IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR THE TRUCKEE MEADOWS SIGNAL SYSTEM UPGRADE

An implementation plan (IP) is a comprehensive document that is prepared at the end of a feasibility analysis for a traffic system. This could be a traditional traffic signal control system, a surveillance system, a traffic management system, or a freeway management system. The feasibility analysis is the first step in analyzing and defining alternative methods in which the subject system could be structured and acquired. The IP gathers all of the information pertinent to the decision processes and analytical exercises performed during the feasibility analysis and extends those findings with discussions of funding and staffing and staging. The IP is intended to be a living document such that the entities would keep it updated during the evolution of the system installation. The undertaking of any federally funded project involving the acquisition, implementation, and subsequent operation of a new or upgraded system now triggers the requirement that an IP be prepared and approved by both the Federal Highway Administration and the entities/agencies that are seeking to acquire and subsequently operate the system. This paper describes this new regulation, both from the abstract and specific viewpoints. A current example of the report prepared for one such traffic control system project is used to illuminate the regulation.