The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has selected Serco to operate the state’s five transportation operations centres and manage the Safety Service Patrol, under a six-year contract worth $355m.

This latest project will operate all five transportation operation centres, including managing the Safety Service Patrol, under one consolidated system.

The deal will be evaluated by Commonwealth Transportation Board’s, which will make a decision at its June meeting on whether to award the contract.

Governor Robert McDonnell said that Virginia is among the top state departments of transportation in providing real-time traffic information to travellers, and is planning to build on that status.

"The deal will be evaluated by Commonwealth Transportation Board’s, which will make a decision at its June meeting on whether to award the contract."

"We will use technology more effectively to better manage congestion, freight movement, incidents, severe weather related incidents and traveller information. This is another example of utilising smart, creative solutions that harness cutting-edge innovations to improve the quality of life of Virginians," McDonnell said.

The new project is expected continuously modernise the system, providing greater consistency and efficiency of service in every aspect of the operations.

Among the services included are traffic monitoring with the help of nearly 900 cameras, 500 electronic message signs and over 1,000 road sensors, improving and maintaining the reliability of electronic devices, and managing incident and emergency response.

Other services under the new project include dispatch of Safety Service Patrol and maintenance crews to respond to incident, the reduction of travel times, managing HOV / reversible lanes, offering real-time information to emergency responders, offering emergency operations centres during major events and coordinating signal systems.

VDOT’s five transportation operations centres are located in Northern Virginia, Richmond, Hampton Roads, Salem and Staunton.