As part of its obligations under an agreement with the Lithuanian Road Administration under the Ministry of Transport and Communications (LAKD), FIMA last year expanded the technical infrastructure used for analysing national road conditions by installing more than 200 sensors and cameras to record traffic flows. The new installations provide more efficiency and detail when it comes to analysing traffic density, identifying types of vehicles and monitoring the state of roads as well as ensuring that road maintenance services are mobilised faster and providing comprehensive updates for drivers and the public.
Over the course of the year, FIMA installed a total of 126 video cameras and 50 traffic density meters at 161 points on national roads on behalf of LAKD.
“Traffic density meters analyse traffic flow, categorise vehicles by type and measure their speed. While video cameras are designed for monitoring the state of the road – whether it is wet, covered with snow, rutted, etc. These cameras are programmed to take photos of the road section being monitored at about 15-minute intervals,” FIMA’s project manager, Marius Babachinas, said.
The new installations have complemented the National Roads Traffic Information System which FIMA and its partners developed back in 2010-2011 to collect information on roads and their condition and which LAKD has been expanding. In addition to the video cameras and traffic density meters, the system includes state-of-the-art weather stations. Data recorded by all these systems is automatically transferred over a mobile GSM network to the Traffic Information Centre set up by LAKD to control the entire system. Relevant information about the situation on the roads is displayed on a high-tech video wall. LAKD professionals monitor and analyse this information regularly and are able to provide immediate traffic and weather updates both to road maintenance services and travellers.
“Knowing the actual road situation enables road maintenance services to start work in time, plan and control road infrastructure operations in a better way, determine the useful life of the road, monitor and respond to road accidents and identify other important aspects. Meanwhile drivers and other travellers have the opportunity to prepare for weather conditions on the road and, if the road is blocked after an accident or there is a congestion, to adjust their itineraries or postpone their trips,” Mr Babachinas said.
Regularly updated traffic information for drivers and passengers is available in real time on the website of the LAKD Traffic Information Centre at www.eismoinfo.lt. A special application enables drivers to work out the fastest route to their destination, warns them about traffic restrictions and congestion and helps them to plan alternative routes. The traffic information system is also accessible via a mobile phone or tablet.
Modernisation of the nation’s transport infrastructure, which includes the traffic information system, is one of the country’s priorities and is co-funded by the state and the EU. According to Mr Babachinas, as transport flows continue to grow while advanced mobile technologies open up more information exchange opportunities, in the future traffic monitoring systems will increase in number and the system that provides updates on traffic conditions will be further developed.
