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Project-Details







Strategic Freeway/Corridor Management

Planning Phase

Region 1: Portland metro and Hood River County ()


ODOT manages the Portland area freeway system with a focus on safety, reliability, and strategic operational improvements. The studies described on this page identify challenges with the regional freeway system and recommend operational improvements. 

Details

About

Portland Region​​ Tra​f​​fic Performance Report 

The Portland Metro region is experiencing growth in population, jobs and travel leading to severe congestion along freeway corridors. Severe congestion results in recurring safety hot-spots and reduced system reliability. The Portland Region Traffic Performance Report​ provides a foundation for monitoring the health of the regional freeway system using the following key performance categories: congestion and bottlenecks, reliability, safety (related to crashes and incidents) and speed/delay. The 2020 report covers traffic performance in 2019 (the most recent year of non-pandemic influenced data), which enables ODOT to identify problems and manage the system to facilitate the efficient movement of people, goods and services. The 2020 report also shows that targeted highway investments in traffic bottleneck locations have significantly improved highway performance in terms of improved travel time reliability, reduced delay and fewer crashes. 

Ac​​tive Traffic Management Strategy  ​​​

 ​ODOT’s Active Traffic Management Atlas identifies where investments in real-time message signing and other intelligent transportation systems will benefit highway operations. Core recommendations include variable speed signs, queue warning signs and traveler information signs at strategic locations. Where implemented, these recommendations improve safety and reduce the severity and frequency of collisions, improve network reliability, allow for improved incident and work zone management. 

Corridor Bottle​neck Operations Study

ODOT’s Corridor Bottleneck Operations Study recommends cost-effective and smaller scale operational improvements to the existing system, such as adding auxiliary lanes between freeway interchanges to enhance safety by improving weaves and merges. These improvements do not add capacity to the freeway system, but are intended to address congestion at identified bottlenecks, particularly during the peak commute shoulder hours (the hours before and after the traditional rush hour traffic pattern). 

Impact of COVID-19 on Traffic in Portland

Beginning March 14, 2020, ODOT traffic analysts noted a significant drop in daily traffic volume on major freeways in the Portland metropolitan region and a substantial decrease in total travel time.  After Governor Brown's stay-at-home order issued March 23, 2020 traffic volume continued to decrease, with the fewest amount of average weekday vehicles occurring the week of March 30-April 3, 2020.  Region 1 traffic analysts monitored traffic volumes, travel times, and incidents on Portland's major freeway corridors (I-5, I-205, I-84, I-405, OR 217, and US 26) to better understand the impacts of Covid-19 on travel patterns.  Reports from March 2020 through January 2022 are available upon request. 

ODOT also produced a series of reports monitoring the statewide impact of COVID 19 on traffic volumes throughout Oregon. View the final summary report from July 2021​. 

Location

N/A | ​​Freeway corridors in the Portland metro area.

Cost and Funding

​The studies were funded through a combination of federal Surface Transportation System Funds, federal State Planning and Research funds and a state match. The 2018 Portland Region Traffic Performance Report cost approximately $190,000 to complete. 

Contacts & Media

Project Contacts

Principal Planner
Scott Turnoy
Email
Scott.TURNOY@odot.oregon.gov
Phone
503-731-3038

Major Projects Manager
Kristen Stallman
Email
Kristen.Stallman@odot.oregon.gov
Phone
503-731-4957

Last Updated

12/20/2023 1:22 PM

Project Number

ATMS

Project Documents

Related documents to this project
Chapter-2-CBOS.pdfThis document provides the introduction to the Corridor Bottleneck Operations Study.
Chapter-2B-ATMS.pdfThis document is the second half of Chapter 2, which is Active Traffic Management solutions by operational segments.
Chapter-2A-ATMS.pdfThis document is the first half of Chapter 2, which is Active Traffic Management solutions by operational segments.
Chapter-1-CBOS.pdfThis collection of documents if the final report for the Corridor Bottleneck Operations Study. This document provides a location summary, table of contents and information on how to use the project atlas.
Chapter-5-CBOS.pdfThis document details the appendices to the Corridor Bottleneck Operations Study, which are available upon request.
Chapter-3-CBOS.pdfThis document focuses on bottlenecks and solutions from the Corridor Bottleneck Operations Study.
Chapter-4-CBOS.pdfThis document provides bottlenecks and project recommendations by corridor from the Corridor Bottleneck Operations Study.
Chapter-3-ATMS.pdfThis document is Chapter 3, which is the infrastructure locations.
Executive-Summary-ATMS.pdfLearn about the Active Traffic Management Strategy in Region 1.
TPR-2020-BeforeAfter-I-205N.pdfAn evaluation of the I-205 northbound: I-84 eastbound to Killingsworth Street improvements.
TPR-2020-BeforeAfter-I-205S.pdfAn evaluation of the I-205 southbound: I-84 eastbound to Powell Boulevard improvements.
TPR-2020-BeforeAfter-US26.pdfAn evaluation of the U.S. 26: Cornelius Pass Road to 185th Avenue improvements.
TPR-2020.pdfThis 2020 Traffic Performance Report provides information on the health of the freeway system.
TPR-2020-BeforeAfter-I-5S.pdfAn evaluation of the I-5 southbound: Lower Boones Ferry Road to I-205 improvements.