URS Corp. of San Francisco has recently been selected by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) to provide operations and maintenance support for the Hampton Roads Smart Traffic Center (HRSTC).
Hampton Roads encompasses more than 1.5 million people in 10 municipalities and is one of the busiest seaports on the East Coast. The area contains many military installations, including Naval Station Norfolk, the largest naval base in the world.
The HRSTC is an integrated application of advanced sensor, computer, electronics and communications technologies and management strategies to control local interstate traffic on a real-time basis. Spanning 113 miles of interstate, it is one of the largest and most complex traffic management systems in the country.
Operations support services include: providing for effective traffic and congestion management and maintaining and improving the mobility of travelers; operating and controlling a 12-mile-long reversible bus/HOV roadway; monitoring traffic conditions on more than 100 miles of freeway; disseminating information on traffic conditions to motorists via variable message signs, the Internet and a highway advisory system; coordinating emergency response activities with local emergency responders; and furnishing planning, design and development efforts undertaken by the Smart Traffic Center.
Maintenance support services include: managing and maintaining all system equipment, facilities and appurtenances; planning, directing and performing preventive and corrective maintenance on all systems and equipment associated with the TMS, including field devices, central systems and communications networks; planning, directing and performing maintenance, periodic system backups, system troubleshooting and reconfiguration, database management and administration, modifications and upgrades, preparing and maintenance of system documentation and integration and testing of all computer hardware, software and network systems and equipment; and performing fleet and asset inventory, management and other logistics services related to system components.
