The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) was recently recognized with two 2020 annual Transportation Systems Management and Operations (TSMO) awards presented by the National Operations Center of Excellence. TSMO is focused on improving how roadways operate within the restraints of PennDOT's existing roadway infrastructure.

PennDOT's TSMO performance program and Traffic Operations Analytics (TOA) Tool won first place for Best TSMO Project. The performance program brought together internal and external information, allowing for more data-driven outcomes for congestion planning, incident response, and safety for all motorists. The performance program and TOA Tool featured the use of crowdsourced data, the housing of all data on one platform, and PennDOT's first congestion pie chart.

PennDOT's TSMO regional operations plans won first place for Project Selection and Prioritization. Regional operations plans were developed in cooperation with stakeholders, including metropolitan planning organizations, rural planning organizations, the Federal Highway Administration, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, local emergency responders, transit agencies, universities, the local National Weather Service office, and PennDOT staff members from across the state. Regional operations plans play an important role in regional long-range transportation plan and transportation improvement plan processes by helping to secure future capital funding for projects incorporating TSMO solutions. The plans can help to foster strong relationships with planning partners.

For more information on the PennDOT's TSMO efforts, readers may visit http://www.penndot.gov and look under "Projects & Programs."