The floppy disk-powered traffic signals at three Bridgeville intersections will soon be replaced by high-tech stop lights that use share data and real-time analysis to keep traffic moving.
The new adaptive signals will be installed along Washington Avenue where it intersects with Station Street, Bower Hill Road, and Prestley Road. Once operative, the signals will wirelessly communicate with other traffic lights in Bridgeville and South Fayette to determine the best signal pattern at any given moment to alleviate congestion.
The project is expected to cost $266,000. The borough will pay $53,000, with the rest funded by a state grant.
“Now all we need to do is get Collier on board,” said Mayor Pat DeBlasio, after council approved the grant two weeks ago.
As Mike Haberman of Gateway Engineers explained, the traffic signals currently at those intersections are timed based on a single snapshot of traffic data that could be up to 10 years old.
The new adaptive systems use cameras to detect not just traffic volume, but traffic movement, and they share that information with a wide network of traffic signals, and continually learn based on new shared data.
The adaptive signal network will range from Prestley Road to Bursca Business Park to Millers Run Road.
“If you’re not out there manually monitoring the traffic, you’re kind of stuck with the snapshot from however long ago,” Haberman said. “The newer technology is as good as if you had traffic cops out at every one of these intersections talking to each other.”
Check out the video above for Haberman’s full explanation of how the system works.