Challenge

Since the publication of the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) 2010 edition, more than $4 million of funded research had been completed on a variety of topics touching every part of the HCM: travel time reliability analysis for freeways and urban streets, updated roundabout capacities, new alternative intersection and interchange forms, work zones, managed lanes, truck analysis, and planning and preliminary engineering applications. A major update to the entire HCM was needed to integrate each of these individual research efforts.

Solution

Kittelson led the project team that produced the HCM 6th Edition. A vital activity during the update process was distributing draft documents to a large number of reviewers, obtaining reviewer comments, and documenting how each comment was addressed, all of which was accomplished through a special password-protected website. Kittelson also coordinated with other researchers whose work was to be incorporated into the HCM, as well as with Transportation Research Board (TRB) publications staff to produce the final printed and online documents.