OLD CABLES, NEW TECHNOLOGY - 'IT'S GETTING BETTER'



November 26, 2009
By Minesh Bhagaloo

What is it about robots and their severe allergy towards rain? Last week's run of storms in Gauteng left a daily toll of traffic chaos, with the absence of working robots a specifically sore point.

Surely these simple devices, made up of lights, timer switches and cabling, should be suitably waterproofed to take on the weather gods?

And, besides the obvious delay and frustration, traffic lights being out pose other risks, such as accidents and smash-'n-grab opportunities.

"There are various reasons why traffic signals go out when it rains," says Advocate T Makhubela from the Johannesburg Road Agency. "Among others, it is due to power outages, vehicle accidents, lightning strikes and old cabling with cracked insulation that lets water in to cause short circuits."

Makhubela said there was a drive on to replace old cables.

A senior employee at a JRA depot, who asked not to be named, said Johannesburg's infrastructure was one of the oldest in the country, not to mention one of the biggest. With age, the older cables have deteriorated, and rain damaged unprotected conductors.

The problem was made worse by cable theft and underground work by big construction companies.

There is, however, a green light at the end of the tunnel. The Bus Rapid Transport system project has meant traffic lights at many junctions have had to be replaced or recapbled.

Most major intersections are also now monitored for breakdowns by a GPRS system; breakdowns should be fixed faster.

Maintenance to older networks, I was told, is ongoing. We've been assured that, contrary to popular belief, rain-based robot complaints are fewer vthan before and that the maintenance process is a short-term sacrifice in terms of the bigger picture.

But the real answer may also lie in alternative energy.

According to the JRA website, it has started a plan for traffic lights to use less energy through the removal of morethan 2000 traffic lights from the Eskom electricity grid to alternative energy sources with a saving of about R50-million over five years - but,more importantly, may also mean reliable robots.

JRA's Ops Manager, Sipho Nhlapo explained: "As part of monitoring the pilot project, we saw the recent rains led to a number of normal traffic lights experiencing faults and power outages. Those with uninterruptible power supply batteries and solar panels kept right on working."

BRIGHTER LED ARRAYS

400 junctions across Johannesburg have been identified and audited as pilot sites and 60 UPS installations on the Bus Rapid Transit routes have been completed. Five sets of lights on test include Grayston Drive in Sandton, M1 South and North, De Korte and Rissik streets in the city centre, corner of Rivonia/Grayston roads in Sandton as well as Sloane and William Nicol streets.

Another element of the Total Energy Solutions Project involves the installation of LED lights at more than 350junctions to save energy and renewal costs - they're also brighter.

Other solutions used as part of the project include solar or wind power and fuel cells. "Most importantly, there will be better traffic flow," Nhlapo. said

So, hang in there, things can only get better.

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