Skip to main content

Georgia gets SCOOT

Siemens has won a new SCOOT (Split Cycle Offset Optimisation Technique) project in the US State of Georgia, in an area to the north of Atlanta along State Route 9. In the first phase, SCOOT will control thirty-three intersections in the towns of Alpharetta, Roswell and Sandy Springs and it is expected that more intersections will be added to the system over the next few years. The project is being managed by Siemens USA with local dealer Temple.
May 9, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
189 Siemens has won a new SCOOT (Split Cycle Offset Optimisation Technique) project in the US State of Georgia, in an area to the north of Atlanta along State Route 9. In the first phase, SCOOT will control thirty-three intersections in the towns of Alpharetta, Roswell and Sandy Springs and it is expected that more intersections will be added to the system over the next few years.

The project is being managed by 121 Siemens USA with local dealer 580 Temple.

Following testing of a demonstration system by 754 Georgia Department of Transportation which highlighted the benefits of adaptive control and after comparison with a leading system, it was determined that SCOOT would be an excellent long term solution.

Further analysis by 831 Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), concluded that, of SCOOT’s many desirable features, the one of particular importance was the ability to run the system with ordinary traffic plans but to also have the capability to invoke SCOOT when desired.  

It was determined that with the Siemens configuration, the clients could continue to run standard traffic patterns using the Siemens TACTICS traffic management system.  However, when requested, the SCOOT system can activate a full adaptive system which can be turned on and off by the SCOOT system scheduler.

Roadside implementation has already begun and the full SCOOT implementation is expected to be completed by the end of the summer.

A tender has also been released to expand the system with an additional thirty-four intersections before the initial deployment has been completed.  The initial deployment will be for 33 intersections.

Related Content

  • US eyes European model for Illinois toll road upgrade
    May 30, 2014
    David Crawford welcomes the adoption of European-style ITS technology by the US. The Jane Addams Memorial Tollway in Illinois, US is well on the way towards becoming a ‘smart traffic corridor’, taking full advantage of active traffic management (ATM or ‘managed lanes’) technology that originated in Europe. It is one of the first American toll roads to do so; preliminary work began in 2014 and will continue through to 2016. Jane Addams is one of four toll roads operated by the publicly-owned Illinois State T
  • Mayor unveils expanded traffic-busting plans to keep London moving
    September 30, 2015
    The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has unveiled the new measures Transport for London (TfL) is introducing to ease traffic in the capital and minimise disruption on the roads as major work to improve the network continues as part of the Mayor’s US$6 billion Road Modernisation Plan. The innovations include: Trials of new technology - for the first time on the TfL road network a new generation of digital road signs will provide people with real-time information on journeys using major routes into London.
  • Using electricity to power road freight
    October 22, 2014
    Next year sees the start of the first real-life electrified road system for transporting freight. Worldwide freight transportation is predicted to double by 2050 but despite expansion of global rail infrastructure only one third of this additional freight transport can be handled by trains. This means that the largest proportion of freight transport will continue to be by road and as a result, experts expect global CO2 emissions from road freight traffic to more than double by 2050.
  • Success of London’s congestion charge scheme
    February 15, 2013
    Said to be the biggest congestion charge scheme to launch in any city, the London scheme got off to a smooth start ten years ago on 17 February 2003, much to the surprise of London's then mayor Ken Livingstone, who ten years later says “it turned out better than I expected.” None of the anticipated pre-7am congestion as drivers attempted to avoid the charge happened, and by the end of the first day 57,000 drivers had paid it. The main problem seemed to be that buses were all running ahead of time and had t