Skip to main content

Arizona DOT upgrades camera system

Arizona’s traffic operations centre was built more than twenty years ago; the first traffic camera was installed over Interstate10 in 1990. That’s all changed now thanks to a recent US$2.1 million upgrade of the camera system by Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) which replaced cables with fibre optic lines, so the cameras now show fresh images every ten seconds rather than every five minutes. The upgrade has also replaced the 32 video screens in the traffic operations centre, enabling staff to sca
February 22, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
Arizona’s traffic operations centre was built more than twenty years ago; the first traffic camera was installed over Interstate10 in 1990.

That’s all changed now thanks to a recent US$2.1 million upgrade of the camera system by 6576 Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) which replaced cables with fibre optic lines, so the cameras now show fresh images every ten seconds rather than every five minutes. The upgrade has also replaced the 32 video screens in the traffic operations centre, enabling staff to scan up to 160 images simultaneously.

Information from the cameras is used provide drivers with the most accurate travel times on the changeable signs above some freeways and to manage incidents and deploy first responders, Highway Patrol cars or tow trucks.

“Now, the system will help give users a much better, accurate story,” said Darrell Bingham, ADOT’s project manager on the upgrade. “The benefit to drivers will be more information when they need it the most to avoid congestion and make informed decisions during their commute.”

Last year, almost 9.4million visitors went to ADOT’s traffic site at az511.gov to check the cameras - nearly 26,000 visits a day from people who rely on the cameras to plan their trips. Travellers can get up-to-the-minute travel times, road conditions and alerts via the web or by calling the toll-free 511 number. The online service gives the added benefit of live traffic footage.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • The red light camera choice: 60 killed or save US$231 million a year
    June 5, 2015
    David Crawford investigates new cost-benefit analysis of red light cameras. US states can now realistically calculate the economic benefits of using red light safety cameras, alone or in combination with other measures, to cut road traffic accident levels. The results could be of material value in making the case for the cameras as a number of state legislatures continue to debate their acceptability.
  • Real time active traffic management improves travel times
    July 17, 2012
    Traffic management centres (TMC) have traditionally served to provide surveillance and responses to traffic incidents and recurring and non-recurring changes in road networks. Typically, a TMC collected field data from the roadway and transit infrastructure and provided the integration necessary for operators to see what was happening and then coordinate a response. Standard operating procedures (SOPs) guided operators on how to respond to a given situation. It eventually became impractical for TMC operat
  • Teledyne Flir brings Middle East into vision
    July 10, 2023
    As urban sprawl creeps across the Middle East and Africa, congested roads aren’t far behind. Hesham Enan of Teledyne Flir explains to Adam Hill how traffic technology is helping authorities to cope
  • Benefits of Florida's traffic signal retiming
    November 7, 2012
    Lee County in Florida has consolidated dramatic results of a major traffic signal retiming with installation of advanced monitoring and management technology for generating further benefits. The Lee County Department of Transportation (DOT), in the US State of Florida, has completed retiming of traffic signals for over 50 intersections in the cities of Fort Myers and Bonita Springs. The project aimed to evaluate existing operations and enable adjustments to optimise flows, and has produced dramatic results