Skip to main content

'Green' traffic signs

A new solar-powered, wireless automated rotary drum sign system, manufactured by Skyline Products Traffic Division and currently being deployed in Texas, is being hailed as one of the greenest, least expensive, most flexible means of managing traffic flow.
January 30, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
A new solar-powered, wireless automated rotary drum sign system, manufactured by 732 Skyline Products Traffic Division and currently being deployed in Texas, is being hailed as one of the greenest, least expensive, most flexible means of managing traffic flow.

This exclusive technology was designed as part of a breakthrough programme by the 375 Texas Department of Transportation and engineers and consultants 731 Walter P Moore to create more efficient travel through the El Paso, Texas metropolitan area during traffic incidents and closures on the interstate. The new signs require no fibre-optic cable, hard-wired communications or power, making it possible to install them just about anywhere.

The Automated Rotary Drum Sign System is claimed to be the only automated diversion sign of its kind. “Most of the time, they display standard guide sign information. When an incident occurs, information is sent wirelessly and the signs are activated. The drums rotate and provide appropriate detour information,” explains Mark Conway, director of ITS, Walter P Moore.

“Eliminating the need to run power to each site, including trenching, conduit, power, labour and continued maintenance can plausibly save departments of transportation and taxpayers everywhere millions of dollars,” says Adam Lyons, regional sales manager at Skyline Products. “At the same time we are increasing the options for traffic diversion and delivering all the benefits of improved traffic flow, such as reduced driver frustration and reduced CO2 emissions.”

Some 94 sign units, with various message configurations, are currently being installed by long-time Skyline partner, Tri-State Electric, along Interstate Highway 10, US 54 and Loop 375 in El Paso, Texas.

Related Content

  • February 2, 2012
    Active traffic management increases safety and capacity
    WSDOT is deploying Active Traffic Management in order to increase safety and capacity on its strategic roads. WSDOT's Patricia Michaud elaborates
  • December 17, 2012
    Houston traffic technology ‘going global’
    A real-time traffic data collection system developed by the Texas A&M University Transportation Institute (TTI) is going nationwide and could go global, according to the university. The development, known as AWAM (Anonymous Wireless Address Matching), uses the first portion of the MAC address from anonymous wireless devices, such as Bluetooth-enabled devices, carried in vehicles to measure the travel time between two points along freeways and arterial roads in rural and urban environments. It provides real-
  • June 1, 2016
    TomTom provides flexibility for Riyadh
    With five years of traffic disruption ahead and an inadequate traffic monitoring system, the authorities in Riyadh needed a solution – and quickly. In preparation for embarking on what is currently the world’s largest metro construction project, the Arriyadh Development Authority (ADA) in Riyadh needed to put in place measures to minimise the additional congestion and travel delays the five-year project would inevitably cause.
  • September 4, 2018
    ITS instrumental in reducing Texan congestion
    ITS projects in the Houston area have seen costs crunched – and even a system failure has proved valuable in analysing performance. David Crawford reports on developments in the Lone Star state Savings by Texan public agencies are major factors in the recent ITS Texas awards, recognising beneficial initiatives in bridge strike prevention and traffic intersection control. In the first, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)’s Houston District, covering the state’s most populous city and its surround