US-23 Active Traffic Management System (ATM)

Last evening, I stopped at the Northfield Township Hall in Whitmore Lake to visit the Michigan

Department of Transportation (MDOT) open house regarding the US-23 Active Traffic Management (ATM) plan.

If you've ever driven the US-23 expressway to Ann Arbor in the morning rush hour, or tried to get back to Livingston County in the evening, you know what a pain it is.  Designed decades ago, it carries far too much traffic today.  Many entrance ramps are very short and interchanges don't work for today's traffic volume. There are an abundance of crashes due to slowing traffic near entrance and exit ramps.

There's not enough funding to do a major widening of this roadway, so the ATM system has been studied and judged to be feasible.  It will include extensions/upgrades of currently deficient ramps (most of them are!), factor in pedestrian and trail pathway access to local facilities, widening and/or reconstruction of existing bridges, the lane controllers, and courtesy patrols.  Part of last night's open house was to exhibit various natural landscape themes for the corridor.

Interestingly, there is also a commuter rail line effort that could help decrease commuter traffic on US-23 between I-96 on the north and M-14 on the south.  Officially called the North-South Commuter Rail, it  is often referred to as "WALLY", because it would serve Washtenaw and Livingston Counties, running from Howell to Ann Arbor.  I understand that one very expensive part of this effort, the actual rail track upgrades is done already.  As it is now, you would even be able to take your bike with you on the WALLY line, to use at your destination.  But WALLY is another blog post for another day.

There were a lot of MDOT folks at the open house and visitors were encouraged to 'vote' for the aesthetic treatments they thought would best fit the corridor.  Plenty of diagrams and overhead views were available, and I heard a number of attendees inquiring about noise control measures. I spoke to a MDOT representative that said this project would all be done in one piece and it was hoped to be completed by sometime in 2017.  Other states are using ATM systems, but this will be the first one in Michigan. 

One of the most noticeable features of the ATM is the use of a widened and upgraded left median shoulder to use for traffic.  Southbound US-23 would use this 'shoulder' for morning rush hour, northbound US-23 would use their 'shoulder' for the evening rush hour.  Large LED indicators would let motorists know that the lane was either open or closed.  Right side shoulders would still be present and could be used for motorists having vehicle troubles.  There will be set 'crash investigation' sites, too. 

Once you exit US-23, you will likely find reconfigured interchanges.  The Six Mile interchange will be re-worked for more logical ramp solutions.  At North Territorial and again at 8 Mile Rd, a combination of a roundabout and a new 'teardrop' (elongated roundabout) configuration will be used.  Bridges at Warren, Barker Rd and the CSX overpass (north of Lee Rd in Green oak Twp) will certainly be reworked, too.  If you're thinking this is a large project - you're right!

You'll be hearing more about this project, and if you commute to Ann Arbor, I suspect that things may temporarily get a little bit worse, but there's also the promise that it will make the commute less stressful and more efficient. There's a ton of background info available and I've included some links below.  Missing are the treatment options.

Washtenaw Area Transportation Study-http://www.miwats.org/watsblog/2015/1/21/us-23-project-update

MDOT US-23 Corridor Project -http://www.michigan.gov/mdot/0,4616,7-151-9621_11058-316825--,00.html

Wally Rail - https://www.facebook.com/WALLYRail/

image attributions: US-23 sign - State of Michigan MDOT; ATM graphic - Washtenaw Area Transportation Study blog; tear drop configuration - MDOT Appendix A, Traffic Analysis Data, US-23 Improvements document