Skip to main content

New Jersey takes a high tech approach to smarter roads

IBM has developed a new transportation management solution to help minimise congestion and improve traffic flow for the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA). The solution, which is part of NJTA's advanced traffic management program (ATMP), will serve both the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway, two of the most heavily travelled highways and busiest toll roads in the United States. The system, which manages almost a thousand devices, provides traffic management professionals at the NJTA
May 21, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
62 IBM has developed a new transportation management solution to help minimise congestion and improve traffic flow for the 2100 New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA).

The solution, which is part of NJTA's advanced traffic management program (ATMP), will serve both the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway, two of the most heavily travelled highways and busiest toll roads in the United States.

The system, which manages almost a thousand devices, provides traffic management professionals at the NJTA with a single, comprehensive view of all signs at their command with intuitive access to the sophisticated tools necessary for nimble management of information such as updating speed limits and travel messages to drivers.

Connecting a wide array of systems into a central location that is both dynamic and intelligent enables the NJTA to quickly react and respond to real-time information about roadway conditions that ultimately serves to reduce congestion and delays faced by motorists.

In future phases, the ATMP will use data generated from over 3,000 sensors to further optimise response times for all forms of traffic incidents and reduction of secondary incidents. The new system provides central management of approximately 900 devices that include: variable message (VMS), drum (CM) and portable signs, in addition to newly designed hybrid (VMS/drum) displays and traffic cameras.

"This first of its kind transportation management solution will help minimize congestion and improve traffic flow for the Garden State," said IBM North America General Manager Elly Keinan. "With IBM's Intelligent Transportation solution, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority is providing operators a holistic view for monitoring traffic events and conditions through data collection from a variety of roadside devices. Using an Internet of Things approach in creating a modern turnpike will allow the NJTA to easily add enhancements to the road system such as advanced analytics and predictive capabilities in the future for traffic prediction, incident detection, and other roadway optimization capabilities."

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Close shave for Brazilian project
    June 12, 2015
    Signing the order to equip a new control room just 45 days before the city hosts a major sporting event is challenging - but some deadlines just cannot be moved. There is nothing like a deadline to concentrate minds and effort as Mitsubishi and the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte discovered in the run-up to the 2014 World Cup. Although municipal authorities had been considering a new command centre for years, it was the hosting of the World Cup last summer that provided the final impetus.
  • Nema's updated signage standards are key to managing the variables
    June 7, 2024
    National Electrical Manufacturers Association’s revision of standards relating to variable message signs will help to improve interoperability and reflect changes in vehicle technology
  • Don’t forget security threat, says Econolite
    May 6, 2020
    A new level of communication is helping deliver on the promise of Vision Zero and a more sustainable future. But amid the promise, Econolite’s Sunny Chakravarty suggests we need to be mindful of the potential downsides in an age of mass connectivity
  • Over-height vehicle detection system implemented on New York City Parkways
    November 9, 2016
    A US$4.8 million over-height vehicle detection system has just been completed on two New York City parkways in a bid to minimise truck collisions, improve road safety and protect highway infrastructure. The infrared system identifies and alerts over-height vehicles illegally using the parkway to prevent the vehicles from striking low-clearance bridges, which are found on most parkways in New York. The system was installed at four locations on the Hutchinson River Parkway in the Bronx and one location on the