Port of Oakland Freight Intelligent Transport System
Jacobs’ innovative solutions for Alameda County Transportation Commission and the Port of Oakland re-envisioned the operational environment for the Port, earning the 2024 Merit Award from ACEC California
![Vessels and cranes at the Port of Oakland container terminal in Oakland, California.](https://www.jacobs.com/sites/default/files/styles/media_component/public/2024-06/iStock-1362637713.jpg?itok=n2_qoUr3)
Ports are a key part of our global infrastructure – facilitating trade and commerce, providing connectivity between people and businesses, supplying our nations with goods and energy resources, and generally underpinning our economies and livelihoods. In the bustling world of global trade, our team’s expertise anchors progress at the heart of every harbor.
Our engineers and technologists serve as innovative planners and designers for Alameda County Transportation Commission (Alameda CTC) and the Port of Oakland (Port), designing a complex ecosystem to help streamline operations to reduce long wait queues for trucks entering marine terminals, reduce truck emissions, increase multimodal access to commercial developments and empower future sustainable growth. In short, by harmonizing technology and infrastructure, we’re charting a course toward sustainable growth.
In addition, the integration of the project has enabled the port to reduce shipping costs, improve port competitiveness by creating a greener, more efficient future and create jobs.
Leveraging technology for a more connected, sustainable future…
The Port is a large multimodal shipping facility located on the west coast of the U.S. in Oakland, California. Plagued by truck traffic volumes that routinely exceed the capacity for terminal and surrounding arterial street operations, which leads to the development of long waits at the terminals and large queues on the arterial roads, the port needed a solution to alleviate congestion into the future, especially with anticipated large growth.
That’s where Jacobs came in, developing an Intelligent Transportation Systems and Technology (ITST) Master Plan for the Alameda CTC for implementation in and around the port. The Master Plan served as guiding document for the port that defined and prioritized infrastructure investments in technology to optimize goods movement, improve traffic information and surveillance and create a comprehensive traffic and emergency operation management center.
The Master Plan was submitted to the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) as part of a grant application to provide funding for final design and construction. In October 2017, USDOT awarded Alameda CTC the Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies Deployment Grant, which covered significant portion of construction funding.
Following the planning phase and award of the grant, we designed a complex ecosystem of 15 sub-systems that included fiber network expansion and optimization, center-to-center communication, Wi-Fi network deployment for public use, camera and radio frequency identification (RFID) reader deployments enhancing incident detection and transportation security and planning, as well as, developing frameworks for mobile applications that enhance existing and forecasted traffic circulation and parking facilities. The information gleaned from these new technology deployments will ultimately streamline terminal-drayage operations to reduce arterial queuing and truck idling/emissions.
To process and control all the new systems and information being collected, Jacobs also designed a new Traffic Management Center / Emergency Operations Center (TMC/EOC) located in the Port’s existing maintenance and operations building and conceptualized the Advanced Traffic Management System (ATMS) to serve as the brains of the control center.
The final plans, specifications and estimate were delivered to the client (Alameda CTC) on time and within budget. Throughout the construction phase, Jacobs worked closely with the client and its construction management team, VSCE, inc., to provide design services, supported construction progress meetings, and coordinated with affected partner agencies or external agencies/municipalities.
In the fall of 2020, the project entered the integration phase where Jacobs' continued involvement included supporting the Systems Management, coordinating with Parsons Transportation Group, the System Integrator, and working with the construction team for the Freight Intelligent Transportation System (FITS) equipment installation, and with the various stakeholders to integrate the subsystems and field elements into the newly built TMC/EOC and operating ATMS, Smart Parking System (SPS) and Oakland Portal.
… and award-winning benefits that last
Applying our domain knowledge across the port’s program's lifecycle, we developed a best-in-class strategy. Our team’s innovative approach not only enhances Port situational awareness but, also, our upgraded technology and infrastructure minimizes and manages truck wait times, manages truck congestion in nearby communities and improves traffic circulation.
