U.S. DOT's ICM Initiative and Demonstration Sites

U.S. DOT ICM Initiative

In 2007, The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) selected eight pioneer demonstration sites across the country to be a part of the department’s first-ever ICM Initiative. According to the USDOT, “The USDOT ICM Initiative aims to advance the state of the practice in transportation corridor operations to manage congestion. This initiative will provide the institutional guidance, operational capabilities, Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) technology and technical methods needed for effective ICM systems.”

The Initiative was completed in four phases, with fewer pioneer sites advancing through each phase. Only two sites, San Diego and Dallas, were selected to complete an ICM demonstration (Phase 3). Both projects are currently 'live'.

ICM Demo Sites Fact Sheet

In 2012, a Lessons Learned and Implementation Guide was developed that may be helpful to project managers just getting started. The guide offers suggestions for each stage of an implementation effort for an ICMS so other agencies can benefit from the research done to date and from the experiences of the pioneer sites. The ICM Modeling Results report documents the analysis methodologies, tools, and performance measures used to analyze ICM strategies; and presents high-level results for the successful implementation of ICM at the three pioneer sites.

Version 2.0 of the Lessons Learned and Implementation Guide was released in 2015 and provides additional lessons learned and examples through the full implementation of the Dallas and San Diego ICM Pioneer Site projects.

San Diego I-15 Project

The I-15 ICM Demonstration is a collaborative effort led by the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) in collaboration with the U.S. DOT, California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), the Metropolitan Transit System, the North County Transit District, and the cities of San Diego, Poway, and Escondido.

"San Diego’s ICMS aims to proactively and collaboratively manage the I-15 corridor to maximize transportation system performance and enable travelers the opportunity to make convenient shifts among modes and routes. Improved mobility for people, goods, and services will be achieved by improving current levels of system integration and through continued collaboration among the corridor’s institutional partners and their native functional environments or systems. With ICM, actions taken by individual agencies or networks will be made based on the condition of and the impact on the entire corridor." -U.S. DOT

Dallas US-75 Project

The US-75 ICM Demonstration is a collaborative effort led by Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) in collaboration with the U.S. DOT, City of Dallas, Town of Highland Park, North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG), North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA), City of Plano, City of Richardson, Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), and the City of University Park.

"ICM will integrate the regional systems and operations along the US-75 corridor using a decentralized approach. Travelers will have access to real-time information about traffic and travel times, public transit, and parking availability through wireless and web-based alerts as well as dynamic message signs on the roads to help them plan their routes, and make adjustments as needed in response to changing conditions. The ICMS will also support improved incident management along the corridor." -U.S. DOT