West Midlands unifies traffic control systems

The unified platform is aimed at relieving congestion in the West Midlands area

West Midlands Urban Traffic Control (UTC) has signed a £26.6m third-party programme management deal as part of an effort to reduce congestion in its coverage area.

The five-year contract with supplier Telent is intended to manage traffic flow, cut journey times and improve air quality by reducing stationary and stop-start traffic.

The scheme will connect regional UTC centres with traffic systems operated by the police, the Highways Agency and public transport operators for the first time.

Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton will be covered by the initiative, which will help local authorities meet the requirements of the Traffic Management Act 2004.

Unifying the region's traffic control systems on one platform will also enable identification of traffic hot spots, improve the efficiency of traffic signals by delivering more traffic information and enable the introduction of intelligent transport services and enhancement of the local bus network through selective vehicle priority.

"This is a complex project, both organisationally and technically, so it was important to the delivery of the project that we chose the best project managers," said Trevor Errington, lead officer for the West Midlands metropolitan authorities.

Communications technologies, including intelligent transport systems, such as above-ground detection devices, environmental monitoring and CCTV enhancements, will be used to deliver the unified platform.

New network designs using interoperable urban traffic management control equipment will also be deployed to maximise lifecycle cost benefits.