With our innovative solutions, the port is poised to sail into a greener, more efficient future. This project improves marine terminal efficiencies, improves truck traffic flows, increases the efficiency of goods movement operations, and enhances the safety and incident response capabilities throughout the seaport. The reduced congestion, truck idling, and related emissions improve air quality in the surrounding communities that are traditional low income and historically undeserved. Additionally, the increased efficiencies improve Port competitiveness, benefit the economy, and created jobs.
With solutions and lasting benefits like these, it’s no wonder the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) California recognized the project, and our team, with a 2024 Merit Award. These annual awards recognize outstanding achievements in engineering and land surveying projects completed by California firms across categories such as research and consulting engineering services; structural systems; environmental; water resources; transportation; special projects and more.
“Jacobs has consistently delivered quality work associated with the Freight Intelligent Transportation System (FITS) project and has been an integral partner with the Port on not just the day-to-day technical efforts, but also the high-level strategic thinking.”
Did you know?
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2 .07
The Port handles approximately 2.07 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) per year
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1.3 K
The Port complex includes 1.330 acres used for four marine terminals, numerous transload/warehouse companies, 25 ship-to-shore cranes, and two Class I railroads
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$ 40.5 M
project cost (engineering and construction)
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10
years that Jacobs has served Alameda CTC and the Port as a trusted designer
Meet our team
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Brian Burkhard, Program Principal
As Jacobs Global Principal for Advanced Mobility Systems, Brian was involved in the early conceptual stages of FITS project. He applies his ITS knowledge and subject matter expertise amassed from over 36 years of electrical and systems engineering experience. Brian was engaged in some of the first connected vehicle projects in the country and has contributed his proficiency in transportation technology to Transportation Research Board panels, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials studies, American Road and Transportation Builders Association white papers, and has served on an ENO Advisory Board.
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Natasha Walia, Program and Project Manager
Natasha is dedicated to advancing opportunities within the transportation industry to leverage emerging technologies to create a safer, sustainable, and equitable transportation network. She led the FITS team in providing design oversight during construction of the TMC/EOC, FITS field elements, and System Integration. With her strong understanding of technology in transportation, advanced mobility systems, and ITS, she navigated the various project stakeholders through complex conversations and decision making. Natasha is also Jacobs’ Regional Market Solutions Leader for Transport Planning, Advanced Mobility Systems, and Decarbonization for the Americas West Region and she serves on the Board of Directors for ITS California.
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Hillary Hyland, ITS Engineer
Hillary has been part of the Jacobs ITS and Advanced Mobility team for nearly ten years. She served as the Deputy Design Manager for the FITS project and was the lead provider of technical design support during construction as part of the funding agency’s representative team. Hillary contributed consistently to the project from its conceptual design phase through system acceptance, leveraging her comprehensive knowledge of the project’s design to assist the Port of Oakland in creating a cutting-edge freight traffic management system.
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Josh Zvolanek, Design Manager
Josh has been designing and implementing ITS projects across the country for the past 15 years. He served as the Design Manager for the FITS project and also as the lead network communications and ITS infrastructure engineer. He used his extensive knowledge of different ITS technologies and deployment strategies to provide the Port of Oakland with a robust and tailored system aimed at improving vehicle flow through the Port and reducing congestion and gas emissions.
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John Kerenyi, Design and Systems Management Support
John has spent his 30-year career serving clients throughout California on traffic engineering and Intelligent Transportation Systems projects. He is a registered Traffic Engineer and Electrical Engineer. For the FITS project, John served in a hands-on construction support role to interpret plans, prepare change order documents, and interface with all involved government agencies (multiple workgroups at Caltrans, Port, City of Oakland, and Alameda County Transportation Commission) as well as the systems integrator. He also represented the funding agency, Alameda CTC, during systems acceptance testing; and provided troubleshooting support for the new video detection systems.
“I was honored to represent Jacobs as this project received the 2024 Merit Award from ACEC California. Our projects make a great contribution to the City of Oakland’s air pollution control and fully supports Jacobs’ climate response accelerator.”