Office of Operations
photos of traffic merging onto congested highway, congestion in snowstorm, variable message sign, cargo, variable speed limit sign in a work zone, and a freeway at night
21st Century Operations Using 21st Century Technologies

Traffic Bottlenecks

Traffic Bottlenecks

Resources

State DOTs Bottleneck Reduction Processes

  • California DOT ("Caltrans") 2007 Bottleneck Reduction Process (HTML, PDF 34 KB)
  • Minnesota DOT 2007 Bottleneck Reduction Process (HTML, PDF 246KB) - In 2007 the Minnesota Department of Transportation developed a process to identify, rank, and execute low-cost congestion relief projects.
  • Ohio DOT Bottleneck Reduction Process (HTML, PDF 15KB) - In 2002 the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) added a congestion index ranking to their "Highway Safety Program" listing of state hot spots. Now, congestion-identified locations have a "voice" in competing with safety-identified locations for priority attention.

Other Resources

  • Do Bottleneck Improvements Really Reduce Congestion? (Texas Transportation Institute)
  • Traffic Bottlenecks: A Primer Focus on Low-Cost Operational Improvements (Version 1) (HTML, PDF 1.8MB) (Publication Number: FHWa-HOP-07-130) - Version 2 "Recurring Traffic Bottlenecks: A Primer Focus on Low-Cost Operational Improvements" updates this version)
  • Recurring Traffic Bottlenecks: A Primer Focus on Low-Cost Operational Improvements (Version 2) (HTML, PDF 10MB) (Publication Number: FHWa-HOP-09-037) - This updates Version 1 "Traffic Bottlenecks: A Primer Focus on Low-Cost Operational Improvements."

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