Boston's New Intelligent Transportation System

"Called the Integrated Project Control System, or IPCS, the Central Artery's electronic monitoring mechanism will constitute the nation's largest, most sophisticated, and most expensive system, allowing highway operators and engineers to respond in real-time to collisions, car fires, and traffic jams, with plenty of help from computers that will do much of the thinking for them... Beneath the pavement, 1,500 magnetic ''loop detectors'' will monitor the progress of each vehicle passing above to gauge traffic flow, determine if a car has suddenly stopped or dramatically slowed - which could mean there has been an accident - and provide traffic counts to aid in planning."

Thanks to Chris Steins