OSCOELA COUNTY, Fla. — More than $3 billion to fix traffic congestion is on the way to Osceola County.
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One of the big projects in the works is fixing a chronically backed-up stretch of I-4 between ChampionsGate and Osceola Parkway.
However, a new Florida Department of Transportation grant is allowing transportation leaders to zero in on intersections with artificial intelligence.
When most people think of artificial intelligence, they may think of ChatGPT or online bots.
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Some may get a bit worried, but intelligence leaders want people to change their perspective and think about safety and security as well.
AI is now playing a role in traffic control in Osceola County.
Osceola County Chairwoman Viviana Janer made the announcement at this year’s “State of the County” address.
“Thanks to a grant from FDOT, the county is working on the deployment of artificial intelligence bots that will monitor 9 intersections in the county specifically for safety improvements,” Janer said.
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AI technology will be up and running at these nine intersections:
• Hwy 17 & S Poinciana Boulevard
• I-4 east ramp and CR-532
• John Young Parkway and West Donegan Avenue
• U.S. 192 and Black Lake Road
• U.S. 192 and Entry Point Boulevard
• U.S. 192 and Formosa Gardens Boulevard
• U.S. 192 and John Young Parkway
• U.S. 192 and N Hoagland Boulevard
• U.S. 192 and North Old Lake Wilson Road
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The technology will be used to flag wrong-way drivers, close calls, illegal pedestrian crossings, vehicle counts and more.
“We are also working to deploy a cloud-based traffic monitoring system that utilizes data from cars to provide information about the signalized intersections and the waiting time for each lane before the signal changes,” Janer said.
That technology is currently deployed at 41 intersections across the county all to alleviate congestion and improve safety.
“The data collected helps the county traffic management center quickly identify and remediate problem areas as they occur and enables monitoring to determine whether changes are working as intended,” Janer said.
If the technology shows strong results, county leaders said they will expand the AI to more intersections.
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