Bringing fibre back to the Macdonald Bridge
The completion of a five-year effort that gives Halifax Harbour Bridges the opportunity to take advantage of the best security and tolling technologies available was marked with the simple switching of a traffic arrow light on the Macdonald Bridge.
“The Big Lift cut the fibre optic connection along the Macdonald Bridge. We’ve made things work with wi-fi and cellular modems since then, but we are all hard-wired again,” says David Greenfield, who was recently promoted from Manager of IT &Tolling to Chief Information Officer.
If the effort was simply about splicing together the broken pieces of glass fibre, it could have been accomplished years ago, but it also would have left the bridge struggling with decade-old technology.
Instead, the IT team designed an entirely new, purpose-built system that included the replacement of the entire fibre network, and the upgrading of key switches to accommodate the next generation of security cameras, weather stations, lighting, and in the future, internet of things (IoT) devices.
“Technology has changed in the last decade. Without the new fibre, we’d never be able to tackle the next generation of tolling that is on the horizon,” adds Greenfield. “The change really set us up to grow.”
It will also give his team more time to focus on that future rather than having to climb gantries to reset traffic systems when a connection is lost.
“A wi-fi and cellular systems are way more finicky, but when you lose a network connection and directional lighting ceases to function, you don’t have many options but climb and reset. And it always seems to happen in the middle of the night or the heart of a storm.”
With the changes in place, he expects the number of required after hour calls to drop from twice a week to once a year.
“That’s huge.”
The part that makes the network overhaul “that much sweeter’ is that it was done in-house. Contractors may have installed the actual fibre, some of the switches and new cabinets, but it was the five years of planning, design, and set up by the talented and dedicated staff in the IT & tolling office that made this a reality.”