The Arizona Department of Transportation Traffic Operations Center has a new addition. A state public safety officer is now working with the team during rush hour. It’s a new tactic officials are using to clear freeway crashes more efficiently.
The new addition to the Traffic Operations Center is part of a three-year pilot project being conducted by ADOT, the Arizona Department of Public Safety, the Federal Highway Administration and the Maricopa County Association of Governments.
Computer-generated traffic models estimate that having a DPS officer at the center could result in a 33 percent reduction in the overall traffic delay caused by major crashes. DPS director Robert Halliday said an officer’s in-depth freeway experience is the key to making the program work.
"They know exactly what to get, when to get it, how much to get, who to call, and it just makes this transition a lot more successful," said Halliday.
The program will cost about $425,000 a year to run. Federal and state stakeholders will share that bill for the first three years.