Skip to main content

MnDOT to pilot radar system for traffic monitoring

The US’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has given approval to the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) to trial the use of a radar system to monitor and study traffic flow on Interstate 94. The idea to use radar for traffic monitoring was originally submitted to the agency under its Innovative Idea Program last June. Currently, the proposal is to deploy a traffic detection system that can monitor six lanes of traffic and two overhead bridges from one location. The objective is to
April 15, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
The US’s 2115 Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has given approval to the 2103 Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) to trial the use of a radar system to monitor and study traffic flow on Interstate 94.

The idea to use radar for traffic monitoring was originally submitted to the agency under its Innovative Idea Program last June. Currently, the proposal is to deploy a traffic detection system that can monitor six lanes of traffic and two overhead bridges from one location.

The objective is to gather accurate traffic and congestion information from the trial, with the collected information to be provided to necessary staff for emergency situations. The information is also to be stored to provide congestion and incident metrics. As a side benefit, the proposed system can also detect lane changes and manoeuvres, helping identify driver behaviour.

The proposal has been accepted by MnDOT in conjunction with its partner 3525 AECOM, a consultant and technical services partner on the project, and RhiZone, a local innovation partner.

The ultimate goal is to perform traffic data collection activities using the 360 degree radar, test the accuracy of the devices, and provide a detailed summary of traffic data and driver behaviour at the selected field site, which is located on I-94, just east of the Lowry Hill Tunnel near the I-35W overpass.

The system will use a radar unit provided by 819 Navtech Radar to gather real-time traffic data from the site, and software installed at the MnDOT Regional Traffic Monitoring Center (RTMC) will detect traffic incidents based on analysis of the traffic data collected.

The AECOM Team will be responsible for deployment of the system, data collection, monitoring and reporting. The next steps in the pilot project include producing the Systems Engineering documentation to guide design and deployment activities, and to deploy the radar system for six months of operation, beginning in spring 2015.

Related Content

  • Calculating the cost of stellar solutions
    August 10, 2016
    The increasing availability and accuracy of global navigation satellite system (GNSS) is opening up low-cost options in many areas as David Crawford finds out. Boosting commercialisation of European global navigation satellite system (EGNSS) technologies for ITS initially depends heavily on demonstrating competitive and cost/benefit advantages obtainable from the deployment of EGNOS (the current European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service), and ultimately the EU’s Galileo constellation (see box). So,
  • Radar-based system offers automated traffic monitoring and enforcement
    November 5, 2015
    Applied Concept’s Stalker Phodar SE-1 traffic violation evidence system is said to offers easy set-up, adaptable capture software and IP-based communications for automatic monitoring of up to 32 vehicles travelling in either direction across four lanes of traffic.
  • Continental developing road departure protection systems
    June 25, 2015
    International automotive supplier Continental is working on new road departure protection systems that aim to eliminate unintended road departures, which currently are not completely covered by today’s lateral guidance advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), preventing fatal accidents from occurring on highways and rural roads. According to the US Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration, approximately 55 per cent of traffic fatalities in the US involve a vehicle crossing the roadwa
  • Highways Agency trials new traffic monitoring technology
    September 24, 2013
    The UK Highways Agency is trialling a system to add commercially available traffic data to its existing sources to monitor traffic flow on England’s motorways and strategic roads. Similar data sources are already used by satellite navigation devices, smartphones, and applications like Google maps. The system uses data that comes mostly from vehicle tracking devices installed by fleet operators, and a proportion from mobile sat-nav type devices, including smartphone traffic applications where the user has