North Texas roads can be very busy and at times very dangerous.
To keep drivers safe and traffic flowing, the North Texas Tollway Authority has a new safety operations center in Plano that opened December 6.
The NTTA monitors more than 1,800 cameras statewide across 959 miles of toll roads to keep tabs on what's going on.
The new center has 21 72-inch video monitors, which can subdivide to view 189 cameras simultaneously.
The center can determine if an accident has happened and dispatch the proper resources.
Their safety teams do everything from change tires, jump start vehicles and offer gas to stranded drivers, all at no cost.
"We have content analysis that can help find cars and vehicles, stranded or stalled or that don’t belong where they are,’ said NTTA System and Incident Management Director Eric Hemphill.
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Besides crashes, the cameras are also used to keep drivers aware of dangerous and sometimes deadly weather conditions on roads.
"In here, we also keep track of pavement and bridge deck temperature sensors,” said Hemphill. “So we can look at those when they start to go down and it starts to get cold.”
Even debris and road hazards are monitored and pinpointed using the cameras.
"It helps the motorists, keeps traffic flowing and it helps people so they are not in an unsafe situation,” said Hemphill.
But the center doesn’t rely solely on monitor information. This facility, on average, takes over 3,700 phone calls a week.
"We don’t have 100 percent camera coverage, so we don’t see everything on the roadway and we do encourage you to call,” said Hemphill.
The NTTA also acts as a secondary 911 dispatch sending real time information to State Troopers heading to the scene and roadside assistance teams.
For assistance drivers can call Roadside Safety Services at 214-224-2203, printed on the back of TollTags.
