It’s going to be really hard to speed on the Mumbai-Pune Exressway soon!

The state-of-the-art cameras will be interconnected through optical fibre to a central control room File Pic/Sameer Markande

Bad news awaits those who tend to exceed speed limits on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. By mid-October, the installation of 430 advanced cameras at 106 locations will conclude, marking a significant step in the implementation of the Intelligent Traffic Management System (ITMS) project spearheaded by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC).

Sanjay Yadav, the joint managing director of MSRDC, explained, "We've already initiated the process of erecting gantries along the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. Our goal is to complete the installation of 430 cutting-edge CCTV cameras at 106 key spots by mid-October. These state-of-the-art cameras will be interconnected through optical fibre to a central control room. The ITMS will serve to document various traffic violations, including excessive speeding, reckless driving, wrong-way driving, motorway stops, lane changes, and driving in the wrong lane, among others."

Gantry crane being installed on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway

It's worth noting that this project follows the Built Operate and Transfer (BOT) model. MSRDC will bring in officials from the transport and police department on deputation to supervise the project and penalise offenders. MSRDC officials informed mid-day that the extensive network of high-tech CCTV cameras, including night vision cameras, will make it exceedingly challenging for motorists to exceed speed limits on the expressway.

The Highway Traffic Management System in Mumbai will enforce various violations through the HTMS system, including excessive speeding, illegal stoppages, wrong entries (no entry), wrong-way driving, lane discipline violations, mobile phone use, seat belt non-compliance, pedestrian crossings, vehicles without tail lights and reflectors, unauthorised fancy number plates, overloaded vehicles, and two-wheelers in restricted areas.

Also read: Mumbai: Juhu police nab conman posing as UP govt official

Furthermore, the system will feature a spot and average speed detection system at 39 locations, a lane discipline violation detection system at 34 locations, weigh-in-motion systems for commercial vehicles at all entry points to the expressway, an automatic vehicle counter and classifier at all toll booths, automatic number plate recognition with violation detection cameras at all toll booths for penalty collection, additional CCTV cameras for general surveillance, wrong way entry detection at 130 locations, variable messaging signs at an additional 23 locations, weather monitoring systems at 11 locations, mobile surveillance vans (comprising four surveillance vans with displays, cameras, etc., on all emergency vehicles including towing vans, ambulances, cranes, etc.), and a vehicle tracking system (approximately 36 units).

Additionally, a command and control centre will be established in Lonavala, along with other viewing centres. All feeds will be accessible online for officials. There will also be provisions for citizen interaction and violation penalty collection, including a mobile-responsive website, kiosks at multiple locations, variable message signs, and SMS notifications in case mobile numbers are linked to the Vahan system. Violation challans will be generated immediately and validated by officials, with all evidence (photos, videos, etc.) attached to the violation and sent to the vehicle owner.

130
No of spots that have wrong-way detectors