Promises of Data from Emerging Technologies for Transportation Applications: Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Project
The closure and demolition of the Alaskan Way Viaduct and the opening and tolling of the new SR-99 Tunnel represent major infrastructure changes (i.e. major events) in downtown Seattle. This project applies big data (i.e. app-based data) and traditional flow data (e.g., traffic volumes and travel times) to study the mobility pattern changes due to these major events. Analyses of system performances (delay and volume changes) and travel patterns are conducted at the regional, neighborhood, and facility user levels. Findings obtained from this study, i.e., changes in travel patterns from before to after the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement and tolling project, demonstrate the validity of using big data for before and after transportation impact assessment. The report is now available at https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/tmip/publications/other_reports/.