Advancing Highways with Communication Solutions

Overview

Cost-effective ways to address growing demands on highway infrastructure.

Highway authorities worldwide are facing rapid growth in the number of passenger vehicles, combined with constraints on budgets and available space for new roads. To leverage available resources, transportation agencies are turning to Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), which use data networks to streamline highway operations. These applications offer an array of benefits, including reduced traffic congestion, better services at lower cost and decreased emissions. But successful deployment of ITS requires the right communication solution — selected to meet specific needs for reliability, scalability, interoperability with existing systems and easy management. As an experienced partner in ITS deployments, Alcatel-Lucent offers an overview of key issues to consider when implementing a communications network for ITS applications - along with case studies illustrating their financial benefits.

The projected increase in global population is poised to create a significant mobility challenge in the decades ahead. Even with increases in telecommuting and use of public transportation, the number of vehicles on the world's roads is expected to more than double by 2030. Addressing this problem solely by constructing new roads and new lanes is too costly an option.

Improved traffic management will be part of the solution, and it is already being realised today thanks to advances in communications technology. Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) integrate sophisticated communication networks into the highway infrastructure. ITS applications offer the benefits of reduced traffic congestion, increased highway efficiency, and lower levels of greenhouse gas emissions. A concerted multinational effort among public and private transportation stakeholders has helped make ITS a reality. Governments, organisations and industry continue to work to add functionality to ITS applications, facilitate their integration, and set standards for their adoption and use.

This paper examines two ITS case studies in detail: electronic toll collection (ETC) and dynamic message signs (DMS). ETC allows highway operators and toll companies to collect revenues and increase traffic throughput with fewer lanes and personnel. This application is a superior method for tolling companies to collect revenues and can also complement other highway pricing models, such as peak traffic pricing. DMS greatly enhance traffic operations, providing greater operational efficiency, increasing throughput, and making roads safer for travellers, road workers and emergency responders. This paper presents quantifiable benefits for both technologies, including the business case for the highway agency and operator as well as financial and soft benefits for motorists and the public.

These technologies and other ITS applications require communications technology solutions that must be carefully evaluated by owners and operators of transportation systems. ITS are part of the transportation infrastructure, so they must have the same levels of dependability and delivery as the highways themselves. This paper describes specific communication hardware and system issues that a road operator should address for any new ITS investments. The system and its components must be interoperable on open communication platforms. The communication network must be scalable, expandable for new technologies, and feature high reliability and availability. New systems must easily integrate with legacy systems and future systems alike. And systems must be easy to operate and manage without additional personnel.

Alcatel-Lucent is an expert in addressing these key issues. Alcatel-Lucent has served as a partner in numerous ITS field deployments, providing communication technology and network solutions. The Alcatel-Lucent Integrated Communications for Highways suite of products includes the hardware, software and management tools to deliver robust, effective and cost-efficient ITS deployments.