Dr. Rawa Adla, assistant professor of computer engineering at Florida Polytechnic University, is heading U.S. Department of Transportation-funded research to assess and analyze technologies that can improve traffic safety and congestion along Florida’s busy Interstate-4 corridor between Tampa and Orlando.
Florida’s Interstate-4 corridor from Tampa to Orlando is notorious for high accidents rates, ranking among the most dangerous highways in the nation. In response, Dr. Rawa Adla, assistant professor of computer engineering at Florida Polytechnic University, is leading innovative research to make I-4 safer for drivers.
Through two grants totaling $252,000 from the Florida Department of Transportation as part of a larger grant received from the U.S. Department of Transportation, Adla and her team of student researchers are working to improve safety and mobility on that ever-congested stretch of roadway and its arterials. The goal is to utilize advanced traffic simulation software and data collection analysis to help reduce crashes and transportation delays.
“Florida is a tourism state – everyone wants to travel to the Orlando amusement parks or to Clearwater and the beaches,” Adla said. “That’s why it’s so important to improve safety in this critical area of I-4.”
The effort, called the I-4 Florida’s Regional Advanced Mobility Elements (FRAME) Project, involves two independent phases of research and working in concert with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). In phase one, which began in 2020 and concluded in March 2023, advanced traffic simulation software was used to recreate and evaluate the existing transportation system and expected benefits of the project.
The system consists of a network of communication technologies that utilize driver data via mobile phones to quickly inform of upcoming driving conditions more efficiently than existing methods. The collected information is used to streamline traffic through highway notification signs, alerting drivers much earlier about conditions such as crashes, traffic slowdowns, construction and lane closures.
On arterial roads, the technology can make it easier for traffic lights to assist emergency vehicles to cross intersections more safely.
“We simulated the whole road and included cars with the same characteristics as those normally there, and then we evaluated the benefits,” Adla said. “Our results showed that implementing this advanced technology will reduce the number of crashes and reduce travel time.”
Now in phase two, the project’s recommended traffic solutions are being put into place. As this happens, Adla is analyzing the data collected from their implementation to identify any areas where there are failures or improvements in relation to what was expected.
The project should be completed by 2027. At that time, Adla said drivers should notice a much smoother commute and the research will help inform future transportation projects throughout the country.
“We are at the heart of this work, located in a very critical location for the research,” Adla said, pointing out the University’s prime setting right on I-4, halfway between Tampa and Orlando and in the middle of project’s geographic area. “We are in a very great place to be able to make a difference.”
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