The FHWA 2015 Urban Congestion Trends Report provides the current state of congestion and reliability in the largest urban areas in the United States. Tis report also highlights relevant successful operational strategies and performance management approaches implemented by state and local transportation agencies. The graphic at right provides year-to-year congestion trends from 2014 to 2015 from data that inform FHWA’s Urban Congestion Report (UCR). Overall, congestion has slightly decreased from 2014 to 2015. Hours of congestion declined by 23 minutes from 5:03 (2014) to 4:40 (2015) and the planning time index declined slightly from 2.68 (2014) to 2.65 (2015). The travel time index increased one point from 1.33 (2014) to 1.34 (2015). Tis report marks the second year of calculating congestion and reliability metrics with the National Performance Management Research Data Set (NPMRDS). “Big Data” is a popular term used to describe the massive amounts of data being produced in this connected age. These large data sets often require advanced analytical tools to process the data into information for decision making. NPMRDS is an example of a big data source – created from vehicles on the transportation system. It includes actual, observed travel times on the National Highway System (NHS) and is available for use by state departments of transportation (DOTs) and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) for their performance management activities. Tis report documents several examples from state and local agencies using NPMRDS to better understand how their transportation system is operating. Operational strategies provide proven methods for improving the performance of the transportation system, whether through reducing congestion, improving reliability, or creating options for travellers. Operational strategies often result in other benefits such as increased safety and improved environmental outcomes (e.g., reduced greenhouse gas emissions). This report includes highlights of innovative ways states and local agencies throughout the United States have implemented effective operations and measured the impacts of congestion. The report concludes with a discussion of the importance of traffic volume data when aggregating performance measures. (Author/publisher)
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