Wavetronix LLC, a leader in patented Digital Wave Radar traffic sensors, recently announce that SmartSensor is part of an award-winning project with ASTI Transportation Systems Inc. The "Smart Work Zone" portion of the Illinois Department of Transportation's (IDOT) I-64 add-lane construction project has been named the 2006 ITS Midwest Project of the Year, and SmartSensor has been an important part of that initiative.
IDOT chose to implement the Smart Work Zone to reduce congestion and to promote safe conditions in a nine-mile-long construction area, which begins about eight miles east of downtown East St. Louis. That section of I-64 serves approximately 80,000 vehicles per day. The Smart Work Zone notifies motorists of traffic conditions before they enter the work zone, allowing them to decide in advance the best route to take. Drivers also can access the real-time data online at www.64addlane.com. The system was designed and implemented by ASTI, a Wavetronix strategic partner.
"ASTI is thrilled that the Smart Work Zone project has been recognized this way," said Noah Jenkin, ASTI's director of sales. "We are most thankful to both Brian Sneed of IDOT and Wavetronix for their roles in this project and the help they have given us to make this project a success."
The Smart Work Zone uses Wavetronix SmartSensors on portable trailers to collect lane-by-lane vehicle speed, volume and occupancy data that is then processed by ASTI's Computerized Highway Information Processing System (CHIPS) software. Real-time information is then displayed on changeable message signs to alert drivers of work-zone conditions; the same information is posted simultaneously on the website.
"ASTI views SmartSensor as an essential piece of our system," Jenkin said. "Accurate data collection is the backbone of our system, and our extensive testing shows nothing comes close to the accuracy SmartSensor provides, especially at lower speeds where accuracy is most important, but also most difficult to obtain."
ASTI and Wavetronix have partnered on other successful projects, including deployments on I-35 in the Texas/Waco district, and a hurricane evacuation system covering Maryland and Delaware that is currently being managed by the University of Maryland.