Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) has signed up to continue its deal with work zone data provider one.network for three years, following a successful one year pilot.
Florida’s statewide Lane Closure Notification System (LCNS) is powered by one.network’s Live Link solution, and the company will continue to provide software and training for it.
During the LCNS pilot program during one.network trained more than 2,000 employees and construction workers who have used Live Link to map and publish 16,600 lane closures at construction work zones across all seven FDOT districts.
This was the first statewide deployment of worker-managed safety information sharing anywhere in the United States.
FDOT’s Lane Closure Notification System enables authorized workers to share lane and road closure information with America’s major navigation providers via the Live Link mobile app, right from the work zone and in near real-time.
With a few clicks on a cell phone, those workers can close and open the lanes, notify drivers of speed limit changes and announce the presence of workers. The Live Link app also populates one.network’s map-based platform.
“For us, this is a major validation of our platform,” says Simon Topp, CCO of one.network. “FDOT clearly understands the dangers inherent in and around work zones. In the US, more than 800 drivers and workers are killed around road construction sites every year, and FDOT recognized the opportunity to reverse that trend. We couldn’t be more excited to continue to partner with them on this project.”
Since the deployment began, other major agencies have expressed interest and some including the Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority (THEA), a federally designated connected and autonomous vehicle test bed, are using it.
“We are committed to reversing the tragic trend of work zone deaths,” adds Topp. “Traffic cones appear too late in the driver awareness cycle, and often overhead warning signs come too early. This system notifies drivers about work zones with the right information at the right time and it’s managed by the people whose safety is on the line. That’s a powerful combination.”
