Hurricane Preparedness - Florida's Turnpike

Explosive Growth in Intelligent Transportation System Turnpike Operations Center's Groundbreaking “South Wing”
A Vehicle Detection System (VDS) device installed on the pole, monitors traffi c speed, volume and density.
Spaced every half mile along the Turnpike, there are currently over 600 VDS devices in service.
Florida's Turnpike has come a long way
since the 2001 installation of nine Highway
Advisory Radio (HAR) transmitters and
beacons. In fact, the Traffic Management
Center (TMC) staff, and in particular, those
working on the Intelligent Transportation
System, have put Florida’s Turnpike on the
leading edge of the transportation industry.
The Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) is a
blending of electronic devices administered by
Traffic Management Center staff, which will
result in better management of traffic. However,
this investment in technology and staff is really
about the Turnpike’s customers, their safety, and
the enhanced value they receive when traveling
on Florida's Turnpike system.
Ultimately, this system will allow the Traffic
Management staff to notify customers in a timely
manner about traffic conditions, such as fog,
thunderstorms and accidents, that could have a
direct impact on them. When Turnpike travelers
have information about traffic conditions, they in
turn will have the ability to make better decisions
about their travel routes.
During the past seven years, Turnpike staff have
been overseeing the installation of a multi-pronged
Intelligent Transportation System comprised of:
• More than 400 miles of fiber-optic cable
• Over 300 closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras
• More than 600 Vehicle Detection System (VDS)
devices, which collect average speeds,
traffic volumes and density of traffic, ultimately
a total of 1,000 VDS devices to
be installed
• 28 overhead dynamic message signs (DMS),
with approximately 45 more planned
• 45 arterial road electronic message boards
planned; the first group currently being installed
near entrances to the Sawgrass Expressway
• 10 HAR transmitters that broadcast the 1640
AM radio alerts, with more being installed
this year
• The four independent 511 Traffic Update phone
systems soon be integrated into one system
• The text message alert program for SunPass
customers will be launched by the end of 2008
Along with the explosive growth in the
Intelligent Transportation System came the
increase in staff at the Traffic Management
Center. In 2001, the single TMC was staffed by
two operators and one manager, from 8 a.m.
to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Today, two
management centers operate 24/7 and are
staffed by a total of 66 individuals.
Trained staff in the two centers harness the
information and data provided by the system,
analyze it, and then release it in the form of
traffic alerts posted on message boards, aired on
the radio and recorded in the 511 phone system.
When the vehicle detection system devices
are up and running, they will notify the
TMC of a problem area and staff will select
the appropriate camera to zoom in on the
situation. Once operational, the (VDS) devices
will be a valuable tool to help shorten time
lapse between the detection of a traffic
condition and the release of an alert.
Access to 300 closed-circuit TV cameras,
providing real-time conditions, also allow staff
to manage their response to incidents in
a more timely and efficient manner. Road
Rangers can be expedited to aid customers
that need assistance or to pick-up hazardous
debris. FHP and emergency services personnel
can be quickly dispatched to accidents. Tow
trucks can be promptly radioed to clear travel
lanes of disabled vehicles.
It is documented in numerous studies that over
500 million hours per year are wasted in traffic
jams in Florida alone. Once the installation
is completed, the Intelligent Transportation
System's aim is to reduce the time Turnpike
customers wait in traffic, and in some cases,
will help them avoid the delay completely.
The Intelligent Transportation System is a
testament to Florida's Turnpike Enterprise’s
commitment to its mission: meeting growing
transportation needs, ensuring value to
customers, protecting investors and managing
the Turnpike System in a business-like manner.
In attendance for the groundbreaking ceremony (left to right) Manager Traffi c and Revenue Audit Center Robert Harmon,
former Deputy Executive Director Chris Warren, Executive Director Jim Ely, Sunny SunPass, South Broward Regional Tolls
Manager Richard Arce, North Broward Regional Tolls Manager Reno Abbadini, and Deputy Executive Director Jennifer Olson.
