Week 4 - Smart Signaling Costs and Contractors

To understand the costs that are associated with signals, knowing the different types of smart signals and adaptive controls, we now need to see which will work best within Fremont to serve the city’s needs. The intersection that I will be basing this off of will be the intersection of two major arterial roads, Mowry & Fremont Blvd, that is the most congested intersection in the city based on data collected by the company INRIX.

Classification: The intersection is a classical suburban arterial which means that there is fluctuating pedestrian volumes throughout the day. And it usually experiences high volumes of vehicular traffic, especially during peak commuting hours. The traffic flow can vary significantly depending on the time of day, with morning and evening rush hours being the busiest. It has three lanes of straight-bound traffic with two lanes of left turning traffic then including the three lanes of straight traffic going the opposite direction it brings each side of the intersection to eight lanes. The intersection is surrounded by many commercial developments such as hospitals, shopping centers, and grocery stores. Only a few hundred feet further is suburban style housing, it also is right next to a Fremont highschool and the Fremont downtown center.

Potential Companies:

• Western Systems (for Signal Cabinets)
• CT West (for Traffic Signal Controllers
• Iteris, Inc. (for Vehicle Video Detection System)
• CT West (for Intersection Safety Analytics System)
• Western Systems (for Smart Street Lighting Control System)
• CT West (for Advanced Traffic Management System and Adaptive Traffic Signal Control systems)
• Econolite (for Traffic Signal Performance Measure System)
• Econolite (for Connected Vehicle Communication System)
• ORIUX (for Traffic Counters and Classifiers)
• ORIUX (for Traffic Monitors)

Bear Electrical Solutions, Inc. is also an experienced contractor that has previously completed a number of traffic signal modernization and fiber optic installation projects in Fremont

Installing a smart signal on just one intersection can cost anywhere from $150,000 to $250,000 in California, this estimate is based on projects done in Fremont and San Diego as well as a report by the FHWA. And everything in our capacity should be done to reduce this figure.

Above was a list of some of the possible companies that Fremont can contract, as well as subcontractors from which they can obtain equipment. One of the major issues that delays construction projects is having a large supply chain with too many subcontractors, that each have their own profit margins to meet and different manufacturing processes. By adding another player in the supply chain you add more complexity and scopes of work, leading to more effort taken in communicating between various contractors to build the final product.

Strategies to mitigate these challenges:

• Tiered Subcontracting: Consider using a tiered subcontracting approach where a smaller number of primary subcontractors manage their own teams of specialized subcontractors. This can help streamline communication and quality control.
• Collaborative Planning: Implement collaborative planning techniques where all stakeholders are involved in planning the project schedule and identifying potential bottlenecks early on.
• Contract Agreements: Creating stronger and more defined contract agreements in case of bad quality or mishandling.

Based on the Request for Information data the improvements for signaling on the Fremont Boulevard corridor cost more than 6 million dollars! Now that’s a lot, but just procuring all the equipment from multiple subcontractors took up half of that budget ($3,524,158). That is why it is necessary for Fremont to work towards procuring for future projects and to store it on-hand, getting hopefully a better deal with a large supply call.

Next week I will start working on a traffic simulation software to implement all that I have learnt in terms of signaling up to this point. This means the blog will change from a more informational based to one of showing progress and talking about the difficulties or successes I will deal with.

Thanks!