The Missouri Department of Transportation has found a way to improve safety and mobility by helping customers make informed decisions on the road through technology.
Intelligent Transportation Systems, which was first used by the Missouri Department of Transportation in 1999, includes the use of cameras, dynamic message signs, and road detectors.
State Traffic and Highway Safety Engineer Eileen Rackers says now, it has over 200 dynamic message signs, over 600 traffic cameras, more than 700 vehicle detectors, 20 road weather sensors and more than 13 hundred connected signals that can be operated from a remote location. “All this technology is primarily monitored by our three transportation management centers located in St. Louis, Kansas City, and Springfield,” she says.
This includes other Intelligent Transportation Systems type devices as well such as Bluetooth detection which she says is a new technology that allows road devices to communicate with each other. “This technology helps the Department of Transportation help provide anonymous traffic information using roadways, roadside sensors that pick up on vehicles when they go by that are equipped with Bluetooth technology,” she says.
Rackers says the Bluetooth sensors are portable and are used as an effective way to gather information in places like work zones.
AUDIO: Mary Farucci reports. (1:02)
