Wavetronixby Don Leavitt, Wavetronix LLC, USA and Tom Moore, Principal Engineer, Nevada Department of Transportation
The rapid growth of Las Vegas has created congestion of epic proportions. The public/private FAST project has been developed to counter the problem.
How do you effectively control traffic when you are one of the fastest growing cities in the US? If you are Las Vegas, you implement an ambitious, future-anticipating traffic management system that fosters inter-agency cooperation, encompasses an entire region and incorporates the most advanced technologies available.
Las Vegas is known for a lot of things, from the spectacular lights and extravagant entertainment to the casinos and desert heat. Census statistics show that southern Nevada’s population has more than doubled every decade since 1950 - according to the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada (RTC), the Las Vegas valley grows by nearly 1,000 new people a week, bringing an additional 750 vehicles every seven days. The result is congestion; add to this the number of tourists and visitors who descend upon Las Vegas on a weekly basis and it is easy to see why Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) officials were anxious to implement an effective traffic management system.
The solution is FAST, southern Nevada's Freeway and Arterial System of Transportation project. FAST incorporates the Wavetronix SmartSensor and Click! Simple Connectivity products with other ITS technologies, creating a comprehensive network that is designed to reduce congestion and improve incident response times. SmartSensor will function as a component of the detection system, collecting the data needed to improve the efficiency of traffic management in the Las Vegas area; meanwhile, several Click! modules are being used to provide the power and communication solutions.
FAST is an aggressive ITS implementation targeting congestion on a 17-mile corridor of Interstate 15 and US Highway 95, both of which run through downtown Las Vegas. The initial phase of the project has been divided into two stages: Stage 1 - currently nearing completion - combines SmartSensor and Click! products with other ITS technologies, including video cameras, loop detection stations, and trailblazer (directional information) signs; Stage 2 - currently in progress - will expand the areas being monitored, requiring additional sensors and other devices.
All of these devices will be controlled at a central Traffic Management Center, which has recently been constructed by NDOT and will be fully populated within the next few months. The data from sensors and cameras will be fed into this TMC, allowing operators from multiple agencies to see real-time conditions, and providing these agencies with a comprehensive data archive.
Using the ITS technology available to the TMC, FAST officials will have access to ongoing traffic monitoring capabilities, as well as congestion controlling applications such as ramp metering and intersection management. Real-time traffic information will power an advanced traveler information system that includes a commuter website, radio and TV broadcasts, 511 traveler information phone lines and dynamic message signs, and emergency response times will improve.
"Existing systems can't keep pace with the increased volumes on roadways throughout the area."
Implementing such an ambitious project has required a team effort and has included officials from the NDOT working in conjunction with engineers from Kimley Horn and Associates of Las Vegas; and TransCore of Salt Lake City and Las Vegas. TransCore is serving as the project's system integrator, while Kimley Horn and Associates designed the project and serves as project manager; Wavetronix is represented in the project by Advanced Traffic Products, Inc of Everett, Washington, an authorized Wavetronix dealer.
FAST's team work will not be limited to the planning and implementation phase, but will continue throughout the operation and management of the entire system. FAST has been designed as a unique partnership, structured for the successful management of multijurisdictional operations. It involves the active participation of representatives from several different agencies, including NDOT; RTC; Clark County; the cities of Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Henderson; the Nevada Highway Patrol; and the Las Vegas area Freeway Service Patrol.
These agencies will work together to streamline the efficiency of regional traffic operations - FAST operators will manage the freeway system, control arterial traffic signals as well as the advanced traveler information system; NHP will monitor traffic conditions and identify accidents and other congestion-causing incidents; and the Freeway Service Patrol will assist motorists in non-emergency situations and help NHP detect and verify vehicle-related problems.
This partnership will be most evident at the TMC, which will house multiple agencies, giving them simultaneous access to the real-time traffic information collected by the system's sensors and cameras. The Nevada Highway Patrol's Southern Command headquarters and dispatch center, the freeway and arterial management system and the Freeway Service Patrol will all share space at the TMC, along with FAST maintenance personnel, field equipment repair shops and storage facilities for spare equipment. By sharing simultaneous access to data, these agencies will collaborate to improve the management of traffic conditions and emergency response times throughout southern Nevada. These agencies will also be able to devise appropriate traffic diversion strategies, using installed ITS technologies to move traffic around accidents and other incidents.
Although the first two stages of FAST concentrate on areas of downtown Las Vegas, it is important to note that this management system is designed to encompass all of southern Nevada. That is because phenomenal growth is not limited to just Las Vegas but is being experienced by the entire area. Dan Preslar, TransCore's local project manager, says that regional growth has led to the need for FAST.
"Existing systems can't keep pace with the increased volume on roadways throughout the area," says Preslar. "Just driving around southern Nevada, if you take a road one day and then come back to the same road a couple of months later, a new shopping center or housing development will have been built. The growth is incredible."
The Wavetronix SmartSensor is a non-intrusive traffic monitoring device that uses patented Digital Wave Radar technology to detect vehicle volume, occupancy and speed in up to eight lanes of traffic simultaneously. Introduced in 2002, SmartSensor operates accurately in all conditions, even in the presence of barriers, and it is the only radar device in the ITS industry that has a patented auto-configuration and autocalibration process.
In addition to SmartSensor, Wavetronix has also developed the Click! family of products to address the power and communication needs that are unique to ITS applications. Click! devices are modular components that 'click' together to create integrated networks, providing simple connectivity solutions for contact closure and loop emulation, power management and surge protection as well as wired, wireless and Ethernet communications.
SmartSensor will be used as primary detection points on the freeway mainlines and ramps, while video cameras will provide real-time images of current traffic conditions. VID stations will be used at ramp metering locations, "where good presence data in stopped locations is required," Preslar adds.
Loop stations are also used in several locations, but the redundancy of technologies is intended to ensure excellent data and is not meant to duplicate the radar detection stations. Loops will be used as primary data collection and calibration installations at approximately 10 per cent of the mainline detector stations, to confirm data and to help the State of Nevada be comfortable with the other, newer technologies.
Technology redundancy will improve the efficiency of FAST, but it has not always been the State's intent. Originally, it conceived a system that relied on video detection along the full corridor. When TransCore was awarded the project contract in late 2002, they both chose to look at alternate detection options, not to replace video, but to identify other technologies that could be used in addition to video. TransCore initiated an evaluation of other non-intrusive technologies, including the Wavetronix SmartSensor – SmartSensor's performance was compared with other radar and acoustic sensors, and ultimately SmartSensor was selected.
The evaluation was an important part of the design process. "Before we selected any technologies, we had to know how good is the data in relation to the operation of the freeway management system?" Preslar explains.
SmartSensor was selected for several reasons, not least of which was the quality of the data. "For the freeway management system to work, the data it receives needs to be consistent across all lanes of traffic," Preslar says. "TMC operators need to know that speed data will be reported accurately whether traffic is in lane one or lane three, or at one site or another, and Wavetronix performed well across the board." Devices were also evaluated on the ease of installation and the quality of customer support. Wavetronix is located in Lindon, Utah, "so if there’s a problem, we know Wavetronix can be down here in a day, and the phone support is excellent," Preslar says.
With the first two stages nearing completion, the FAST program is still in its earliest phases, but Las Vegas officials are already seeing some definite improvement in the management of traffic conditions. While the full benefits have yet to be completely realized, the system is working as they anticipated it would at this early stage. "Bottom line," Preslar says, "FAST is functioning the way it was intended to." In the face of phenomenal growth, Las Vegas officials believe FAST's effective traffic management will be something all of southern Nevada can bet on.