Last month, another 73 cameras went up, bringing the total to 273.

These unobtrusive grey objects are mounted on traffic lights and lamp posts at or near major traffic junctions.

Through these 'J-eyes', or Junction-eyes, a crew at LTA's Intelligent Transport Systems Centre in River Valley Road watches traffic conditions 24-7.

An alert is sent out to the appropriate authorities whenever there is trouble on the roads.

The centre's deputy director Quek Song Kim said: 'For example, if there is an accident, the Traffic Police are called in or if, for instance, there is a fallen tree branch, the National Parks Board is called in.'

In December, a motorcyclist travelling one morning along Cairnhill Road skidded and had a bad fall, he recalled.

The entire scene had unfolded before the eyes of the LTA officers manning the J-eyes.

The Traffic Police were alerted and traffic light timings adjusted to contain any traffic congestion along the road.

The cameras, which can pan 360 degrees horizontally and tilt up and down with a maximum zoom of 22times, can pick up an image 300m away.

First installed in 2002, J-eyes have helped the authorities respond quickly to incidents and keep traffic moving smoothly. This is why the Land Transport Review report in January recommended that more be added.

Without them, officers would have to be dispatched to the scene to check on incidents or wait for alerts from the public.

The cameras also allow updated information on traffic conditions to be sent to radio stations for broadcast.

The new cameras have been put up at junctions along Commonwealth Avenue, Queensway, Stamford Road, Bencoolen Street and Fort Canning Road, among others.

J-eyes are just part of a network of systems used by the LTA to help keep traffic moving smoothly. The job of weaving them together fell to ST Electronics (Info-Comm Systems).

The company won the most innovative partner prize for technology during the LTA's inaugural Land Transport Excellence Awards yesterday.

To encourage more such collaborations with local and overseas partners, Transport Minister Raymond Lim said that the LTA is launching a $50 million Land Transport Innovation Fund.

For more details on the fund, visit LTA's website at www. lta.gov.sg/ltif/index.htm

mariaa@sph.com.sg