The Ramp Meter Operation and Congestion Monitoring Branch is responsible for a wide range of activities related to the operation and control of our existing transportation system.  The meters are utilized as part of our current transportation system. The current ramp meters improve safety, save energy, reduce congestion, minimize environmental impacts, and enhance mobility. The existing freeway infrastructure in large urban areas such as San Diego represents an enormous public investment. Obviously, there is no argument that appropriate management should protect that investment, fostering maximum operational efficency of these facilities. The ramp metering strategy addresses freeway congestion by controlling traffic demand so freeway capacity is not exceeded.



Ramp meters are an inexpensive tool to improve traffic flow on freeways.  Ramp meters allow traffic to enter the freeway at a rate dependent on the conditions of the freeway traffic.  While a typical driver might be delayed at the meter, overall travel and freeway speeds are improved.  The metering system’s four primary benefits are:

Lateral efficiency   -  better use of entire corridor’s width;

Longitudinal efficiency   -  higher efficiency over the entire corridor’s length;

Time efficiency   -  shortened traffic peak period ;    and

Safety   -  reduced number of accidents in the vicinity of the meter installation.

In other words, it improves transportation which directly impacts our State’s economic landscape. Congestion Monitoring data provides a system performance tool to planners and decision makers to improve existing facilities and prioritize future projects.