The Michigan DOT (MDOT) is hoping to implement a $40 million active traffic management (ATM) system that would ease congestion on U.S. 23 between Ann Arbor and Whitmore Lake.
The system would allow drivers to use the left shoulder as a third lane for 8.5 miles during commuting hours. Cameras would monitor traffic to open and close the shoulder with road signs as needed.
The stretch of highway currently averages around 66,000 vehicles per day and, according to an MDOT spokeswoman, three to four traffic incidents per day.
Using a shoulder as a lane, a method supported by the Federal Highway Administration to ease congestion, would be a first for Michigan. Minnesota, Virginia, Massachusetts and Washington already utilize ATM systems for similar purposes.
MDOT has yet to issue a timeline for the project, but stated that it would like to use the system in other parts of Michigan should the initial project succeed.
