SmartWay System Takes Aim at Traffic Choke Points

The Tennessee Department of Transportation is upgrading and expanding its system of cameras in Davidson County.

If you’ve seen the large spools of blue and orange cables sitting beside the interstate, you’re looking at fiber optic cable that will connect TDOT’s surveillance system. With an additional 62 cameras going up, TDOT will have an eye on every inch of the interstates in Davidson County and Briley Parkway.

TDOT spokeswoman Julie Oaks says the 41-million dollar upgrade will allow accident responders to act more quickly. One problem spot, she says, has been on I-24 toward Murfreesboro.

“If there’s a wreck at Old Hickory Boulevard, when we find out about it is usually when someone calls in to dispatch to let us know or we start to see the traffic back up. With a camera only at Bell Road, you can imagine how long traffic is backing up before we’re alerted to a problem.”

The upgrades also include 22 additional overhead message boards and 231 new speed detectors. This system will estimate travel times and suggest alternate routes when traffic is backed up.

Oaks says the project is meant to reduce congestion and thus improve air quality. Because Davidson County is a non-attainment area under EPA’s standards, widening interstates isn’t an option. And while 41-million dollars sounds expensive, Oaks says, it’s a lot cheaper than widening roads at 10-million dollars per mile, per lane.

The project is expected to be complete in 2010.