A new congestion management network that is being installed on Maui, the second largest island in the Hawaii archipelago, is to become the westernmost deployment of McCain’s smart city traffic technology.
The Hawaii Department of Transportation’s (HDOT) Maui District has announced it will deploy advanced traffic management systems from California-based ITS equipment manufacturer McCain Inc. throughout the island.
The cutting-edge system will enable HDOT’s traffic managers to view, study and modify traffic patterns and signal timing to reduce congestion across the island, which is a major tourist destination. Longtime McCain partner Phoenix Pacific Inc. won the contract and will install the equipment over the next 90 days. Based on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, Phoenix Pacific distributes and installs traffic control systems across the state and Pacific region.
The installation at 82 intersections across the island will include McCain’s new FLeX Controllers running the company’s Omni eX Intersection Control Software. These intersections will be run remotely by McCain’s Transparity Traffic Management System (TMS), a cloud-capable software platform that will communicate using cellular technology to provide traffic managers with critical traffic data in real time.
This will be the first deployment of Transparity TMS and FLeX Controllers in the Central Pacific region. Now a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Austrian Swarco Group and a leader in the supply of advanced ITS solutions, McCain will manufacture the equipment and provide technical support throughout the project.
McCain’s FLeX Controllers are the latest design in the company’s popular Advanced Traffic Controller (ATC) eX series. They offer high-resolution data and are also capable of supporting vehicle-to-everything (V2X) applications including connected vehicles. The controllers will run the Omni eXIntersection Control Software to pair seamlessly with Transparity TMS, providing traffic managers with complete control over each intersection.
For the first time in Maui’s history, intersections will be networked using cellular communications so that there will be no need for the expensive hardwired communication, digging, or extended lane closures that are typical in traditional installations. In this deployment, each controller will be up and running in its original cabinet within 20 minutes, with minimal disruption to traffic.
“We’re providing Maui with a whole new set of tools to address congestion,” said Danny Smoot, vice president of Phoenix Pacific. “For the first time, Maui traffic engineers will have the real-time data to determine exactly what’s going on, giving them the ability to monitor traffic flow remotely.
“This system will also collect data, giving the Maui District the ability to study traffic trends and signal performance over time. Without a doubt, data is going to drive the future of transportation. McCain’s systems will give traffic engineers the information they need to reduce congestion, manage traffic patterns, and improve traffic flow for residents and visitors.”
Nathan Welch, director of sales for McCain, noted, “Phoenix Pacific has been one of our partners since we started more than 30 years ago. We have grown together, and we’re thrilled to be able to expand our smart city technologies further into the Pacific region because of that partnership. Our components are currently in a significant majority of the signalized traffic intersections throughout Hawaii, Guam, and Saipan.”
