UK traffic technology provider Clearview Intelligence has revealed how its Bluetooth-based monitoring system helped keep motorists informed and traffic flowing during a major road improvement project in Scotland.
As part of a significant upgrade to the Scottish motorway network, Transport Scotland (TS) put in place a 10-week diversion on all M8/A8 approaches to the Baillieston interchange, while they connected the newly built M8 motorway section with the existing network.
Throughout the period of this necessary diversion, TS, working with Amey as their Operations and Infrastructures Services Contract provider, put in place live journey time monitoring and information displays to help drivers make informed choices on their travel routes.
Clearview, as journey time intelligence supply partner to Amey, proposed expanding on the existing Bluetooth-based journey time monitoring network by adding six new M830 devices around the diversion routes.
Using low bandwidth GPRS/GSM wireless or wired Ethernet communications, the non-invasive M830 units provide detection of stationary, slow moving and free flowing traffic, and are approximately 10% of the cost of equivalent automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) camera-based systems. The combination of new and existing M830 devices feeding into the existing Clearview Insight Cloud software meant TS could see the live journey times, and display these at its Traffic Control Room located at the Forth Road Bridge.
This functionality allowed the Traffic Control Room operators to then feed journey time information on the mobile roadside variable message sign (VMS) units. The small size and solar-powered capability of the M830 devices means they can be quickly and easily deployed across a trunk road network and be connected to Clearview’s Insight Cloud software, which then feeds live journey time information direct to strategically positioned VMS signs at the roadside, where it is most beneficial to the road user.
“Keeping the public up-to-date with live journey times, particularly during major projects like this, is really important,” explained Kenny White, principle engineer at Amey. “We have a proven track record of working with Clearview to provide accurate journey time monitoring across the network, and trusted that their approach for this scheme would keep road users informed, and keep traffic moving.”
Clearview’s head of solutions, Andy Salotti, commented, “Having a journey time monitoring system well established with Amey and Transport Scotland means that when any new or temporary requirements are needed, then it makes sense to plug these into that solution, and reap the benefits of the existing infrastructure and information flows.”
