'Intelligent' digital traffic signs coming to I-565, I-65

Sep. 23—Ten traffic cameras and three electronic signs will be coming to Interstate 565 this fall, according to the Alabama Department of Transportation.

The $5.2 million "intelligent transportation system project" is already underway on I-565 from Mooresville Road in Limestone County to U.S. 72 in Huntsville, according to ALDOT. It will add 10 traffic cameras, three dynamic message systems and two weather stations for monitoring conditions and aiding traffic flow on the corridor, ALDOT said.

The project started in July with the installation of poles for the cameras and message boards, ALDOT said. It is set for completion in the fall.

Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, has been pushing for the signs for some time to help Morgan County and Limestone County commuters to Madison County.

"I appreciate ALDOT finally getting this traffic management system in place," Orr said. "I have been arguing for years that it was an insult for the largest city in the state, Huntsville, not to have a system that the other metropolitan area have had in place for years." — Interstate 65

Hoping to make traveling on Interstate 65 near Decatur easier, ALDOT is accepting bids Friday on two intelligent electronic signs. The signs won't be operational for at least a year, however, an official said.

Seth Burkett, north Alabama public information officer for ALDOT, said the I-65 project will provide traveler information, weather and traffic alerts on two dynamic messaging signs.

One will be installed on the northbound roadway ahead of Exit 340 and the other on the southbound roadway ahead of Exit 347, he said. The project will also add 11 traffic cameras — four between exits 334 and 340, three between exits 340 and 347, one between exits 347 and 351 and three between exits 351 and 354, he said.

"They will be positioned to provide as much coverage as possible for gaps in our existing camera network," Burkett said. "This project will greatly improve our camera coverage on the busiest segments of I-65 in Morgan and Limestone counties."

Seven radar vehicle-detection systems for traffic congestion monitoring will also be added, as well as two roadway weather-monitoring stations, he said.

The project will install 15,000 feet of fiber-optic cable, and 14 wireless radio units to cover parts of the project without fiber-optic cable, he said.

"The project is about to be bid, and bids are estimated in the range of about $3 million to about $3.7 million," Burkett said. "There is not going to be a provision for procurement time, but we are probably looking at more than a year and a half for construction once the project starts."