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

  • Countering truckers’ parking conundrum
    May 3, 2017
    Colin Sowman hears about a new truck parking information system being piloted across eight states. Legislation limits truck drivers’ hours with the result that they are often caught in a situation where they need to stop either for a break or an overnight rest. But as truck parking is in short supply, truck drivers spend an average of 56 minutes a day searching for available spaces and are often faced with the choice of driving beyond their permitted hours or parking illegally.
  • Triplesign shows new road warning system
    April 18, 2024
    A new road warning system from Triplesign is said to improve safety for drivers, while offering lower costs for users. Using prismatic technology rather than LEDs, working life is high while power use is minimal for this variable message sign (VMS) package.
  • Creative finance enables parking progress in LA
    March 15, 2016
    David Crawford investigates an innovative public/private partnership. Los Angeles entered the second decade of the 21st century facing major challenges to its parking operations. With a population of 3.8 million, and its car-oriented culture still predominant, the city's parking meters were technically outdated - with most only accepting coins and many regularly out of service - resulting in a substantial loss of revenue. This coincided with a number of Californian cities looking to parking income to boost
  • Road space utilisation improves travel times, reduces costs
    February 1, 2012
    For major road works schemes, necessary lane closures are timed to minimise congestion, most frequently at night and on weekends when traffic is at its lightest. As a result, rigid timetables are used in planning, programming and implementing work. In the UK, to calculate the expected traffic demand through roads works, historic profiles from the loop-based MIDAS (Motorway Incident Detection Automatic Signalling) system were used. These provided a valuable indicator of anticipated traffic behaviour but were