Low cost upgrade for established Traffic Monitoring Systems to support real-time

In compliance with federal requirements, many states heavily invest in establishing Traffic Monitoring Systems (TMS). A number of automatic vehicle counting and weigh-in-motion sites have been deployed to collect on-demand traffic information including, among others, vehicle volume, weight, and classification. Some TMS are also equipped with weather stations and road-surface probes. This paper presents an inexpensive design that when integrated with an established TMS provides access to real-time traffic and weather information (i.e., minimal supplemental expense provides a significant return on investment). Design, interface, and applications are discussed. The authors provide test results of a system developed for the Oklahoma Department of Transportation to achieve real-time traffic information reporting and weather and road condition monitoring.