Cameras, Special Signs Coming to I-95

Motorists driving through the Seacoast area on Interstate 95 will soon notice several improvements that the state hopes will reduce traffic congestion, as well as improve incident response and work zone safety.

The New Hampshire Department of Transportation announced earlier this week that crews will soon install electronic message signs and closed circuit cameras along Interstate 95, between the Massachusetts and Maine state lines.

The I-95 Advanced Traffic Management System project, which also includes a strip of the Spaulding Turnpike from Exit 1 through Exit 16, involves the installation of strategically located "Intelligent Transportation System" devices along a 39-mile corridor that will be controlled by the Traffic Management Center in Concord, according to NHDOT.

Also included within the project area are field locations along Route 101 and Route 4.

A total of three "Dynamic Message Signs" will be installed along the I-95 corridor. Each sign is eight feet tall and 26 feet wide, and they will be mounted on overhead sign structures and used to convey important electronic traffic messages.

Twenty-four closed circuit television cameras are being installed at strategic traffic locations along both the I-95 and the Spaulding Turnpike corridors. The cameras will be mounted on tall steel poles ranging in height from 65 to 90 feet, according to the state.

The entire system will be connected via a point-to-point microwave radio communications system. The communication equipment will be installed either on independent steel poles or it will be located on the same poles as the closed circuit cameras.

Transcore of New York City is the general contractor and designer for the $5.1 million design-build project. The electronic message signs and cameras are expected to be operational in early 2012.