PHOENIX — When fans are making their way along Loop 101 to the NFL's Super Bowl in Glendale on Sunday, the Arizona Department of Transportation will use upgraded technology to help keep drivers informed while the agency tracks traffic conditions on the primary freeway route to University of Phoenix Stadium.

ADOT met a goal of completing installation of the equipment, including new overhead message signs and more than 20 closed-circuit TV cameras, ahead of the Super Bowl. Testing of the Freeway Management System equipment along Loop 101 between Interstate 17 and Interstate 10 in the West Valley wrapped up in late December.

The upgrades mean operators in ADOT's Traffic Operations Center in Phoenix are now able to better track traffic conditions along the 22-mile-stretch of the Loop 101 Agua Fria Freeway. This weekend, information will be posted on nine new overhead electronic signs. ADOT also will be able to provide freeway information to emergency crews and local communities.

Travelers also can check on freeway conditions, including camera images, from home or their workplace by visiting ADOT's 5-1-1 travel-information system at az511.gov.  ADOT also posts traffic updates on Twitter (@ArizonaDOT).

Prior to the $6.4 million project, there were only four overhead message boards and 13 closed-circuit cameras used to check traffic conditions along Loop 101 in the West Valley. 

Crews added the nine message boards above the freeway, as well as 21 new high-definition digital cameras, while replacing the 13 older cameras. More than 400 sensors were embedded in the freeway's pavement to track the flow of traffic.

The project, which started in March 2014, also required the use of 44,000 feet of fiber optic cable.

Traffic-management technology has actually been used along Phoenix-area freeways for more than two decades.

While the improved traffic-management technology along Loop 101 in the West Valley was not installed just for the Super Bowl, ADOT worked with the city of Glendale and the Maricopa Association of Governments to advance the project's construction schedule to complete the work in time for the big game.

The Loop 101 technology had its first major test, and worked well, on New Year's Eve afternoon when the Fiesta Bowl game between the University of Arizona and Boise State University was being played at University of Phoenix Stadium.

As part of the Loop 101 project, more than 25 ramp meter traffic signals also were installed along on-ramps to help provide room for traffic merging on and off the freeway during weekday morning and afternoon rush hours. 

PHOENIX —The latest upgrade to the Arizona 511 system has gone live, providing a more real-time view of traffic conditions with 10-second updates to camera images online. Through www.az511.gov, drivers can see traffic from 180 cameras throughout the Valley.

The new digital system completes the final phase of a $2.1 million federally funded project that also included an overhaul of the Arizona Department of Transportation Traffic Operations Center. The Traffic Operations Center is the high-tech communication center that dispatches ADOT crews to highway incidents, coordinates with other first responders, and helps safely move motorists around the state and avoid congestion.

Previously, the cameras refreshed online only once every five minutes.

Traffic cameras are used to quickly identify incidents so traffic can be redirected, provide first responders with fast, accurate information, and allow commuters to make more informed decisions on their routes. The cameras are not used for enforcement of traffic laws, and the images are not recorded by ADOT.

ADOT’s first traffic cameras went up along Interstate 10 in 1990. Today, there are more than 200 cameras monitoring the freeways in Phoenix and Tucson. New cameras are continually added. The next cameras to go online will be on the Loop 202 (Red Mountain Freeway), east of Loop 101.

Road Weather Information System cameras help monitor road and weather conditions in rural Arizona. Limited technology in these remote areas prevents these cameras from being part of the latest digital update, but new cameras have been added to this system to provide drivers with a statewide view of roadway conditions in key locations like Flagstaff and north of Payson.

“Now, the system will help give users a much better, accurate story,” said Darrell Bingham, an information technology manager who led the project. “The benefit to drivers will be more information when they need it the most to avoid congestion and make informed decisions during their commute.”

The www.az511.gov website is Arizona’s portion of the national 511 Travel Information Alert System. Traffic updates are available at www.az511.gov or by dialing 5-1-1 from any phone in Arizona.