The Urban Superway in South Australia opened in 2014, with more than 60,000 vehicles utilising it every day. The Urban Superway is a 4.8km non-stop corridor featuring a 2.8km elevated roadway, extending from the Port River Expressway to Regency Road.
The Department for Infrastructure and Transport (DIT) identified a need to upgrade their existing Video Incident Detection (VID) camera system – used to manage incidents along the roadway – along with the surrounding Intelligent Transport System (ITS) infrastructure, which was poorly documented and had varying cable pathways.
The project required delivery within a tight timeline and was safely completed in an operational road environment with minimal disruption to traffic and systems.
SAGE Automation was awarded the project by DIT to upgrade their VID cameras to a more advanced Thermal Incident Detection (TIDS) camera system on the Superway to reduce false alarms and enhance incident management. Additionally, SAGE was tasked with upgrading the existing ITS infrastructure to ensure a future-proof solution.
The project scope required the replacement of 60 VID cameras with TIDS cameras, the installation of 13 new Pan Tilt Zoom (PTZ) cameras, and upgrading the existing infrastructure to support future upgrades.
New TIDS and PTZ cameras overlook the Urban Superway as part of the ITS upgrade.
The initial ITS design of the original project was completed in 2011, when VID cameras were the leading technology of the time.
Incident detection technology has developed since, and new FLIR TIDS technology has become more advanced and reliable for incident detection. The new TIDS camera system has a reduction in false alarms and is in-use on all new North-South Corridor Managed Motorway Projects.
The Urban Superway now has a future-proofed incident detection system in place, enabling a faster response in the event of an incident. SAGE delivered the project within 10 months from quote to completion.
Reducing false alarms reduces the fatigue of operators who must respond. The technological improvements and fine-tuning configuration functionality of TIDS cameras versus VID cameras enables TMC to monitor additional incident types. The incident detection system now reports detections
of fallen objects and inverse travel.
Expanded network infrastructure and segregated cameras network opens the opportunity for expansion and substitution of ageing ITS technology without compromising the effort already undertaken.
Safety in design
All devices are extra-low voltage, and most of the network equipment is accessible via the viaduct versus the elevated motorway. This ensures maintenance can occur without closing lanes or the entire road without compromising the safety of maintenance personnel.
Physical limitations of conduit routes and technical limitations of CAT6 ethernet cables have meant that some equipment has been mounted in poles. However, by initiating a managed media converter solution, maintenance and network administrators can now interrogate the camera and remote power cycle before heading to site.
The Urban Superway ITS solution enhances safety for maintenance workers.
Seamless Integration
60 TIDS cameras were upgraded while the road and system remained live, maintaining the integrity of the detection system. All works delivered under live traffic conditions were performed outside of peak times, with the majority of the work completed at night.
Installation works were broken into two phases to ensure traffic disruption was minimised:
1. Cable hauling, and
2. Camera swap out.
All new camera equipment was installed in new enclosures to segregate the upgraded infrastructure from the old, enabling the installation works to continue without the need to isolate critical equipment.
Additionally, minimised effort in rolling back ensured the Traffic Management Centre (TMC) maintained control of the road and reduced the amount of new equipment by giving flexibility to optimise equipment location.
SAGE Automation is Australia’s leading independent industrial automation and control systems integrator, offering end-to-end project delivery, specialist advanced manufacturing services and maintenance services to support clients across a range of industries.
SAGE Automation acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.
© 2024 SAGE Automation. All rights reserved.
