THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 1, 1996 TAG: 9608010440
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DEBBIE MESSINA, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 78 lines
Big Brother is not watching you, yet.
Although surveillance cameras and road sensors are in place on local highways, the Virginia Department of Transportation's high-tech system of monitoring traffic is more than a year behind schedule.
The project's $13 million first phase is expected to debut in November.
Construction snags are partly to blame for delays in the project, which began in 1993. The Transportation Department also made some changes that extended the timetable.
``We're chomping at the bit to get it open,'' said Bob Spieldenner, VDOT spokesman.
Upon completion, the innovative Traffic Management System will instantly monitor accidents, breakdowns and congestion on much of the interstate system. It will be a central nervous system for local highways, allowing drivers to watch for gridlock over commercial TV and the Internet.
From a central control center at Interstate 64 and Indian River Road, traffic controllers will be able to quickly dispatch police assistance or post warnings of delays to motorists on electronic message signs.
For every five minutes a road lane is blocked, there's a resulting 15 minutes of congestion, traffic studies show.
``The main goal is to keep traffic flowing,'' Spieldenner said. ``We need to make sure the roads are being used as efficiently as possible. We don't have the money or space to keep widening them.''
The cameras and almost all of the road sensors and message signs are in place. Transportation officials are now waiting for the contractor to finish installing the software that will integrate the system.
Spieldenner said the contractor, H.L. Green Electric of Rochester, N.Y., has been removed from the state's qualified-bidder list because of the delays.
David Dorris, project manager for Green Electric, denied that his company had been taken from the list. Dorris said his crews did ``encounter some problems,'' but said the bulk of the delays resulted from changes requested by VDOT.
The first phase of the project will monitor 19 miles of highway: Interstate 64 from I-564 to Indian River Road, part of I-264 in Norfolk, and a portion of Route 44.
The second phase, originally scheduled to be on-line in spring 1997, will almost triple the size of the system and encompass the rest of Route 44 and Interstates 264 and 564. Two more sections of I-64 will also be added. The estimated cost is between $15 million and $20 million, but officials are unsure when the phase will be started.
The Federal Highway Administration is footing about 90 percent of the bill.
In this first phase, 38 video cameras were mounted on 50-foot towers that allow them to pan in nearly a full circle and focus on anything from a license plate to a mile of backed-up traffic.
About 600 magnetic ``loops'' imbedded in the roadway will monitor traffic flow and speed. They will feed the information via fiber-optic cable to computers that will calculate traffic flow.
The monitors will even classify what kind of vehicles are passing by, giving transportation officials an accurate count of which local highways are being used and by what types of vehicles.
Variable message signs, some of which are already in use, will display warnings to motorists about traffic tie-ups ahead and suggest alternate routes.
Local television stations can invest in equipment that will allow them to beam a map showing gridlock into viewers' living rooms.
Eventually, residents will be able to browse the Internet for the latest information on local traffic jams. Computers will be placed in public places such as shopping malls. With a touch of a screen, drivers will be able to instantly learn about traffic conditions on the route home.
A similar traffic-control center in Northern Virginia has been in use for more than 10 years. Other cities with the system include Chicago, Houston and San Antonio. ILLUSTRATION: Map\VP
The Plan
Phase 1
Phase 2
For copy, see microfilm
KEYWORDS: TRAFFIC MONITORING SYSTEM VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF
TRANSPORTATION by CNB