Effectiveness of Urban Partnership Agreement Traffic Operations Measures in the I-35W Corridor

Abstract

One of the leading transportation project initiatives of the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) is to reduce transportation system congestion. The Minneapolis Urban Partnership Agreement (UPA) project is one of the five major projects funded by the U.S. DOT’s Strategy to Reduce Congestion on America's Transportation Network. Minnesota’s UPA is concerned with Active Traffic Management (ATM) systems along I-35W from the southern junction with I-35 to downtown Minneapolis (which will be referred to as the UPA corridor). Three separate but related evaluations are included in this UPA related project: the effects of the variable speed limit (VSL) system on congestion and driver behavior, the impact of severe weather conditions on road safety, and the behavior of bus rapid transit (BRT) vehicles and their impacts on traffic conditions between 46th Street and Lake Street.