Applying Transportation Asset Management to Traffic Signals: A Primer

Foreword

Transportation Systems Management and Operations (TSMO) leverages technology to provide cost effective solutions to optimizing the performance of the existing transportation system. Such technology examples include traffic signals and Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) devices. As State and local agencies begin to develop their own best practices in maintaining their assets, practitioners should understand asset management principles in order to apply them in the most cost effective way. This primer provides information for applying Transportation Asset Management (TAM) principles to traffic signals in accordance with the Transportation Asset Management Plan (TAMP) requirements.

Notice

This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The U.S. Government assumes no liability for the use of the information contained in this document.

The U.S. Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trademarks or manufacturers’ names appear in this report only because they are considered essential to the objective of the document.

Quality Assurance Statement

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) provides high-quality information to serve Government, industry, and the public in a manner that promotes public understanding. Standards and policies are used to ensure and maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of its information. The FHWA periodically reviews quality issues and adjusts its programs and processes to ensure continuous quality improvement.

Non-Binding Contents

Except for the statutes and regulations cited within, the contents of this document do not have the force and effect of law and are not meant to bind the public in any way. The document is intended only to provide clarity regarding existing requirements under the law or agency policies. This document is not legally binding in its own right and will not be relied upon by the Department as a separate basis for affirmative enforcement action or other administrative penalty.

Technical Report Documentation Page

1. Report No. FHWA-HOP-20-048	2. Government Accession No.			3. Recipient’s Catalog No.
4. Title and Subtitle Applying Transportation Asset Management to Traffic Signals: A Primer				5. Report Date January 2022
				6. Performing Organization Code
7. Author(s) Gareth McKay (WSP), Christopher Senesi (WSP)				8. Performing Organization Report No.
9. Performing Organization Name and Address WSP under contract to: Cambridge Systematics Inc. 3 Bethesda Metro Center, Suite 1200 Bethesda, MD 20814				10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS)
				11. Contract or Grant No. DTFH6116D00051L
12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration Office of Operations 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590				13. Type of Report and Period Covered Final Report
				14. Sponsoring Agency Code HOP
15. Supplementary Notes Federal Highway Administration Office of Operations Task Order Contracting Officer’ Representative (TOCOR)—Joseph Gregory
16. Abstract As the importance of an integrated transportation system continues to evolve and grow, U.S. transportation agencies are identifying traffic signals as critical elements in asset management and long-range planning. Current research continues to suggest that transportation agencies can benefit from including traffic signals in their asset management planning and integrating asset management practices for traffic signal assets. This primer provides information for applying Transportation Asset Management (TAM) principles to traffic signals in accordance with the Transportation Asset Management Plan (TAMP) requirements.
17. Key Words Publication, guidelines, primer, asset management, traffic signals			18. Distribution Statement No restrictions.
19. Security Classif. (of this report) Unclassified		20. Security Classif. (of this page) Unclassified			21. No of Pages 72	22. Price N/A

Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72)                                                                      Reproduction of completed pages authorized

SI (Modern Metric)

Approximate Conversions to SI Units

Symbol	When You Know	Multiply By	To Find	Symbol
Length
in	inches	25.4	millimeters	mm
ft	feet	0.305	meters	m
yd	yards	0.914	meters	m
mi	miles	1.61	kilometers	km
Area
in2	square inches	645.2	square millimeters	mm2
ft2	square feet	0.093	square meters	m2
yd2	square yard	0.836	square meters	m2
ac	acres	0.405	hectares	ha
mi2	square miles	2.59	square kilometers	km2
Volume
fl oz	fluid ounces	29.57	milliliters	mL
gal	gallons	3.785	liters	L
ft3	cubic feet	0.028	cubic meters	m3
yd3	cubic yards	0.765	cubic meters	m3
NOTE: volumes greater than 1000 L shall be shown in m3
Mass
oz	ounces	28.35	grams	g
lb	pounds	0.454	kilograms	kg
T	short tons (2000 lb)	0.907	megagrams (or "metric ton")	Mg (or "t")
Temperature (exact degrees)
°F	Fahrenheit	5 (F-32)/9 or (F-32)/1.8	Celsius	°C
Illumination
fc	foot-candles	10.76	lux	lx
fl	foot-Lamberts	3.426	candela/m2	cd/m2
Force and Pressure or Stress
lbf	poundforce	4.45	newtons	N
lbf/in2	poundforce per square inch	6.89	kilopascals	kPa

Conversion Factors

Approximate Conversions from SI Units

Symbol	When You Know	Multiply By	To Find	Symbol
Length
mm	millimeters	0.039	inches	in
m	meters	3.28	feet	ft
m	meters	1.09	yards	yd
km	kilometers	0.621	miles	mi
Area
mm2	square millimeters	0.0016	square inches	in2
m2	square meters	10.764	square feet	ft2
m2	square meters	1.195	square yards	yd2
ha	hectares	2.47	acres	ac
km2	square kilometers	0.386	square miles	mi2
Volume
mL	milliliters	0.034	fluid ounces	fl oz
L	liters	0.264	gallons	gal
m3	cubic meters	35.314	cubic feet	ft3
m3	cubic meters	1.307	cubic yards	yd3
Mass
g	grams	0.035	ounces	oz
kg	kilograms	2.202	pounds	lb
Mg (or "t")	megagrams (or "metric ton")	1.103	short tons (2000 lb)	T
Temperature (exact degrees)
°C	Celsius	1.8C+32	Fahrenheit	°F
Illumination
lx	lux	0.0929	foot-candles	fc
cd/m2	candela/m2	0.2919	foot-Lamberts	fl
Force and Pressure or Stress
N	newtons	02.225	poundforce	lbf
kPa	kilopascals	0.145	poundforce per square inch	lbf/in2

Note: SI is the symbol for the International System of Units. Appropriate rounding should be made to comply with Section 4 of ASTM E380. (Revised March 2003)