11

Waterways Research

Inland Waterway Lock/Vessel Optimization StudyUpper Mississippi River Locks 20-25

Center For Transportation StudiesUniversity Of Missouri, St. Louis

15 June 2005

2

UMR-IW Navigation System

3

Upper Mississippi Schematic

4

CTS White Paper For IATP

Original research sponsored by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP).

$10,000 partnership effort. Final product was a white paper

for IATP.

5

6

Ronen/Nauss CTS White Paper For IATP

Presented an overview of the following potential solutions to congestion at the locks in the UMR-IW system:

- Increase carrying capacity of the locks- Reduce the level of demand for the service- Reduce the variability of demand- Reduce the lock service times- Reduce the variability of lock service times

7

Possibilities For Reducing Waiting Times

Increase the carrying capacity of the system: construct larger locks.

Reduce the level or variability of demand: demand management measures.

Reduce the variability or length of the average service time: operational improvements.

8

Demand Management Strategies

Objective of demand management: lower the level of demand or reduce the variability of demand

Financial strategies (price mechanisms) :- Congestion fees- Price the lockage service- Tradable permits

Operational strategies:- Regular schedules of service (buses, trains)- Appointment systems (health care, air traffic)

9

Strategy Comparisons

Pricing mechanisms are controversial and potentially damaging to an already financially weak barge industry.

Operational strategy advantages:- Short timeline to implementation.- Minimal financial burden on the

barge industry or taxpayers.- More flexible and customizable.

10

Ronen/Nauss Conclusions

Revisit the “small scale measures” evaluated by the corps in 1999.1

Investigate the feasibility of an appointment system.

1 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Upper Mississippi River - Illinois Waterway System Navigation Study: Summary of Small-Scale Measures Screening (Interim Report), April 1999, Rock Island, St. Louis, and St. Paul Districts

11

DOT Volpe Center Report On Demand Management Measures

Draft published in September 2003

Examined in greater detail for the corps the following alternatives:- Excess lockage time fees- Tradable time permits- Long term advanced scheduling- Appointment system

12

Volpe Conclusions

Volpe center concluded that:- Lockage time fees are inadvisable

due to cost ineffectiveness- Tradable time permits and long-

term scheduling are infeasible because of the UMR-IW system’s scope and variability

- A more modest appointment system shows promise, and should be investigated further

13

A Complementary Approach ...

Both lock expansion and an appointment system will reduce congestion; however these are not necessarily mutually exclusive efforts.

As the National Academies of Science recommended in their “Review of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Upper Mississippi-Illinois Waterway Restructured Feasibility Study: Interim Report”:

14

Managing Waterway Congestion

“Nonstructural measures such as scheduling systems, systems of tradable arrival slots, or a contingent fee--as challenging as their implementation may be--could be implemented instead of extending locks or could be used in combination with lock extensions.”

15

UMSL CTS Research Project for the Midwest Transportation Consortium (MTC)

Based upon the original Ronen/Nauss work, the CTS undertook a project funded by the MTC to:- Focus on measuring the economic benefits and

costs of an appointment or scheduling system.- Develop a robust simulation tool to measure the

effects of a variety of scheduling strategies.- Prepare the groundwork for operational testing of

an appointment system. The Corps (IWR) was to supply data and a

model to simulate barge and locking operations over one year time periods on a portion of the UMR-IW system currently subject to periodic congestion.

16

Scope Of The Research Is Expanded

In March, 2004 the Institute for Water Resources of the Corps agreed to fund the development of a prototype of a vessel tracking system to aid in traffic scheduling and to become a full partner in the scheduling system study.

Funds were received from the Corps in July, 2004.

17

Team For CTS Study

Research Team is composed of recognized Logistics and Operations Research experts:- Ray A. Mundy, Ph.D.- Robert M. Nauss, Ph.D.- L. Douglas Smith, Ph.D.- Donald C. Sweeney II, Ph.D.

18

Benefits Of The Study

Develop a framework for the implementation of a scheduling system.

Test and evaluate alternative traffic management rules.

Provide a sound academic grounding for further work.

19

Normal Lock Operations:Brief Overview

20

Appointments Without Resequencing

21

Appointments With Resequencing

22

Potential Benefits

For Shippers and Carriers: - More reliable infrastructure use resulting

from shorter queues at locks and dams.- More efficient fuel usage due to less idle

time and optimized transit speeds between locks.

Public:- Cost-effective solution to congestion

problem.- Less pollution and environmental damage

due to more efficient tow operation.

23

Project Work Plan

Initial study conferences. Refinement of the project scope. Development of an array of alternative

appointment systems and scheduling rules.

Data acquisition and statistical analysis. Construction of simulation model. Verification of the model. Application of simulation model to

evaluate alternatives. Conference and final report.

24

Project Status

Initial study conferences - Complete Refinement of the project scope - Complete Development of an array of alternative

appointment systems and scheduling rules - Complete

Data acquisition and statistical analysis - Complete

Construction of simulation model - Complete Verification of the model- Complete Application of simulation model to evaluate

alternatives – In Progress Conference and final report – In Progress

25

Project Contacts

Army Corps of Engineers Locks 21-25 Visits Coast Guard Volpe Barge Companies St. Lawrence Seaway Visit Waterway Researchers Commercial Vessel Tracking

Vendors

26

Agenda

Introduction Resequencing Alternatives Statistical Modelling Simulation Model Preliminary Findings Vessel Tracking Summary Questions and Feedback