Cross-agency collaboration combined with technology tools helped manage transportation infrastructure usage during the recent World Cup soccer matches across U.S. cities. The results may inform how transportation is handled for future events such as the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles.
Engineering firms that traditionally help execute specific infrastructure projects played significant roles in helping agencies plan for the World Cup. Arcadis worked with 16 host cities, says Andrea Lendak, its director of intelligent systems. The tasks varied according to each city, ranging from scenario planning to signal timing modifications to developing apps. Many cities created, enhanced or were already using unified traffic command centers where transportation departments came together.
For scenario planning in Houston, Lendak says, Arcadis leveraged a combination of the regional travel demand model, a mesoscopic traffic simulation model, historical travel patterns from prior events and venue-specific attendance assumptions for both the Houston Stadium and the “FIFA Fan Festival” venue to evaluate match-day demand and network performance. Adds Lendak, “Scenarios tested a range of conditions, including alternative traffic management plans, kickoff times, attendance levels, transit service enhancements, travel demand management strategies, rideshare operations and incident-related closures.”
In New Jersey, HNTB helped implement a statewide traffic management system by combining silos of data, says Jesse Newberry, its digital advisory national practice manager, “Apple or Google maps, Wayze, 511—as long as you get the data,” he says. Data provided information to the public and to traffic operations staff, and also informed geofencing around the stadium’s perimeter for vehicle drop-offs and pick-ups, public transit capacity and even information about airport arrivals and departures, Newberry says.
“What’s new is not so much the technology—the cameras and sensors are already there,” he explains. “It’s putting the work together in a network.”
Inrix, a transportation analytics firm, found that post-game traffic at Lumen Field in Seattle performed well, with speeds dropping by only about 10% versus up to 40% at other venues, says Ahmed Darrat, chief products officer. “Urban stadiums performed better than suburban ones,” he says, since big cities are a tourist draw and will have more nearby lodging. Seattle also has good access to public transit and micro-bility options such as bikes.
The firm used GPS data, anonymized, from vehicles, cell phones and other devices to recognize patterns of both vehicles and people. “For example, we can see a number of cell phone pings and see where are people waiting,” he says.
Paving the Way
Atlanta used technology to improve its roads ahead of the World Cup. Cyvl, an AI-powered infrastructure intelligence platform, has LiDAR sensors and imagery to analyze a 1,450-mile network and inform repairs. Over the past year, the pavement condition index rose from 63.5 (“fair”) to 75.3 (“good”) on a 100-point scale, and potholes are down 60% compared to 2024, according to a news release.
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“Initial estimates from more traditional solutions for scanning were in the millions; this was around $300,000,” says Solomon Caviness, Atlanta transportation commissioner. He notes that the city was able to address 60% of potholes downtown, and identify potential ones.
While scanning of the city’s road network pavement is almost complete, officials now are working with Cyvl to scan additional elements such as sidewalks, curb ramps and street signs for its next biennial analysis, Caviness adds.
“With this expanded partnership, Atlanta will have a continuously updated view of its entire road network, enabling prioritized maintenance planning, optimized capital deployment, and data-backed grant applications,” the release adds.
