DOT, FED HWY ADMN, Office of Acquisition Management, 400 7TH ST, SW, Room 4410, Washington, DC 20590

A -- RAMP METERING FOR RECURRENT AND NON-RECURRENT CONGESTION" SOL DTFH61-97-R-00032 DUE 042597 POC James H. Mowery III, Negotiator, telephone number (202) 366-4244. FAXED REQUESTS FOR THIS SOLICITATION WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. Instead, please request the solicitation by sending a letter and TWO SELF-ADDRESSED ADHESIVE LABELS to the negotiator. Using FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) plans to award a contract under which the contractor will develop and test ramp metering control algorithms for improving the operational efficiency of a freeway corridor under recurrent as well as non-recurrent congestion conditions. The ramp metering control algorithms to be developed in this study are intended to be a key component of the advanced traffic management systems (ATMS) that are being considered in the context of intelligent transportation infrastructure (ITI) deployment. As such, one of the essential requirments for the ramp metering algorithms to be developed under this project is real-time operational capability. Furthermore, the developed ramp metering algorithms will be thoroughly evaluated in laboratory simulations covering conventional traffic operational measures of effectiveness as well as other measures such as air quality and safety impacts. Limited field testing (as a precursor to extensive field operational tests) will be conducted to assess the effectiveness of the developed ramp metering algorithms in real-world operational situations. It is estimated that the contractor will develop two ramp metering algorithms: one to handle recurrent congestion conditions, and the other to handle congestion resulting from non-recurrent conditions. The contractor will perform a review of relevant literature; determine the capabilities required and constraints associated with a ramp metering system that will be deployed and operated in real-time ATMS under different intelligent transportation systems (ITS) architectures in a spectrum of localities; identify approximately four field testing sites (freeway corridor with alternate street routes) with adequate surveillance and control infrastructure for field testing of the ramp metering algorithms;become familiar with an existing simulation model (interfaces), which will be used to de-bug and to test the algorithms to be developed under this project; analytically develop the ramp metering algorithms; develop a real-time ramp metering software incorporating the interfaces and the algorithms; demonstrate the ramp metering software to the FHWA; select two sites as final field testing sites (with FHWA approval); develop simulation test plans for the verification and testing of the ramp metering algorithms and the ramp metering software; conduct simulation tests in accordance with the FHWA-approved simulation test plans; report to the FHWA concerning the results of the simulation tests; make any improvements or modifications to the algorithms and associated software, based on the results of the simulation tests; develop a plan for field testing the algorithms and associated software; install the ramp metering system at the site of the field tests; perform field tests of the two algorithms, lasting for a period of one month; collect traffic operational data for the freeway, in order to perform an evaluation of the effectiveness of the ramp metering algorithms; prepare a field testing report based on the field observations and analyses; prepare a draft final report, which will include program documentation for the ramp metering algorithms, plus a description of all work performed; and prepare a final report based on the FHWA's comments concerning the draft report. FAXED REQUESTS FOR THE SOLICITATION WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. Instead, send a letter requesting the solicitation, to the negotiator, James Mowery, at the address shown above. INCLUDE TWO SELF-ADDRESSED ADHESIVE LABELS WITH THAT LETTER. Since the procurement will be using FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION, all interested sources may respond to this synopsis and may subsequently submit a proposal to the FHWA. (0050)

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