Kansas City Scout
Greater Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas, USA

In a joint effort, the Departments of Transportation in Kansas (KDOT) and Missouri (MoDOT) are reaching across state lines and into a new technological toolbox to tackle Kansas City’s rapidly increasing traffic needs. Their strategy: Intelligent Transportation Systems.

KDOT and MoDOT have focused on 75 miles of the Kansas City area’s most congested freeways. They selected Black & Veatch to design the Kansas City Scout ITS. The system will be operated from MoDOT District 4 headquarters. Scout’s traffic operation center staff will use information from cameras and sensors to launch a comprehensive response plan tailored to each traffic situation. Responses may include:

• Dispatching Motorist Assist services
• Notifying and coordinating with emergency services
• Creating electronic sign messages along affected routes
• Sending updated information to local media
• Broadcasting traffic updates over the Internet

Without adding another inch of pavement, the Kansas City Scout will result in:

• Less highway congestion
• Fewer rush-hour accidents
• Improved emergency response times
• Reduced air pollution from slow or idling traffic

Black & Veatch is the lead consultant on the project. The first phase of construction is currently underway and involves the design, construction, and integration of:

• Full build-out of the Traffic Operations Center (TOC).
• Customized TOC computer hardware and software systems.
• Field elements for 75 miles of freeways and major arterials in Kansas and Missouri.
• Automated Vehicle Detector Stations (VDS) to monitor traffic flow conditions.
• Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) for surveillance of traffic conditions.
• Dynamic Message Signs (DMS) to convey real-time information to motorists.
• Highway Advisory Radio (HAR) to convey more detailed status reports.
• A bi-state, unified, Incident Response Plan to clear freeway incidents much faster.
• End-to-end integration of the existing fiberoptic backbone on freeway rights-of-way into the Freeway Management System (FMS) communications system.

"This is a unique project not only for the Missouri and Kansas Departments of Transportation, but also for Black & Veatch," said Black & Veatch Transportation Project Manager Kevin Harder. "The success of this ITS design was based upon the project team balancing the needs and requirements of both the Missouri and Kansas Departments of Transportation."

ITS systems have already been established in a few other large cities such as Los Angeles, Calif., Minneapolis, Minn., Phoenix, Ariz. and Ontario, Canada. Nonetheless, "The future of Kansas City Scout and similar ITS projects in the United States is enormous," said Kim Moore, a Black & Veatch civil engineer. "We are thrilled to be an integral part of this important project."