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Law Enforcement
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The streets of San Diego
Video surveillance will help manage traffic for new highway
Jun 1, 2005
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by James Careless
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California’s highways are legendary for their traffic jams, which is why the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is always in expansion mode. To do this cost effectively in San Diego, Caltrans has partnered with privately-owned California Transportation Ventures to finance, oversee, develop, and implement the construction of a 9.3-mile, multi-lane toll road that will use video to help alleviate congestion.
Known as California State Route 125, the new toll road will add an eastern leg to the San Diego beltway. It’s being built by Otay River Constructors, CTV’s prime contractor, and is scheduled to open in October 2006.
“SR 125 is a demonstration project approved by the California legislature in the late 1980s,” explained Laurie Berman, Caltrans 125 South project director. “It is an experiment to see how well the private sector can build and maintain toll highways at no cost to the taxpayer.”
In fact, not only is CTV paying the entire $635 million needed to build SR 125, but the consortium also has to run every aspect of it, right down to security and road maintenance. In exchange for footing SR 125’s $635 million bill, CTV gets the right to collect tolls for the next 35 years, after which the road reverts to the state, Berman explained.
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| The new SR 125 will use surveillance cameras and traffic detection sensors to monitor traffic flow. |
“Under the contract, CTV has to hire the California Highway Patrol to provide law enforcement,” she continued. “The state is also negotiating to provide road maintenance, with the Department of Transportation being paid to do the job.”
Full Field Of View
To ensure that traffic flows freely on SR 125, CTV will have “virtually every inch of our road covered by video cameras,” said Greg Hulsizer, CEO of CTV. “Combined with information relayed from embedded traffic detection sensors that measure traffic flow, we will be able to accurately monitor how well traffic is moving, and quickly identify areas where we need to direct motorists using dynamic message signs or to dispatch road assistance.”
The SR 125 project team is made up of many contractor partners, each providing their own specific expertise. In the case of the CCTV video surveillance system, the lead contractor is Cornet Technology, Inc. (CTI). “Our job is to install the CCTV cameras, the traffic detection sensors, and SR 125’s two dynamic message signs,” explained Sunil Mehta, president of CTI’s Video Convergence Division. “We integrate all three of these subsystems into a high-speed data network, which is connected to the San Diego Transportation Management Center and CTV’s own Traffic Operations Center as well.”
To ensure reliable data communications, the network will be built as a redundant double ring, Mehta said. “If one ring should be cut, the data will simply go the other way to restore the entire circuit,” he added. “And if the first ring gets cut in multiple locations, then the second ring will take over.”
To provide end-to-end video surveillance, CTI is installing 16 PTZ digital CCTV cameras in weatherproofed, fan-ventilated cases. “These will be strategically placed along the roadway to provide continuous coverage, with each camera being able to look a half-mile in either direction,” Mehta explained. “The reason we have 16 cameras is to compensate for areas where the toll road curves out of sight, thus requiring extra cameras to ensure full coverage.”
The 30 fps color video from each camera is digitally compressed down to the ITU H.261 videoconferencing standard, which means it can be streamed over as bandwidth as small as 64 kbps. The data is packaged with the traffic detection information from nearby sensors, then digitally transmitted down a high-speed LAN (buried in conduits alongside the roadway) to the San Diego TMC and CTV’s TOC.
Keep It Moving
At present, CTI is in the process of installing the three SR 125 subsystems, which happens after road crews have constructed roadway sections. Once these systems are up and running, here is an example of how they will be used.
Say it’s 8 a.m. during a typical San Diego rush hour. Traffic detection sensors within SR 125’s pavement note that the number of cars passing overhead per minute is below preset parameters. Clearly something is happening to slow the pace of commuters. The incoming detection data generates an alert in the San Diego TMC, an integrated communications hub that houses the City’s 911 dispatch for police, highway patrol, fire, and EMS, as well as Caltrans traffic operations communications and overall traffic management and incident reporting for the San Diego area.
When the alert comes in, a Caltrans operator can automatically access the video feed from the affected part of SR 125, adjusting the camera remotely to get a good look. They can then send alternative routing information to one of the toll road’s dynamic message signs to reduce traffic in the affected area. The Caltrans operator can also request the dispatch of police, fire, EMS, and tow trucks as needed.
“If the problem is simply a broken down car, CTV will send help through our Courtesy Patrol,” said Hulsizer. “We will even provide a free gallon of gas to anyone stranded due to lack of fuel, so that they can get to the nearest gas station.”
Still image digital cameras will be located at the tollbooths to view toll payment activities. Should a vehicle drive through the electronic toll collection lane without having a prepaid “toll tag” onboard, “the system will detect this and automatically take a picture of the vehicle’s license plate,” said Peter J. Hellerman, vice president of business development, InTranS Group, which is providing the free flow electronic toll system for SR 125. “The system will then extract the license number from the image in real time and compare it against our database.
“If we find that the vehicle owner is a current toll tag holder, we can simply deduct the toll from their account,” he continued. “If they are not, the data will be sent directly to our Violation Processing Unit. The license number can be used to find the offender’s address, send them an invoice for the missed toll, and potentially charge them a fine.”
Everyone stands to win if the SR 125 experiment succeeds. Motorists will get a faster, hassle-free commute to and from work, while the state of California will get improved transportation (and happier citizens) for free. Meanwhile, CTV will not only have a guaranteed source of income for 35 years, but a model that other jurisdictions can use.
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