CHALLENGE
The City of Lloydminster is located on the provincial border separating Saskatchewan and Alberta, Canada. Incorporated by both provinces as a single municipality, the City is managed by one municipal administration. The City is one of the most heavily traveled areas in western Canada. The two main corridors are Highway 16, i.e., Yellowhead Highway, which serves east-west traffic; and Highway 17, which is the north-south route that follows the AB/SK provincial border. During weekday commutes, the intersection of Highways 16 and Highway 17 can see upwards of 30,000 vehicles, including freight vehicles. The congestion and the resulting traffic backup during peak hours extended in all four directions with motorists’ frustrations being heard by the City.
ECONOLITE SOLUTION
An Econolite customer since 2002, the City turned to Econolite for a Centracs ATMS- Autoscope upgrades in 2020 to leverage the signal performance measures and adaptive signal control capabilities of Centracs SPM and Edaptive along Highway 16 between 40 Ave. and 80 Ave. (nearly six kilometers and 12 signalized intersections). After implementing Centracs SPM and Edaptive, the City Engineering Services team Identified a better than one-minute average travel time improvement in both directions along Highway 16 during peak commute hours. Impressed by the Highway 16 improvement, the City deployed Centracs SPM and Edaptive on Highway 17 between 12 St. and 52 St. (nearly four kilometers and 8 signalized intersections). The City traffic operations immediately Identified an average one-minute travel time improvement in both north and south directions during peak commute hours. As more traffic data is collected and more intersections are added, the City expects travel times and roadway efficiencies to improve.
