PUTTIN' ON THE RITS

The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration, instituted a series of National Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) initiatives in Colorado to develop a rural ITS (RITS) program that satisfies current and future public transportation needs, including dynamic roadway and weather information, incident management capabilities, increased safety, and streamlined mobilization of goods and services. RITS services are widely used, and Colorado transportation stakeholders are beginning to recognize the operational benefits of smart rural highways and the value of continued RITS research and development. Nevertheless, increased budget constraints have forced CDOT to evaluate more cost-effective approaches for expansion.