Write Up:

A traffic incident is an unplanned event that blocks travel lanes and temporarily reduces the number of vehicles that can travel on the road. The speed of incident clearance is essential to the highway system returning to normal conditions. Responding to and quickly addressing the incident (crashes, debris and stalled vehicles) improves system performance.

St. Louis recorded 2,949 traffic incidents, with an average time of 27.2 minutes to clear those incidents in the third quarter of FY 2024. Compared to the same period in 2023, there was an increase of 34.8% in the number of incidents and a decrease of 21.6% in clearance times.

Kansas City recorded 1,707 traffic incidents, with an average time of 31.0 minutes to clear those incidents in the third quarter of FY 2024. Compared to the same period in 2023, there was a decrease of 4.7% in the number of incidents and an increase of 5.4% in clearance times.

Springfield recorded 323 traffic incidents, with an average time of 35.6 minutes to clear those incidents in the third quarter of FY 2024. Compared to the same period in 2023, there was a decrease of 23.3% in the number of incidents and an increase of 12.7% in clearance times.

Rural counties of Interstate 70 between MM 28 (Oak Grove) and MM 203 (Foristell) recorded 47 incidents and an average clearance time of 102.5 minutes in the third quarter of FY 2024. Compared to the same period in 2023, there was an increase of 9.3% in the number of incidents and an increase of 8.7% in clearance times.

Rural counties of Interstate 44 between MM 0 (Oklahoma) and MM 69 (Springfield), as well as between MM 91 (Strafford) and MM 224 (Sullivan), recorded 48 incidents and an average clearance time of 79.4 minutes in the third quarter of FY 2024. Compared to the same period in 2023, there was an increase of 33.3% in the number of incidents and an increase of 42.0% in clearance times.

During this reporting period, the combined urban areas where MoDOT has a dedicated Motorist Assist Program witnessed a 13.2% increase in traffic-related incidents, while experiencing a 2.0% decrease in clearance times. On the other hand, the combined rural areas saw a 20.3% increase in traffic-related incidents and a 21.1% increase in clearance times. 

Work continues on the Every Day Counts-6 initiative related to Traffic Incident Management and Motorist Assist Program efforts. This includes new Emergency Traffic Control specific to incidents, potential funding from external entities, specialized lighting and consistent decal packages for trucks, and drones for incident scenes and queue management.

Purpose of the Measure:

This measure is used to determine the trends in incident clearance on the state highway system.

Measurement and Data Collection:

Advanced transportation management systems are used by the St. Louis, Kansas City and Springfield traffic management centers to record incident start time and the time when all lanes are declared cleared. Traffic incidents can be divided into three general classes of duration set forth by the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices that include minor, intermediate and major incidents. Each class has unique traffic control characteristics and needs.

This target is established by projecting a 10% improvement over a 5-year average.