THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: PWD Minister V K Ebrahim Kunju inaugurated the vehicle-actuated Wireless Traffic Controller (Wi-TraC) and hi-mast lamp at Vellayambalam Junction here on Tuesday. Wi-TraC has been introduced in the country for the first time. Considering the volume of traffic and geography which restrict the conventional traffic control approach at Vellayambalam Junction, Dr N S Srinivasan, technical advisor to the Kerala Road Fund Board (KRFB) had suggested the Wi-TraC at the Junction. Wi-TraC has been developed by C-DAC with funding from KRFB. C-DAC has also set up a remote monitoring station for Vellayambalam Junction at their office. KELTRON was entrusted with the installation of Wi-TraC. Wi-TraC is an advanced Area Traffic Control System (ATCS)-compatible Vehicle-Actuated Traffic Signal Controller using wireless technology for switching the traffic signal lights. Digging of finished roads for the purpose of installing traffic signal controller is thus avoided. Wi-TraC is designed for solar power operation and remote administration. Unlike the conventional pre-timed traffic signal controllers, Wi-TraC controls the signal timing based on the actual demand on the road, verifying camera images of the traffic. For example, the green signal for a road where there is no vehicle will be skipped, roads with low volume of traffic will be given less green time and that with high volume will be given more green time during the control cycle. This will provide proper service of queues avoiding wastage of green time and unnecessary waiting at the traffic junction. Wi-TraC is capable of providing synchronised green signal with the adjacent traffic signal controllers to minimise stops and delay on a signal corridor. By providing appropriate network connectivity, it is also possible to monitor and manage the traffic junction from a remote traffic monitoring station, said a press release issued by KRFB. C-DAC and KRFB are planning to conduct a junction delay survey at Vellayambalam to quantify the results. The data will be made available to the students and planners for research purposes. With the installation of vehicle-actuated wireless traffic controller, the cycle time has been reduced from the conventional 120 seconds to 90 seconds during peak hours. During slack hours, the vehicle-actuated control operates even with 48-second cycle time. “Signalisation of a roundabout carrying heavy volume of traffic is a very difficult job, and is rarely done. This particular intersection having peculiar traffic flow condition cannot be controlled successfully with pre-timed fixed time traffic signal. Only vehicle-actuated signal controller like Wi-TraC can tackle the problem effectively,” said the KRFB release.
Comments
0 comment