PANAMA CITY -- The miles of subterraneous fiber optic cable crisscrossing Bay County has helped land a traffic honor.
The county’s Traffic Engineering Department was recently recognized for “excellence” in its Intelligent Transportation System with the John W. Barr District 10 Transportation Achievement Award, according to a county news release.
The county system coordinates traffic lights, which decreases travel time; it also allows the county to remotely manage and mitigate traffic jams.
“We’re honored to receive the award. What I especially like about this one is that it’s not an individual award, but it’s for the entire traffic engineering team and reflects all the hard work they all put into the project,” said Keith Bryant, county traffic engineering manager.
The county has 134 traffic signals tied into the system, 80 cameras at intersections and 70 miles of underground fiber optic cable.
“Staff has observed a 20 percent reduction in travel times during a.m. and p.m. travel hours,” Bryant said. “This is a significant improvement, because it helps move people faster but also reduces emissions and the need to construct new roads.”