Skip to main content

SESA supports MassDOT travel time network

SES America (SESA) has designed, engineered and manufactured over three hundred solar-powered embedded dynamic message signs (DMS) to be installed as part of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s (MassDOT)‘Go Time’ project. According to SESA, once completed, the project will provide the largest travel time network available in any state in the US, allowing motorists across the country to instantly access travel time data on major corridors across the region. Each site consists of static sig
April 6, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
7846 SES America (SESA) has designed, engineered and manufactured over three hundred solar-powered embedded dynamic message signs (DMS) to be installed as part of the 7213 Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s (MassDOT)‘Go Time’ project.

According to SESA, once completed, the project will provide the largest travel time network available in any state in the US, allowing motorists across the country to instantly access travel time data on major corridors across the region.

Each site consists of static sign panels with pre-determined destinations and travel time data for each destination displayed on DMS embedded within the static sign. The sites also contain Bluetooth readers for data collection, as well as wireless modems to send and receive the collected travel time data wirelessly.  The entire system is installed without the need for trenching and conduits to carry power and data cabling.

All components are powered from a single solar power system at each site, utilising multiple photovoltaic panels and a battery bank enclosed in an insulated cabinet to protect the batteries from heat and cold. SES America engineers designed and calculated the entire solar systems for each location which was then approved by Jacobs Engineering and MassDOT.

Related Content

  • April 9, 2014
    SES launches first solar VMS
    The latest variable message sign (VMS) from French manufacturer SES is fully powered by solar panels, making it possible to install a sign virtually anywhere without the need for cables or mains power. Ideal for many applications from highway to urban, the signs use high intensity LEDs in a choice of character matrix, line matrix or full matrix display and are compliant with EN12966 European standards. With a display height of 160mm to 457mm, the signs are ideal for large VMS to small lane control signs
  • March 29, 2017
    Telegra tackle integrated corridor management
    Coordination is the key to successful integrated corridor management, argues Telegra’s chief operating officer, Branko Glad. The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) has calculated that in 2013, traffic congestion cost American citizens $124 billion ($78 billion of wasted time and fuel and $45 billion in indirect losses). In 2030 this figure is predicted to rise to $186 billion.
  • September 23, 2014
    Pile-up prompts Gulf States to counter fog menace
    David Crawford investigates a promising development to counter the problem of fog in the Gulf States. Despite being a largely desert area with low rainfall, fog is a major driving hazard in countries on the Arabian peninsula, such as the UAE. The fog is the result of moist air moving across from the neighbouring Gulf during the afternoon and evening, and experiencing radiation cooling at night.
  • December 21, 2017
    Communications hold key to expanding ITS wireless network expansion
    Wireless transmission of data and control information is making smarter traffic management easier and cheaper to install. It has long been known that connectivity is the key to improving traffic management and many cost-benefit studies prove that investment in new technology can be justified in terms of reduced congestion, shorter travel times, improved safety and air quality. However, many authorities’ cap-ex budgets only cover urgent matters, not improvements, making it difficult, if not impossible to