Maricopa County DOT Tests Smart Technology To Make Road Work Sites Safer

By Casey Kuhn, Mark Brodie
Published: Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - 5:54pm
Updated: Thursday, August 8, 2019 - 12:30pm

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MCDOT
Maricopa County Department of Transportation is testing wireless sensors around construction work sites

Maricopa County Department of Transportation is testing a program that uses technology to monitor drive times in work sites on county roads.

The county has been piloting the wireless sensors on a stretch of MC 85, or Buckeye Road.

The sensors placed between 75th Avenue and 95th Avenue fed information to a computer system to calculate drive times. Those times can be put on road signs warning drivers of delays.

MCDOT
Maricopa County is one of the first in the nation to use Smarter Work Zone tech to make construction zone conditions safer.

MCDOT spokeswoman Rainey Holloway said the department picked Buckeye Road because it runs parallel to I-10 and receives an average of 20,000 cars per day.

“This kind of technology has been tested on highways, typically, for construction zones, but this is the first time it’s being used on what we call 'arterials,' which are heavily traveled city and urban streets,” she said.

Holloway said Maricopa County is one of the first in the nation to use Smarter Work Zone tech to make construction zone conditions safer.

Holloway said the pilot is nearly over, and the county is hoping to use the system on more arterial roads in the future.

“We are anxiously awaiting the data and can’t wait to see what happens and what adjustments. With any technology you continue to gather your data, learn what’s working, what isn’t," Holloway said.

The technology was tested on Buckeye Avenue in the West Valley, Holloway said, because it’s often an alternative for the I-10.

Faisel Saleem manages the Intelligent Transportation Systems program with the Maricopa County Department of Transportation. He joined The Show to talk more about the pilot project.

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