A unique, pioneering program in the Phoenix metropolitan area is bridging the gap between incident and traffic management by providing emergency traffic management support to local agencies within Maricopa County on arterial roadways. This is the only interjurisdictional emergency traffic management program for arterials in the United States. The Regional Emergency Action Coordinating Team (REACT) was implemented by the Maricopa County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) and the AZTech TM Model Deployment Initiative regional partnership in 2001. Integrating experienced traffic management personnel with ITS tools and the support of the AZTech TM technology backbone with police and fire operations, REACT has proven to be a valuable resource by providing emergency traffic management on arterial roadways for incidents ranging from traffic accidents to hazardous material spills, criminal investigations, and extreme weather damage. REACT has even been called upon to assist with traffic management during a recent Presidential visit and closing the roads near Luke Air Force base in response to increased national security measures following the events of September 11. Year one of operation proved to be very successful and yielded many lessons learned.
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