Skip to main content

California DOT implements smart corridor

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) recently completed a smart corridor project on State Route 12 in Solano, Sacramento and San Joaquin counties, and I-5 in San Joaquin County. The project utilises intelligent transportation system (ITS) technology for five electronic message signs and four closed-circuit TV cameras to provide drivers with up to date travel information, enabling them to choose an alternate route in the event of congestion or roadway incidents.
October 14, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
The 923 California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) recently completed a smart corridor project on State Route 12 in Solano, Sacramento and San Joaquin counties, and I-5 in San Joaquin County.

The project utilises intelligent transportation system (ITS) technology for five electronic message signs and four closed-circuit TV cameras to provide drivers with up to date travel information, enabling them to choose an alternate route in the event of congestion or roadway incidents.

"This technology will make these highways safer for everyone and provide motorists real-time information they can use to make smart choices and steer clear of traffic incidents, roadwork, and bad weather," said Caltrans director Malcolm Dougherty.

This project is not Caltrans' first use of ITS technology to create smart corridors. Recent similar projects include a US$80 million project on I-80 in the Bay Area, which will better sync traffic signals with on-ramp meters and computerised highway signs to assist with rush hour traffic once completed; the San Mateo Smart Corridor project, in which ten San Mateo cities have partnered to deliver electronic message signs to guide drivers through detour routes during incidents, sensors to provide traffic volume information, and closed-circuit TV cameras to allow users to see traffic flow; and the creation of QuickMap, an ITS innovation that allows the public to access images from about 1,000 freeway cameras and see messages posted on more than 700 electronic highway message signs.

Related Content

  • January 29, 2013
    California DOT installs driver information signs
    California DOT (Caltrans) is installing electronic message signs in an effort to prevent or reduce congestion on the heavily used Interstate 10. Vehicle detection systems have also been installed on the 133 mile stretch of freeway to monitor traffic. The detection systems monitor speed and traffic volume, processing the data and transmitting it to the freeway message signs to give motorists real-time journey time estimates. "Changeable message signs will allow us to deliver information directly to drivers
  • October 29, 2012
    Project to ease traffic on Interstate 80 unveiled
    California’s regional transportation officials are taking a comprehensive approach to relieving clogged arteries that affect the health of commuters and cities along a 22-mile stretch of the Interstate 80 corridor from the Carquinez Bridge to the MacArthur Maze.
  • June 9, 2017
    CTF award for Parsons’ I-80 SMART Corridor Project
    Parsons recently received the Operational Efficiency Project of the Year award from the California Transportation Foundation (CTF) for the I-80 SMART Corridor Project that uses Parsons’ intelligent transportation system technology to maximise safety and efficiency of one of the busiest transportation corridors in the Bay Area of California.
  • June 9, 2017
    CTF award for Parsons’ I-80 SMART Corridor Project
    Parsons recently received the Operational Efficiency Project of the Year award from the California Transportation Foundation (CTF) for the I-80 SMART Corridor Project that uses Parsons’ intelligent transportation system technology to maximise safety and efficiency of one of the busiest transportation corridors in the Bay Area of California.