David J. Barton
Virginia’s Transportation Department has sent a notice of intent to award Serco Inc. a potential six-year $355 million contract to manage all five transportation operations facilities and safety service patrols in the state.
Gov. Bob McDonnell said the Commonwealth aims to use technology so it can address congestion, freight movement, incidents and weather-related incidents, according to a VDOT statement.
A transportation board is expected to hand down a decision on the award at its meeting next month.
If approved, Serco will monitor traffic across the state using cameras, electronic message signs and road sensors as well as manage incident and emergency response.
“The result is using technology to be the eyes, ears and voice of Virginia“™s road transportation system, so we can go into immediate action to prevent accidents, clear incidents, make our roads safer, and immediately inform motorists so they can reach their destinations faster,” said Transportation Secretary Sean T. Connaughton.
The contractor will also help the state reduce travel times by providing real-time information to motorists.
Serco would provide monitoring traffic through the use of nearly 900 cameras, 500 electronic message signs and more than 1,000 road sensors.
