Maryland ITS Architecture

The Maryland Statewide ITS Architecture provides a framework for existing and planned ITS deployment in Maryland. It serves as a roadmap for planning and project development, ensuring efficient and cost-effective implementation. The Maryland Statewide ITS Architecture is fully developed in a document available by clicking here.

This document presents the 2025 update of the Statewide Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Architecture for the State of Maryland. It identifies existing and planned ITS projects across the state and the Architecture “Elements” associated with those projects. It defines the relationships among the Elements and describes the flow of information between Elements.

Maryland’s transportation landscape is dynamic, constantly evolving to meet new demands and challenges. The utilization of these architectures is crucial for ITS deployment. The ITS architecture serves as a valuable platform for ongoing stakeholder engagement, providing a foundation for discussions and allowing for adaptations to meet changing needs. This website provides online access to the Maryland Statewide ITS Architecture.

Development of the Maryland Statewide ITS Architecture began in 1999. Oversight for the effort was assigned to the Maryland ITS Working Group (MITS-WG), a committee formed under ITS Maryland – a state chapter within the national organization, ITS America. MITS-WG was tasked with managing development of a Statewide Architecture that would provide “an overall framework for ITS deployments at local and regional levels.”

Through a plethora of inputs from Stakeholder agencies, and corresponding outreach activities, the 2001 Baseline ITS Architecture was developed. The Baseline Architecture was subsequently used to plan specific center-to-center interfaces, such as between CHART and Montgomery County’s Advanced Transportation Management System (ATMS). It was also used to assess project-level conformity for such initiatives as the Maryland State Police Mobile Command Bus.

In preparing the 2001 Baseline, a “generic” approach was employed to identify interconnects and Architecture flows for general types of centers and systems. This generic approach minimized the size of the Architecture in terms of interconnects and information flows, and helped make it easier to comprehend and use the Architecture.

In late 2004, MDSHA determined that the update and publication of its Statewide ITS Architecture was desirable. Significantly, Federal rulemaking actions required completion of Regional ITS Architectures by April 2005, and MDSHA realized that the 2001 Baseline did not address all the requirements of the Federal rule.

The 2005 update to the MD Architecture was completed in March 2005. The update produced the first Statewide Architecture within Maryland that was fully compliant with USDOT ITS Architecture requirements.

The MD ITS Architecture was formally validated by stakeholders in 2009. Information updates were gathered from stakeholders through a variety of forums including a series of stakeholder validation sessions.

The 2025 Maryland Statewide ITS Architecture revision approach was to start by reviewing the 2016 document to identify any gaps or areas for improvement that may exist in the 2016 document to be addressed in the newly revised document.

Several areas were identified in the 2016 document that needed updating to meet FHWA’s new format and migrating to ARC-IT version 9.3, address some changes in systems and operational procedures, and make some improvements to the projects and agreements sections.

Gaps or areas for improvement that were identified were the focus of the document revision efforts, as well as setting the format for the stakeholder meetings to get as much information needed for the revised document from all the stakeholders.

Stakeholder meetings were conducted with many state and local transportation agencies and MPOs from around the state in order to get as much information from them that is relevant to the document revision. Most of the agencies invited to have stakeholder meetings responded, and the meetings were held.

Besides the stakeholder meetings, Long Range Deployment Plans, Consolidated Transportation Plans, the TSMO Master plan, and other references were reviewed to identify transportation projects with an ITS component along with agreements for inclusion into the 2025 Maryland Statewide ITS Architecture document.

The stakeholder meetings, along with the research conducted, led to a more complete listing of projects and agreements than the 2016 document.

Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) refer to a cluster of technologies and operational enhancements that are applied to roadways, and work together to optimize traffic flow and maintain safety for roadway users. Examples of ITS technologies include:

Advanced signal systems
In-vehicle signing
Dynamic message signs
Highway advisory radio
Automatic vehicle location systems
Electronic payment systems

When effectively implemented, ITS technologies and procedures are frequently able to optimize the operations efficiency of the existing transportation infrastructure. The deployment of these technologies can help to: (1) maximize mobility, (2) manage capacity, (3) minimize and control congestion, (4) improve safety, (5) support enhanced security, and (6) communicate information and advisories to travelers.

An ITS Architecture is the framework that: (1) identifies the ITS subsystems, and (2) defines the interconnections and informational flows among those subsystems.

A Statewide ITS Architecture refers to a specific architectural framework that shares common ITS technologies, institutions, needs, and interests across a single, interlinked geographic area, which can be used to facilitate planning of future ITS projects.

The state of Maryland is bordered by Washington DC, Virginia, and West Virginia to the west and south, Pennsylvania to the north, and Delaware to the northeast. Maryland consists of 23 counties and Baltimore City. The State has two major metropolitan areas: the Baltimore region and Washington region, represented by the Baltimore Metropolitan Council in the Baltimore area and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments in the Washington DC area.

The Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) is made up of five Transportation Modals and one Authority:

SHA – responsible for the construction, operations, and maintenance of state roads across the state’s seven (7) districts
MTA – Maryland Transit Administration, oversees transit services
MVA – Motor Vehicle Administration, provides driver and vehicle services
MPA – Maryland Port Administration, manages the Port of Baltimore
MAA – Maryland Aviation Administration, owns and operates BWI and Martin State Airport
MDTA – Maryland Transportation Authority, manages eight toll facilities throughout the state

Developing, maintaining, and utilizing a Statewide ITS Architecture offers a range of significant benefits:

Enables ITS project planning and deployment to occur across the State in an organized and coordinated manner. It offers a framework for Stakeholders in the State to systematically identify and evaluate prospective solutions and enhancements that may satisfy transportation needs in the State.
Promotes ITS interoperability across State jurisdictions. The Architecture reveals to Stakeholders the key interrelationships presently established in the State and those planned for the future.
Establishes institutional mechanisms that promote the development and deployment of ITS projects. The Architecture compels the State to set up forums for the discussion of statewide transportation requirements.
Encourages efficient investment. As prospective new ITS projects are identified in the State, they can be documented in the Statewide ITS Architecture and their interrelationships with existing and planned components assessed.
Satisfies the Federal mandate. The FHWA mandate required that Statewide ITS Architectures be completed by April 2005, in order for Stakeholders in the State to continue using Federal funds for the development and deployment of ITS projects.

Developing and adopting a Statewide ITS Architecture sets the stage for statewide strategizing, prioritizing, and deploying of specific ITS projects.

Sections of the Maryland ITS Architecture Guide

This section will help guide you through the Maryland Statewide ITS Architecture website to find the information you want.

Searching by Elements
An Element is the basic building block of the Architecture, and is used by stakeholders to describe a system or piece of a system. If you know your Element’s name, click on “Elements” on the left side of the page.

Searching by Stakeholders
A stakeholder is a public agency, private organization, or the traveling public with a vested interest in the transportation Elements of the Architecture.

Searching by Subsystem
Subsystems are the basic structural elements of the Architecture. They are grouped by transportation category, and encompass several Elements.

Searching for Standards
ITS standards are industry-consensus system standards that define how components operate within a consistent framework. Standards are accessible via the National ITS Architecture.

Maryland SHA has developed training resources to make it possible for the stakeholders to apply the Statewide ITS Architecture for their own agency for planning and project development.

Definitions are grouped into the following categories:

Acronyms – An alphabetical listing of all acronyms
Information Flow Definitions – The Information Flows between Elements
Subsystem and Terminator Definitions – The individual pieces of the Intelligent Transportation System

The Conformity Form and Conformity Form Package are designed for organizations planning to develop and deploy Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) projects in Maryland. The Conformity Form should be completed by all ITS project initiators early in the planning process and submitted to the Maryland ITS Architecture Advisory Panel (IAAP).

Ensuring architectural conformity will net the following benefits for Maryland:

Expedite development and deployment of ITS
Promote interoperability
Encourage efficient investment
Enable more effective planning and programming
Give credibility to conforming ITS projects
Provide enhanced transportation services for Maryland

Elements are defined as the basic building blocks of Regional ITS Architectures, and used to describe a system or piece of a system. Specifically, Elements are represented in Architecture diagrams by the boxes that are exchanging information (through Interconnects and Information Flows).

The Maryland Statewide ITS Architecture includes two types of Elements:

Specific Elements – A unique physical facility, typically owned and/or operated by a specific agency or organization (e.g., Maryland Transportation Authority’s Authority Operations Centers)
Generic Elements – Multiple physical facilities that are similar, and are of a type often owned and/or operated by several different agencies or organizations (e.g., Local Transportation Management Centers)

By checking the relevant Elements in the Architecture, an agency planning an ITS project can help determine whether all relevant stakeholders have been involved in the planning process.

Stakeholders take roles in the consumption and delivery of ITS services. Stakeholders are key partners that participate in or are impacted by the ITS operations in the Maryland Statewide ITS Architecture.

The full participation of stakeholders is important and required for consensus building and the development of a relevant and useful ITS infrastructure.

View the complete list of Stakeholders (PDF)

ITS standards are industry-consensus system standards that define how components operate within a consistent framework. Standards are accessible via the National ITS Architecture.

National ITS Architecture Standards
Flow Definitions – General definitions of the Information Flows used in the document

The complete 2025 Maryland Statewide ITS Architecture Final Report is available for download in PDF format.

Warning: file size is very large. Right click on the link and select “Save As” to save to your hard drive for easier viewing.

Maryland Statewide ITS Architecture Document (16 MB PDF)

Viewing the Architecture requires Adobe Reader, a free software for downloading PDF documents.