PRISMATIC VMS |
Poland is transforming its road systems, with thousands of kilometers
of new routes already opened or planned for the future
Words | Hans-Ivar Olsson, Triplesign, Sweden
Above: Triplesign
Prismatic variable
message signs
inform motorists
of closures and
diversions on
Poland’s newly
expanded road
network
In 2019, around 490km of new
routes will appear in Poland
on highway A1 and expressways
S5, S6 and S17. However, nearly
1,426km of new road is still in the
pipeline. Poland’s road construction
plan, which started in 2014 and is
due for completion in 2023, will
result in almost 3,300km of new
highways and expressways, as
well as 35 ring roads.
Triplesign has been a key supplier
of Prismatic VMS (variable message
signs) to the Poland road construction
project, with more than 70 delivered
to date. The consignment ranges from
relatively small signs measuring
2.5m x 3m to large directional signs
with a width of more than eight
meters and a height of more than
four meters.
118 Intertraffic World | Annual Showcase 2020
Sign implementation
Triplesign Prismatic VMS systems
are designed for use on main roads
to replace old-fashioned road signs
and signposts. The new signs display
information about closures on main
carriageways and slip roads, and are
typically stationed at the junctions
that control merging traffic.
When the VMS signs are not
activated they are either blank or
they contain standard information.
When required, the boards present
details of the relevant detours.
Changes to the content of the VMS
displays happen immediately after
receiving control commands from
the traffic management center.
The low power consumption
of the Triplesign VMS has made
it possible to introduce standalone
installations that use solar power.
In fact, no electricity is required to
display messages on the sign – a big
advantage over a LED VMS, which
requires a constant supply of power.
Triplesign has also been integrated
into an intelligent weight pre-selection
system to combat the problem of
overloaded trucks in a simple and
effective way. This allows overweight
vehicles to be removed from the road
while the system obtains information
on the vehicle’s movements, speeds
and loads. When activated, the
system directs heavy traffic to the
right-hand lane with a reduced speed
limit. This makes it easier for law
enforcement officers to pull trucks
aside for vehicle inspection.
These installations were
implemented by ITS companies
such as Cat Traffic and GZD, while
local Triplesign distributor Look-
SYS coordinated the projects from
evaluation to completion. Specialists
from Look-SYS were responsible for
choosing the right product to meet the
requirements of each customer and
integrating the Triplesign controller
software with the traffic management
system, as well as configuration at
the installation site, testing and
customer support.
Sign the way