Motorists with a penchant for flouting speed limits on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway are in for a rude awakening. By mid-October, the deployment of 430 cutting-edge cameras at 106 strategic locations will culminate, marking a significant milestone in the implementation of the Intelligent Traffic Management System (ITMS) project led by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC).
Sanjay Yadav, the Joint Managing Director of MSRDC, elaborated on the initiative, saying, “We have already commenced the process of installing gantries along the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. Our objective is to finalize the setup of 430 state-of-the-art CCTV cameras at 106 critical locations by mid-October. These advanced cameras will be interconnected via optical fiber to a central control room. The ITMS will play a pivotal role in recording various traffic violations, encompassing overspeeding, reckless driving, wrong-way maneuvers, unauthorized halts, lane deviations, and driving against the designated flow of traffic, among others.”
Notably, this project operates on the Built Operate and Transfer (BOT) model. MSRDC will enlist the services of officials from the transport and police departments on deputation to oversee the project and penalize offenders. According to MSRDC officials, the extensive network of high-tech CCTV cameras, including night vision cameras, will make it exceedingly difficult for drivers to surpass speed limits on the expressway.
The Highway Traffic Management System (HTMS) in Mumbai will address a spectrum of violations through the HTMS system, including speeding infractions, illegal stoppages, unauthorized entries, wrong-way driving, lane indiscipline, mobile phone use, seat belt negligence, disregard for pedestrian crossings, vehicles lacking tail lights and reflectors, unauthorized fancy number plates, overloaded vehicles, and two-wheelers venturing into restricted areas.
Moreover, the system will integrate a spot and average speed detection system at 39 locations, a lane discipline violation detection system at 34 sites, weigh-in-motion systems for commercial vehicles at all expressway entry points, an automatic vehicle counter and classifier at all toll booths, automatic number plate recognition cameras with violation detection capabilities at all toll booths for penalty enforcement, additional CCTV cameras for general surveillance, wrong-way entry detection at 130 locations, variable messaging signs at an additional 23 spots, weather monitoring systems at 11 sites, mobile surveillance vans (comprising four surveillance vans equipped with displays, cameras, etc., on all emergency vehicles, including towing vans, ambulances, cranes, etc.), and a vehicle tracking system (approximately 36 units).
Furthermore, a centralized command and control center will be established in Lonavala, complemented by other viewing centers. All camera feeds will be accessible online for authorized personnel. Provisions for citizen interaction and violation penalty collection will be included, featuring a mobile-responsive website, kiosks at multiple locations, variable message signs, and SMS notifications for registered mobile numbers linked to the Vahan system. Violation challans will be generated promptly and validated by officials, with all supporting evidence (photos, videos, etc.) appended to the violation and transmitted to the respective vehicle owner.