On March 27 employees from the Turnpike
Operations Center, the Broward Regional
Toll Offices and the Tolls Audit Group,
joined the Turnpike's Executive Director
Jim Ely, as they broke ground for the new
“South Wing Turnpike Operations Building”.
Area motorists approaching the entrance
ramps to the Sawgrass Expressway (Toll
869) in Broward County will soon be able
to decide in an instant whether to enter
the expressway or use an alternate route
thanks to a “Smart Highways” project
scheduled for completion later this fall.
Construction began in June and is projected
to be completed in about a year and a half.
The “Turnpike Operations South Wing” will add an
additional 25,000 square feet to the operations
campus and an additional 103 parking spaces. The
cost of the new building is about $8.4 million.
As part of this particular project,
electronic, dynamic message signs
(DMS) are being installed on nine
cross streets with interchanges
at the Sawgrass Expressway,
from Sunrise Boulevard (Exit 1) to
Lyons Road (Exit 19), to advise
drivers about traffic incidents
and conditions on the expressway,
such as detour routes,
lane and road closures, special
event traffic, construction, route
diversion and weather alerts. Most
importantly, the signs will provide
crucial information in the event of a
hurricane evacuation or other emergency.
The signs on the cross streets are similar
to those already in place on the Sawgrass
Expressway and Florida’s Turnpike, but they are
much smaller, measuring 8 ft. wide by 4 ft. high,
the size of a standard sheet of plywood. They are
mounted on concrete poles similar to the light
The new building will create much needed space
for operations and will bring Tolls Offices out of
rented space in Boca Raton. A covered hall will
connect the existing building to the south wing.
It will also house our new Traffic Management
Center, Traffic Revenue Audit Center and the two
regional tolls offices.
After the ceremony, attendees were welcome to
take photos with SunnySunPass, enjoy cake and
camaraderie while making their mark on the mock
Turnpike roadway sign which will be hung to commemorate
the special day.
Sawgrass Expressway's “Smart Highways” Project
Recently installed arterial road dynamic message sign
Jeff Shweky from the Turnpike Roadway Maintenance
Department autographs the commemorative sign.
poles already in place along the right-hand lanes
at the various cross streets.
Now that sign installation is complete, a testing
period will begin. It is anticipated the signs will
be fully functional sometime in late summer.
The $3.6 million project also includes the
installation of a road weather information
system, a travel time system, a speed monitoring
system and an additional DMS on the Sawgrass
Expressway. All these systems are interconnected
by fiber-optic cable (and in some instances by
wireless). They communicate with the Traffic
Management Center located at the Turnpike
Operations Center in Pompano Beach, where
operators monitor roadway conditions, and
program the DMSs and traffic devices.
Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise (FTE) plans to install
DMSs on many interchanges on its system of
roadways. However, the Sawgrass Expressway
is the only FTE roadway to have these devices
on all its interchange cross streets.
Construction Projects Update
Lantana Toll Plaza in Palm Beach County (Right)
The recently completed $6.3 million project at the Lantana
Toll Plaza included the partial conversion of the plaza to
open-road tolling.
Okeechobee Toll Plaza in Miami-Dade County
Orange County Turnpike Widening (Left)
Workers prepare to install a soundwall panel near
the Turkey Lake Service Plaza (Milepost 263).
The soundwall installation is part of the $128.6 million
widening of the Turnpike between Interstate 4
and SR 408.
The project is scheduled for completion in 2010.
In May, construction crews erected the SunPass signature gantry for southbound traffic at the Turnpike’s
Okeechobee Toll Plaza in Miami-Dade County. The open-road tolling project, which includes the construction
of a new interchange at Northwest 74th Street, should be completed by the end of 2009.
Editorial Staff
Pike’s Peek is published quarterly by
the Public Information Office of Florida’s
Turnpike Enterprise. Comments can be
directed to:
turnpike.pio@dot.state.fl.us
Kimberlee Poulton
Director, Communications and Marketing
Chad Huff
Editor
Laila A. Haddad
Sonyha Rodriguez-Miller
Associate Editors
Christa Deason
Joanne B. Hurley
Nichole L. Kalil
Contributors
Turnpike Public Information
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