Econolite Systems was selected to design, develop, furnish, install, integrate, and test an automated reversible gate operation system as part of the HOT Lane project

Houston METRO employed TransCore as the prime contractor for their High Occupancy Toll (HOT) Lanes program in May 2010. As part of the system, TransCore was to automate the existing barrier-separated reversible lane system along major Houston freeways with dominant inbound and outbound travel patterns.

TransCore selected Econolite Systems to design, develop, furnish, install, integrate, and test an automated reversible gate operation (ARGO) system as part of their HOT Lane project. TransCore chose Econolite because of the power and functionality of the Centracs ATMS platform. To meet the specific requirements of the automated gate operation, Econolite developed custom software for Centracs as well as Econolite’s ASC/3-2070 program to provide the gate operation functionality. The Centracs ARGO system provides the ability to monitor, control, schedule, and verify operation of the reversible lane devices. A typical directional entrance consists of several devices opening or closing in a programmed sequence. Devices include the signs, gates, barriers, and cameras that monitor and control access to the HOT Lanes.

Centracs eliminates the need for manually- operated gates at the entry points of reversible lanes, and allows operators to remotely control the entrance elements from a central location as well as view the current status of the components and observer traffic flow. In addition to the system- reported status, the system includes the Centracs advanced CCTV module, which provides management of up to 200 digital IP cameras. The CCTV module is integrated with the ARGO capability to support automatic camera selection, positioning, and recording in response to alarms from the field.