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.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Multi-lane VMS from Triplesign
    March 26, 2014
    A segregated, mechanical three-position variable message sign able to display lane closures and other instructions is making its debut on the Triplesign stand. An electric motor turns the vertical triangular elements in the sign to display the required message and in the latest incarnation a set of three vertical elements depicts each lane of the road and can be individually controlled to indicate which lanes are open or closed.
  • Radix Traffic features wired magnetometer sensors
    April 5, 2016
    Radix Traffic will be featuring at Intertraffic its wired magnetometer sensors, over 500 of which have been installed in the UK to provide accurate vehicle detection. Unlike conventional inductive loops, the sensors can be installed around 50cm below the road surface where they are protected from damage caused by bad weather and heavy traffic. Radix claims that once a sensor is installed it will continue to detect during its 15-year design life with no maintenance required.
  • Berlin introduces wirelessly-charged electric bus Line
    September 4, 2015
    Berlin has become the first capital city to introduce a wirelessly charged electric bus, as part of a project funded by Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure. The Berlin Transport Authority, Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) has introduced four Solaris Urbino 12 electric buses equipped with the Bombardier Primove inductive charging system and traction equipment from Vossloh Kiepe. The buses now operate on the 6.1 kilometre line 204 between Südkreuz and Zoologischer Garten (Hertzallee). Vos
  • MaaS by any other name
    February 6, 2020
    Has the roll-out of Mobility as a Service stalled - or could it just be that multimodal travel is simply happening under a variety of different names?