 Consists of the use of the roadway shoulder as a general purpose lane only during periods of very high traffic congestion.
 The temporary use of the shoulder will provide an effective and economic alternative to relieve heavy traffic congestion.
 Shoulder utilization as a general use lane is restricted once more normal traffic flow conditions are established.

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Effective dynamic shoulder implementation requires full integration with Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) technology.
ITS will provide the technical infrastructure (traffic video, dynamic message signs, speed sensors, etc.) for implementation while supporting a platform for effective communication with the driving public.
ITS is critical in the monitoring of traffic conditions, shoulder availability, and when high congestion begins to prevail, it will instruct the traveling public to begin using the shoulder.
High operational speeds are not permitted on the shoulder.
When high operational speeds are being detected, the traveling public will be advised to discontinue the use of the shoulder.

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The system allows the use of the right shoulder as travel lanes during designated peak traffic hours. Illustrations to follow.
Shoulder is open on a scheduled basis. Monday – Friday only.
Emergency pull off areas are provided next to the shoulder.
Virginia DOT’s managed lane system is a cost effective and efficient way to increase capacity of the facility.
A safety analysis presented no evidence that the managed lane approach during peak hours affects the crash frequency of the study area.
Lessons learned: Enhanced dynamic message signs are essential, improve incident detection and quicken response time.

 Dynamic shoulder is a component of Active Traffic
Management (ATM) technology.
 ATM seeks to effectively and efficiently use the existing transportation facility available capacity.
 ATM uses different applications – speed harmonization, queue warning, High Occupancy
Vehicles, dynamic shoulders, dynamic signing and rerouting, among others.

 ATM applications are well developed in Europe
(Germany, England, Denmark, Netherlands).
 These countries use a combination of previously mentioned traffic strategies.
 Specific benefits derived from these applications:
 Increase in overall capacity.
 Decrease in the number of accidents.
 An overall harmonization of speeds during high congestion.
 Reduction in traffic delays.

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Upgrading from 3-L to 4-L along I-75 only during peak hour congestion can reduce vehicle density per lane by
26% in peak hour conditions.
Upgrading from 3-L to 4-L will increase service volume capacity by 34%.
Overall, the service capacity of the interstate can be extended by several years at a much lower cost than traditional roadway widening.
The inside shoulder was built with adequate strength under the “value added” benefit derived by the I-75 IROX
Design Build type bidding.
The dynamic shoulder ITS will be integrated with the existing active I-75 ITS.

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Recommend implementation of Dynamic Shoulder Lanes along a 12- to 14-mile segment of I-75 (Lee County), pending
FHWA coordination.
Estimated cost per mile of Dynamic Shoulder Lanes: $1.5 -
$2.5 million. Cost of comparable traditional roadway expansion (6-L to 8-L) is approximately $5.5 - $6.5 million.
The Dynamic Shoulder benefits would add 34% of additional capacity to the system. This will reduce heavy congestion, noise and contamination.
FHWA is very supportive of these technological innovations as an effective solution to vehicular congestion. It has been successfully implemented domestically and abroad.