The National Operations Center for Excellence or NOCoE recently named the winners of its 2022 Transportation Systems Management and Operations or TSMO Awards. NOCoE made the announcement during the annual meeting of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Committee on Transportation System Operations.
[Above photo by AASHTO]
NOCoE – a partnership between AASHTO, the Institute for Transportation Engineers, and the Intelligent Transportation Society of America, with support from the Federal Highway Administration – explained that TSMO is a set of strategies that focus on operational improvements that maintains and restores existing transportation system performance without adding extra capacity.
This annual contest celebrates TSMO strategies and tools that leverage existing infrastructure to increase safety and reliability. Additionally, each year, NOCoE develops case studies for each winning entry as well as for many of the other submissions, which contribute to a library of over 150 TSMO case studies.
The New Jersey Department of Transportation took home top honors as the 2022 TSMO Awards contest’s overall winner. NJDOT won for its improvements to Route 1 Using TSMO, which alleviated congestion using existing pavement and Hard Shoulder Runner or HSR – a key TSMO strategy that incorporates Intelligent Transportation Systems technology including digital message systems, overhead control signs, and CCTV cameras helped to direct traffic and enhance safety.
The solution also benefited the agency overall. In a case study on the project, the winning team states that “much was achieved and learned through the successful deployment … including bridging a knowledge gap between New Jersey DOT’s operational and roadway design project managers. The agency said it now considers HSR, with appropriate ITS support, a ‘standard TSMO strategy’ when scoping cost-effective congestion management projects in the state.”
New Jersey DOT is among five other category winners, which includes “Best TSMO Project,” “Agency Improvement,” “Digital Infrastructure,” and “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion in TSMO.” Case studies on those winning projects are on the NOCoE website.
NOCoE also named Jennifer Portanova – state traffic systems Operations Engineer with the North Carolina Department of Transportation – as the winner of its 2022 TSMO Champion award, for both advancing TSMO for North Carolina’s transportation system as well as for making significant contributions to advancing TSMO on a national level.
In the coming weeks NOCoE will announce its 2023 TSMO Award submission process, which will include new categories focusing on safety and emerging TSMO practices. Sign-up for the NOCoE newsletter for more submission information and to learn more about TSMO.
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