The high-tech SmartWay camera system that gives motorists real-time traffic information is getting a huge overhaul in Hamilton County.
But motorists will have to endure scattered outages in the 63-camera system before benefiting from the second phase of a $21 million upgrade.
Things won't be back to normal until fall, said Tennessee Department of Transportation spokeswoman Jennifer Flynn.
Last week, more than one-third of the SmartWay cameras that let motorists see live views of the highways on their computers weren't functioning.
"It's kind of a bummer," said Antonio Salter, of Antioch, Tenn., who commutes through Chattanooga twice a week. "If the traffic is backed up, I can get around it by looking on my iPhone. But now it's really hit and miss."
TDOT officials said they have installed 96 miles of fiber-optic lines throughout Hamilton County to provide faster views and better-quality images. The cameras are used only for observation, not to catch speeders, officials said.
It's linking the fiber-optic lines that will take many of the cameras out of service, TDOT officials said. The fiber optics replace analog phone lines, which were slower, provided less-detailed images and were prone to scattered outages.
The upgraded system comes as TDOT opens a state-of-the-art Transportation Management Center at Enterprise South industrial park across from the Volkswagen assembly plant.
"With this new system, we are using the full capability of the video camera," said Bob VanHorn, manager of the Transportation Management Center. "We'll also have some additional cameras."
On top of the cameras and the fiber-optic connections, the $21 million also will provide 16 display signs that will update motorists about traffic jams, fog and delays. A radio network will provide traffic information, and roadway traffic sensors will track traffic counts and average road speeds.
The signs also can carry emergency messages, such as Amber Alerts for abducted children or bulletins to watch out for wanted criminal suspects, VanHorn said.
The alert signs have been extended into Marion and Bradley counties and on Interstates 24 and 75 into Georgia. Most of the SmartWay improvements will be confined to I-75 and I-24 and Tennessee Highway 29 and Highway 153, Flynn said.
The pricey SmartWay program was funded back in 2000 when legislators approved a $145 million "Smart Highway" initiative statewide.
The idea, leaders said back then, was that installing cameras that track road delays and congestion could reduce the need to add travel lanes.