Skip to main content

SESA deploys dynamic Trailblazer signs for Michigan DOT

SES America (SESA) recently completed the manufacture and installation of full colour LED dynamic Trailblazer signs for the Michigan Department of Transportation and is set to soon begin manufacturing of additional signs for the next phase of this ongoing work. The signs are part of integrated corridor management along I-75 designed by the Michigan Department of Transportation. Each sign is part of SESA’s Messenger 5000 embedded DMS series, a line of embedded DMS designed to display travel time, toll rate,
May 6, 2016 Read time: 2 mins

7846 SES America (SESA) recently completed the manufacture and installation of full colour LED dynamic Trailblazer signs for the Michigan Department of Transportation and is set to soon begin manufacturing of additional signs for the next phase of this ongoing work.

The signs are part of integrated corridor management along I-75 designed by the Michigan Department of Transportation. Each sign is part of SESA’s Messenger 5000 embedded DMS series, a line of embedded DMS designed to display travel time, toll rate, lane status or traffic control information.

As part of this project, the embedded DMS is intended to divert and manage the influx of traffic, and reduce traffic queues and congestion on freeways for both Macomber and Oakland counties. The signs feature a full colour display capable of showing a variety of arrows that re-direct traffic as necessary on to surface roads and alternate routes. The signs are controlled by SESA’s state-of-the-art NTCIP-compliant SCU6 controller housed in field cabinets near each site. Each sign is placed at strategic locations and display the indicative arrow only when needed.

According to SESA, this combination of static sign and embedded dynamic display is cost effective, advantageously replacing an entire full colour/full matrix DMS.

For the first deployment, energy-efficient technology was utilised to minimize the quantity and size of command, control, and power components, enabling the components to be installed in a small NEMA 4X cabinet attached to each sign structure for the initial deployment. This design was refined for the subsequent deployment, allowing all components to be installed within the sign itself, while maintaining the slim sign housing design required for the project.

Related Content

  • Migrating to advanced traffic management systems
    March 14, 2012
    Rich pickings of reduced cost and greater value are up for grabs as highway authorities migrate to new traffic management systems – if they choose their paths wisely. Jon Masters reports. Experience gained and expertise developed over the past decade are informing good advice for transport agencies contemplating new or expanded traffic management systems. Technological projects aimed at reducing road congestion may be frequently unique and invariably complex, but a picture is emerging of sensible, prudent a
  • Teledyne Flir: here’s how to find the right ITS camera
    January 4, 2022
    From lighting to weather, there are so many elements which need to be taken into account when choosing a camera for ITS operations. Riana Sartori from Teledyne Flir offers a buyer’s guide
  • Utah DOT selects Peek Traffic’s NEMA cabinets
    October 28, 2015
    Following extensive testing, Utah DOT has awarded Peek Traffic a five-year contract to supply their NEMA size 5 and size 6 cabinets. Deployment of the cabinets will begin later this year. Peek Traffic offers a full range of standard NEMA cabinets, with a customisable interior design to fit the user’s traffic configuration needs. Cabinets can be fitted with power panels, field service terminal blocks, police panel switches, a variety of NEMA controllers and master controllers, conflict monitors, modems,
  • Hard shoulder running aids uniform traffic flow and safer driving
    January 23, 2012
    David Crawford detects a market for European experience. Well-established now in at least three European countries, Hard Shoulder Running (HSR) on motorways is exciting growing interest in the US. A November 2010 Report to Congress by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), on the Efficient Use of Highway Capacity, notes the role of HSR in the European-style Active Traffic Management (ATM) strategies now being recommended for implementation in the US where, until recently, they were virtually unknown.