New Video Wall Keeps a High-Tech Eye on Bay Area Traffic

The largest LED video installation on the West Coast can’t be found in a sports stadium or an art gallery – in fact, most people have never seen it.

The video wall at the Traffic Management Center (TMC) may be unknown to the motoring public, but it plays an integral role in maintaining the safe and efficient operation of the Bay Area freeway network.

With the help of MTC funding, the video wall underwent a significant upgrade earlier this summer as part of the Freeway Performance Initiative Program, identified in MTC’s 2009Transportation 2035 Plan as one of the most cost-effective strategies for improving mobility and reducing emissions.

Housed at Caltrans District 4 offices in downtown Oakland, the wall in its new configuration consists of 35 state-of-the-art 50-inch RGB LED panels, each streaming real-time video of key interchanges and freeway segments in the Bay Area.

Caltrans engineers and maintenance specialists monitor the wall 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to help clear incidents, coordinate construction activity and keep drivers informed of delays and travel times, working in concert with the California Highway Patrol. The wall receives data on traffic flows from hundreds of cameras and thousands of roadway sensors buried in freeway pavement.

In line with recommendations from a consultant report commissioned by MTC, Caltrans made several improvements to the wall, chief among them the use of LED technology. Significant improvements in reliability, image quality and life expectancy played a key role in the decision to upgrade from lamp technology. Rated at 60,000 hours, the LEDs will last at least six years with 24/7 operation, as opposed to nine months with the previous video wall.

The video wall and monitoring stations are the centerpiece of the Traffic Management Center, which also includes an Emergency Operations Center, equipment rooms, the offices of MTC's 511.org traveler information system and a visitor area.

The cost of the wall upgrade was $899,000, consisting of roughly 88 percent federal CMAQ (Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement program) funding directed by MTC and 11.47 percent from the MTC-run Service Authority for Freeways and Expressways, which is funded in part by a surcharge on motor vehicle registration fees. 

— Craig Raphael