Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) has built an intelligent traffic systems centre to meet the needs of Dubai’s rapid urban growth and the infrastructure expansion required for Expo 2020.

It will also support current and future transport systems, and was built at a cost of AED590mn.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president and prime minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, inaugurated the centre, considered to be one of the biggest and most sophisticated traffic control centres worldwide in terms of smart technology use and the management of traffic systems.

Sheikh Mohammed unveiled a memorial to mark the official opening of the centre and watched a film on the improvement and expansion of intelligent traffic systems aimed at supporting the government’s drive to transform Dubai into the smartest city in the world.

The centre, which employs smart technologies and software to ease mobility across Dubai, expands the coverage of intelligent traffic systems from 11% to 60% of the roads network in the emirate. The facility will improve the time for detection of road incidents and prediction of congestions, and facilitate a speedy response to them.

A hub for managing traffic movement across the emirate, the technology platform uses artificial intelligence, big data, IoT and communication systems. It connects with numerous devices for monitoring traffic, capturing data and running other smart services. Through intelligent traffic systems, it has the ability to monitor and manage current and future roads network all over Dubai.

Systems connect Dubai’s traffic control system with field devices, providing integrated technology for collecting and analysing big data, besides supporting instant decisions for the management of traffic movement and mega-events such as Expo 2020.

His Excellency Mattar Mohammed Al Tayer, director-general of RTA, held a briefing about the expansion and improvement of the intelligent traffic systems project. The centre is fitted with the iTraffic traffic control systems enhanced with artificial intelligence as well as big data analysis and decision-making support tools.

It also facilitates the management of traffic movement and links the Dubai neighbourhood, integrating with the enterprise command and control centre. A total of 60 emiratis have been qualified and deployed to manage and operate the system after completing specialist training courses in all systems, processes and technologies as well as maintenance and system support procedures

Al Tayer outlined the highlights of five key projects that include the revamping and installation of 112 dynamic message signs to display instant information to motorists about situations in road networks such as congestion and traffic incidents. The signs also transmit important messages and guidance relating to traffic safety to enhance the efficiency of traffic movement. They are placed at selected areas of the network and in the vicinity of places where big events, such as Expo 2020, are held.

Systems installed included 116 traffic monitoring cameras that raised the total number of such cameras to 245. In addition, 100 incident-monitoring and vehicle tracking devices were installed, increasing the total number of these devices to 235. The project works also included the installation of 115 devices for computing travel time and average speed, and 17 road weather information systems.

Power lines and a fibre optic communication network extending 660km were added to link site devices with central systems. This brings the total length of the fibre optic network to 820km. The project also included upgrading the software of the central traffic system to support decision-making and generate automated response plans. The central system integrates with the field devices, analyses incoming information and activates appropriate plans.

The facilities of the centre include equipment such as mega screens and user-friendly control systems for operators and engineers of the intelligent traffic systems. The facility also includes a centre for managing and monitoring traffic movement processes equipped with giant display monitors as well as specialist rooms for technology devices and emergency traffic movements. It has offices for the engineering teams concerned with the management, improvement and support of systems.

Technologies used in the centre include artificial intelligence, IoT, big data, information analysis, decision-making support tools and an asset management system. The centre is fitted with technologies for predicting traffic congestion and traffic control systems at intersections.

The briefing included the integration and linking of RTA’s traffic surveillance cameras and Dubai Police traffic cameras, which will improve the effectiveness of traffic management in Dubai, specifically during large events or emergencies. His Highness witnessed a live demonstration of a traffic incident management process to assess the speed of arrival of patrols at site, incident handling and vehicle clearance to restore normal traffic flow.

The RTA-Dubai Police joint traffic incident management project, which was implemented in 2018, was trialled on the Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road and Expo Road over a sector extending 72km. It featured the rapid deployment of 11 clearance vehicles and six vehicles to manage traffic movement and vehicle clearance following light or medium traffic incidents or vehicle breakdowns on roads. The project contributes to improving traffic safety and vehicular flow and reducing the overall time required to manage and safeguard incident sites.

Al Tayer said the project contributed to reducing traffic fatalities by 42%, increasing the traffic flow on the Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road by 5.5%, and achieving a public satisfaction rating of 99%. He also said that, over eight months, the project handled 12,906 traffic cases including 5071 traffic incidents at a rate of 633 incidents per month. The project also achieved high scores on performance indicators for incident response time and incident clearance rate.

The road and bridge projects RTA has accomplished at Jebel Ali extend 119km, built at a cost of AED4.6bn. These projects are intended to serve Expo 2020, Jebel Ali Industrial Area, Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority, Dubai Investment Park, International Media Production Zone and Al Maktoum International Airport.

Expo 2020 in Dubai, originally due to start in October this year, will now start in October 2021.

The projects also included transforming Al Houdh Roundabout on Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road into a flyover enabling free traffic movement in all directions. The project works included improvements of roads extending 26.6km, which will enhance the capacity of the junction to 57,000 vehicles per hour. Improvements conducted for the seventh interchange on Sheikh Zayed Road, Al Yalayes Road as well as the extension of First Al Khail and Al Asayel Roads saw the construction of roads and bridges extending 18.5km that facilitate an increase in intake to 29,000 vehicles per hour. Works also included upgrading Jafza bridge on Sheikh Zayed Road through the construction of flyovers extending 2.5km with a capacity of 6000 vehicles per hour.

The project, featuring improvement of the roads network in the areas surrounding the Expo site over a sector spanning 71km, involved the construction of bridges extending 13.4km and tunnels stretching 450m. The overall capacity of the flyover has increased from 10,000 to 69,000 vehicles per hour.

The improvement of the roads network leading to the Expo site included upgrading several intersections such as Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed-Expo Roads along with entry points to the site of Expo from Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road. Works covered the intersections of Expo and Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan Al Nahyan Roads; the Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan Al Nahyan Road at DIP with Al Yalayes and Expo Roads, and the Emirates and Expo Roads, apart from the construction of new roads and improvement of existing ones.

Al Tayer said RTA would continue to pursue the application of technologies such as blockchain, paperless transactions, big data, artificial intelligence, self-driving transport and the IoT. The briefing also touched on key future projects set to enhance the role of the emirate in the transportation industry such as the Smarter Vehicle, Quicker Response project, preparation of the infrastructure of autonomous and connected vehicles, and future smart mobility projects up to 2071.

Al Tayer concluded by pointing out that the projects accomplished by RTA contributed to reducing the traffic congestions index in Dubai to 1.21 in 2019, placing it ahead of cities such as Paris, London and Singapore. Meanwhile, road fatalities in the emirate plummeted to 2.3 cases per 100,000 of the population in 2019, which ranked Dubai among the world’s best cities in traffic safety.