair, our DOT does not widen roads nearly as much as others do. The money simply is not there. There is a lot more that goes into reconstructing a freeway than many realize. While some may be spent to widen the roads, other issues get addressed during reconstruction that lead to fewer bridge hits (big trucks), operational improvements, and safety improvements. Remember that you only get a chance to reconstruct once every 40-60 years around here. When you do, you better do it in a way that will last and address deficiencies. I know the DOT does add shoulders to assist in future repavings so that they can route traffic N/S without detour in many locations when reconstructions happen. They have been doing this throughout the Saginaw Valley.

I would use a regional transportation model to determine where the traffic would go during construction and work with the proper entities to ensure that additional resources were dedicated to ridesharing, transit, and non SOV modes.

[Random Traffic Guy]

This is slightly more tactical than strategic, but TxDOT has had some good results (at least looking from the outside) on recent projects (High Five, 635) by charging contractors different rates for actions which affect traffic flow at different times. So closing a lane in rush hour is very expensive, but at night is pretty cheap. Combined with a big incentive for finishing early, the contractors will game their TCPs to the limit to maximize their profit. With correctly designed incentives the impact on the traveeling public will also be minimized, both on a daily basis and because the project will get done quicker.

[DetroitPlanner]

This is slightly more tactical than strategic, but TxDOT has had some good results (at least looking from the outside) on recent projects (High Five, 635) by charging contractors different rates for actions which affect traffic flow at different times. So closing a lane in rush hour is very expensive, but at night is pretty cheap. Combined with a big incentive for finishing early, the contractors will game their TCPs to the limit to maximize their profit. With correctly designed incentives the impact on the traveeling public will also be minimized, both on a daily basis and because the project will get done quicker.

You're sneaky in the Lone Star State! I like it, but our construction season in much less, leaving little room for this kind of thinking.

[monkeyflower]

To be fair, our DOT does not widen roads nearly as much as others do. The money simply is not there.

While that's true, I wince when the DOT or MPO staff say it -- with our state talking about badly needed transportation funding increases, setting the expectation that more money would be used first for road widening rather than fixing potholes and providing safe sidewalks and better transit is a pretty severe handicap. When citizens at the DOT's town hall meetings are saying, "I know we need more money, and I'd be willing to pay it, if I could trust you to actually fix the problems in my community," it's the wrong time to push high-visibility road expansion projects.