CATCH

The traffic management system in Oldenburg is ready

21 July 2021 - Published by Manon van de Riet
Increasingly frequent heavy rainfall in cities like Oldenburg stress the local sewer system and, in extreme cases, cause flooding. Therefore, a data driven traffic management system has been installed to re-route traffic in times of flooding.

The traffic management system aims to keep traffic out of a flooded area. To achieve this, traffic signs with changeable symbols have been installed at several locations. In addition, sensors have been installed in the sewer system at 2 different locations. These sensors will provide real-time data that is used to operate the changeable traffic signs. When a threshold is reached, the signs are automatically activated. Individual road users are warned and motorized traffic in particular is diverted to avoid the flooded street and take a different route. Simultaneously with the signal to the changeable traffic signs, a message is sent to the city of Oldenburg, the fire department, the police, rescue services, the public transportation provider and the control centre of the Oldenburg waste water treatment plant. As soon as the level falls below the threshold value, the traffic signs are automatically switched back, stopping the automatic rerouting of the traffic.

In the video CATCH: New traffic control system in the City of Oldenburg a nice visual overview of the traffic management solution that is implemented can be seen.