A digital project at the forefront of cutting delays on the road network has slashed wait times by 50% at some of the North East’s congestion hot spots. The Tees Valley FUSION project, using Yunex Traffic FUSION Technology, has been operating across 57 co-ordinated sites and 196 traffic signals across the region.

More results from the project backed by the Combined Authority have now been revealed – with 5,000 travel hours saved in total over a year at six monitored sites where the system has been used.

The system’s predictive real-time technology adjusts traffic lights to live conditions to automatically make the network more efficient and reduce delays.

Its results over a year equated to more than 200 days, or six-and-a-half months, of time saved for Tees Valley motorists.

This included:

• 575 travel hours of waiting time cut near Hart Lane, Hartlepool
• 255 hours saved near Ayresome Street, Middlesbrough
• 2,780 hours saved at the A174 Parkway Junction, Thornaby Road
• 365 hours saved near York Road, Hartlepool
• 715 hours saved near Norton Road, Stockton
• 300 hours saved near the South Stockton Bypass A135/A66 junction, Stockton

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said:

“By using new technology to tackle congestion head-on, we’re cutting journey times, easing frustration for drivers and helping people get where they need to be quicker. These are real, measurable results – the equivalent of more than six months of waiting time wiped away. It shows how we’re using innovation to build a transport network that works better for motorists across Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool.”

The TVCA has invested more than £2m in both FUSION and the Tees Valley Digital Twin projects which are using technology to make our road system more efficient.

Delivery of the projects has involved close collaboration between the Combined Authority, the Urban Traffic Management and Control Centre and local authority partners.

Steve Harker, TVCA cabinet member for transport and infrastructure, and leader of Darlington Borough Council, added:

“These results show how we are already harnessing technology to improve our road network.

“By working closely with our local authority partners we’re making better use of the infrastructure we already have – and adding to it to help us keep traffic moving more efficiently to deliver benefits to everyone on our roads across the Tees Valley.”

(Picture: Yunex Traffic)