The New Tyne Crossing, constructed under the River Tyne, connects North and South Tyneside and thus makes this a popular route.
In fact, more than 45,000 motorists use the crossing on a daily basis so Axis Communications’ network cameras were specified to monitor the flow of traffic through the tunnels, approach roads and toll booths.
Peter Houlis, the managing director of 2020 Vision Technology (the company that installed the system), said: “As the tunnels are confined spaces with restricted light conditions we needed to come up with an innovative approach to provide real-time visual intelligence and post-incident analysis.”
He added: “The safety of anyone passing through the tunnels is of prime importance. That being the case, when specifying the cameras the ability to share and access video images quickly is essential if an incident needs to be examined and dealt with immediately.”
As far as Houlis is concerned, Axis Communications “offered an all-round technical solution” involving high-performing video surveillance with “excellent” image quality.
Traffic incident management system
2020 Vision Technology deployed the Axis Communications network cameras and also hosts the recording system which feeds images taken from the cameras to the tunnel’s traffic incident management system.
This system then alerts the tunnel’s staff when an incident such as a crash, breakdown or a fire occurs.
Phil Doyle, regional director for northern Europe at Axis Communications, explained: “IP surveillance is playing a vital role in keeping motorists using transport infrastructure moving as well as safeguarding them against incidents. The flexibility of, and accessibility to images means the system adds real value to those whose job it is to monitor the tunnels and keep congestion to a minimum.”
For this project, 2020 Vision Technology deployed 102 fixed Axis P1343 network cameras in the tunnel and additional cameras to monitor the approach roads and toll booths.
