Lochmueller worked in conjunction with a partner firm to conduct an update to the Gateway Green Light (GGL) feasibility study, originally created in 2012. St. Charles County, a county of just over 400,000 people located to the northwest of St. Louis, has experienced tremendous growth over the last two decades, requiring new solutions to managing congestion on the freeways and arterials within the County. The GGL program is a consortium of multiple large municipalities, the County, and MoDOT, all with the common goal to manage the transportation network across jurisdictional lines.
The original study focused on developing conceptual designs for advanced transportation management systems, emphasizing cross-coordination and inter-operability of traffic signals and ITS devices across jurisdictional boundaries. The purpose of the 2019 update was to incorporate devices and systems from the 2012 study and determine how to expand the GGL system in the future with focuses on connected vehicles, automated vehicles, smart city applications, and other emerging technologies.
First, an inventory and analysis of the existing conditions of the system was conducted. This included inventory and locations of traffic signals, CCTV cameras, dynamic message signs, travel time detectors, communications network, and more. Following the inventory of existing conditions, stakeholders identified and ranked 30 needs to understand the gaps and opportunities for the future of the GGL system. Lochmueller then assessed the level to which the system was prepared for the focus technologies and opportunities to expand the system based upon the stakeholder needs. Lochmueller prepared a report documenting the findings of the study. The report included inventory and location maps of the components of the system to illustrate the reach and effectiveness of the completed phases of GGL. Lochmueller included recommended projects for the GGL system based upon stakeholders’ needs along with implementation timeframes for these projects. The report also provided recommendations for future technologies to implement into the system, as well as ways to use the system to its full potential in the future.
