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REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT CENTER IS A GO! -- - The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnfOOT) and the Department of Public Safcty (DPS) will be breaking ground this fall on a new Regional Transportation Management Center (RTMC) forthe Minneapolis/St. Paul Metro area. The RTMC will create a :;(ate-of-the-artopera- tions center to provide regional transportation management including integrated corridor traffic management, incident management, traveler information, emergency dispatch and other ITS services. State Patrol Dispa~ch, Mn/DOT Metro Division Maintenance Dispatch, Free..vay Operations and Traffic Engineering will integrate their.operations in the..... RTMC to improve transportation management services \0 the Metro region. Building constr!.lction is scheduled to begin in October of .. . 2000. The build.ing should be complete and operational in the. Jail_of 2002. -- The RTMC will be networked with other operations in the region and state, creating a "shared environment." This will allow other stakeholders not physically located in the RTMC to work collaboratively through shared access to data in real- time and through joint processes for traffic management, inci- dent management and other key areas where efficiency and improved services to the public can be provided. This project supports Mn/DOT's vision to develop a coordinated trans- portation system and its strategic plan to preserve, manage and improve the state's highway system. . . The existing TMC in. downtown Minneapolis was built in 1970 for freeway management. The 10,000 square foot facility . no longer has the capacity to house the equipment and people needed to fully deploy the traffic management system across the metro area. According to Glen Carlson, TMC manager, "We've also seen the value that an integrated approach to ITS can bring. So rather than expanding the existing TMC, we asked our regional partners in transportation management to join with us in developing a shared vision, and a shared operations center." Thi" project started in 1996 when the TMC collaborated with several of its regional partners to define the environment for traf- fic management and public safety dispatch that will respond to and anticipate public needs into the 21st century. Partners in this effort included Mn/DOT, Department of Public Safety's State Patrol and State Emergency Services, Metro Transit Dispatch and sele.:ted Metropolitan counties and cities. Thes.. pntities worked together to create the initial concept and requirements for a "shared environment" and a new RTMC. The shared environment will be created by networking many opera- tions with the RTMC and creating a single virtual operation that provides access to real-time information. Through the use of information and jointly developed traffic and incident manage- ment strategies, transportation efficiency and imprQved services can be provided to the public. The shared environment is expect- ed to expand beyond the boundaries of the metro area, and include some statewide functions. "The RTMC is going to improve our efficiency and effectiveness in the detection, response and removHI of incidents that cause more than half of the congestion on metro area freeways" states Carlson. The RTMC will be :+-5t5OQ sQ,lare ~'ffi~ buildi~ connected to the Metro Division Headquarters fad ity in Roseville. It includes a 10,000 square foot state-of-the-art ~rations center and inci- 8'"ent management room. The Operations Center will nouse 35 workstations, which provides room for growth and the develop- ment of new services A 675 (;.uarf" (not tour rnoi1Us located above the operations cen- ter wit a view into it. "We are working with the media so that they can easily broadcast from the tour room without disruption to the operations," according to Melanie Braun, Traveler Information Supervisor. ~ \ During emergencies or in case of a disaster, the RTMC will pro- vide backup workstations an incident management room that is part of the operations center. This will allow other agencies to operate at the RTMC. including Metro Transit, and city and county traffic operations. The facility also includes a shared super- visor workspace on the operations floor for impromptu communi- cation and decision-making during incidents. "By co-locating the State Patrol and Mn/DOT operations units into a single center, we will have more comprehensive and timely traveler information. That will help people avoid congested areas and minimize their travel time," says Maureen Jensen, RTMC Project Manager. Th~Oiect cost is $23.5 million. This includes $8 million ~ for echno ogy in the center an~~; the traffiC manage- ment fiber optic network. The bui . is estimated ~t1!.L million. The remaining costs inc Ude esigtl, furniture an~ ot ex nsion. For.more information on this project contact: Maureen Jensen RTMC Project Manager Mn/OOT ' Metro Division maureen.jensen@dot.statf.mn.us