Complete Corridors offer an integrated approach toward maximizing mobility. It emphasizes making transportation improvements that benefit the entire system, and all modes of travel.
- Increased roadway capacity
Managed Lanes, like those along the Interstate 15 corridor, encourage people to use of high-occupancy vehicles. The aim is to increase roadway capacity and reduce traffic congestion.
- Reduced congestion and air pollution
With fewer traffic jams and idling, more zero emission vehicles, and a larger share of the population using high-occupancy modes of travel, Complete Corridors can help reduce congestion and air pollution, provide alternatives to driving alone, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
- Travel time savings
Using ATDM strategies has reduced travel times by more than 10%. Connected vehicles could increase overall network capacity by up to 25%, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Beyond Traffic 2045 Report.
- Increased transit ridership
Congestion pricing has resulted in significant shifts to transit in cities such as London and Stockholm. Bus delays in central London dropped 50% after pricing was introduced, and there was a 7% rise in bus ridership. In Stockholm, daily transit use increased by 40,000 riders, and ridership on inner-city bus routes rose 9%.
- Improved safety
ATDM strategies have reduced crashes up to 30% and dangerous driving maneuvers up to 80%. During natural disasters and other emergency situations, real-time management of the transportation system can reroute traffic so people can avoid dangerous driving conditions and optimize roadway use during evacuations. Dedicated spaces for bikes, pedestrians, and low speed shared vehicles also improve safety for these modes of travel.
- Maximize existing infrastructure
The Complete Corridors is designed to maximize the use of existing roadways, and it offers an alternative to expanding them. Experience and research have shown that expanding roadways ultimately leads to more traffic and greenhouse gas emissions. For example, the 26-lane Katy Freeway in the Houston area is the widest freeway in North America. This $2.8 billion mega-project was intended to alleviate severe traffic congestion, but congestion actually worsened and travel times increased 30% during the morning commute and 55% during the evening commute.
Success Stories and Related Links
- Oregon’s 217 Active Traffic Management (ATM) project resulted in 7% reduction in average travel time, and travel time reliability improved by 50% while traffic volumes increased 9%.
- Collisions on Interstate 5 in Washington State decreased 65 to 75% along a 7.5-mile corridor where an ATM system was deployed.
- In Austin, Texas, use of ATDM strategies and variable speed limits resulted in 17% reduction in air pollution.