Skip to main content

Simulation Systems wins England traffic signal management upgrade

Highways England has awarded a contract to deliver a central traffic signal control and management system for south-east England to Simulation Systems Limited (SSL) Central to the contract, for England’s motorway and major A-roads, will be a Siemens Stratos system which is designed to be the UK’s first cloud-hosted, fully integrated traffic control and management solution. The project will also include Hosted-SCOOT, a real time UTC and adaptive traffic control system. It is already used to manage and
June 21, 2016 Read time: 3 mins
A single hosted solution for south-east England
Highways England has awarded a contract to deliver a central traffic signal control and management system for south-east England to Simulation Systems Limited (SSL)

Central to the contract, for England’s motorway and major A-roads, will be a 1134 Siemens Stratos system which is designed to be the UK’s first cloud-hosted, fully integrated traffic control and management solution.

The project will also include Hosted-SCOOT, a real time UTC and adaptive traffic control system. It is already used to manage and co-ordinate traffic control for 76 UK authorities, including the control of many 8100 Highways England junctions.

The Siemens Stratos system will replace the existing UTC control system for London’s orbital motorway, the M25. It will bring the control of sites in central southern England and the south-east under the control of the new system. There will be expansion capacity for other regional areas.

Gary Cox, product sales manager for Simulation Systems urban systems area, said the functionality offered by PC SCOOT has been migrated into Stratos to offer the module known as Hosted-SCOOT. “This allows UTC and SCOOT-controlled junctions to be quickly migrated to Stratos control where the sites already have UG405 outstations and IP communications in place,” he said.

SSL, based near Bristol in south-west England, has already started delivery of a traffic signals module to Highways England. When linked to the latest generation of IP outstations, it will offer on a single platform the functionality of two previously offered but separate systems.

This provides Highways England with a single hosted solution for both real-time control and monitoring. The hosted system will be accessed through secure internet-based connections providing the flexibility to operate the system from many locations by many operators.

SSL said that older sites can be easily upgraded by means of installing new UG405-compliant outstations and moving to IP communications. This can be done by either upgrading the existing analogue leased line to broadband or by providing easily deployed 3G technology.

A planned move to IP communications as part of this project implementation will allow Highways England to avoid any potential interruptions to future control as a result of withdrawing any analogue communication lines over the next few years. SSL said that Highways England has already made significant progress on this, noted SSL managing director Louis Thompson.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Trimble's ruggedised tablet for site use
    May 15, 2019
    Trimble is now offering its T7 Tablet, a rugged, lightweight and versatile device for construction surveying applications. The unit features the Trimble Siteworks Software for construction surveying, allowing it to provide real-time data to visualise cut/fill levels, calculate material volumes, check grade and communicate work orders. This can allow users to to improve productivity and decision-making. Scott Crozier, general manager for Trimble’s Civil Engineering and Construction Division said, “Surveyors
  • Temporary ProLight solar lighting illuminates the UK’s A14 upgrade
    January 9, 2019
    The A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon improvement scheme has become the first UK project to use temporary solar - instead of diesel - lighting. The A14 is the UK’s biggest road construction project with a budget of nearly US$2 billion to upgrade 34km of trunk road between Cambridge and Huntingdon with completion set for December 2020. The A14 Integrated Delivery Team, working on behalf of project client Highways England, is the largest user in the country of year-round temporary solar trailer-transported lights.
  • Weigh in motion systems aid overweight vehicle detection
    July 12, 2012
    Modern weighing equipment helps road operators tackle the costly business of road damage caused by overloaded trucks as Patrick Smith reports. Overloading of commercial vehicles has a major impact on the life expectancy of road networks. The cost of premature road failure and repairs is a major burden on many governments particularly in developing countries where this problem diverts vital funding that could otherwise be spent on health and education.
  • VIDEO: Dualling of UK’s A1 approved, finally
    June 10, 2024
    Costain was appointed main contractor in 2021 and expected to start on the project in mid-2022.