Vandalism and power outages are the JRA’s biggest concerns‚ particularly as these are both beyond the entity's control‚ the entity said in a statement on Thursday.Eskom board lauds utility for keeping lights onThe JRA said its staff strive to repair 90% of faulty traffic signals within 24 hours but faults due to power outages take longer to fix - on average 171 hours - because they require the involvement of the relevant power entities to restore power.Eskom picks nuke sitesWhile extended power failures continue to present JRA with its greatest challenge‚ the use of Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) units at traffic signals is proving an effective hedge against short power outages. In 2013‚ all 200 traffic signal UPS units were stolen‚ however these are now being replaced and protected by relatively impenetrable innovative casings‚ known affectionately as the "Titanic".Mpho Kau‚ the Acting Managing Director of the JRA‚ said vandalism and theft had on traffic signals alone amounted to R12.7 million over three years.The JRA is increasingly turning to stronger counter-measures to apprehend criminals. CCTV cameras and remote sensors‚ that can detect tampering with poles or equipment‚ have been installed and alarms are sent to alert armed security to apprehend the thieves. And an Infrastructure Protection Unit has been set up within the JRA to escalate responses‚ Kau said.In conjunction with this initiative‚ aluminium alloy cables with less street value - due to less copper content - are being used at traffic signals to make them less attractive to thieves."The combination of these measures is having a positive effect but the reduced quality of these cables has introduced random flashing signal faults. JRA’s traffic signal technicians are in the process of modifying the jointing process where cab tyres are being installed‚" the agency said.Kau said wet weather had become less of an issue in the city.This was because the JRA has recently completed two projects aimed at protecting the 3‚6 million electronic traffic signal components installed on the streets under harsh weather and traffic accident conditions‚ from flashing in the rain.“Over the past three years‚ R28 million has been spent replacing aging controller equipment and R40 million replacing old lead encased cables‚ making Joburg’s traffic signals less prone to faults in wet weather. Deployment of innovative earthing mats is also under way to protect traffic signals in areas most susceptible to lightning.”The JRA noted that Johannesburg has by far the largest City road network (13‚428km) in the country with a proportionate 2‚135 number of traffic light intersections to keep the City’s 1.669 million licensed vehicle owners and other road users mobile.Kau said: “The JRA is keenly aware of the impact of faulty traffic lights on the flow of traffic and the resultant impact on competitiveness and productivity‚ especially during peak hours. In addition‚ the current construction on the M1 freeway is pushing more vehicles onto Joburg’s suburban and inner city roads and the need for working traffic lights continues to grow.”"Our aim is to reduce congestion and stimulate economic growth by picking up traffic signal faults earlier and improving our response and repair times. To this end‚ remote monitoring systems are being installed at intersections to detect faults and alert the JRA’s Traffic Operations Centre for repairs. A team of skilled technicians work day and night to fix defective signals and get the traffic flowing normally at intersections.”Johannesburg Traffic Signals by the Numbers: 2‚135 – the number of signalled traffic intersections in the City; 3.6-million – the number of electrical components connected to traffic lights within the network that can cause faults; 32 (R380‚000) – the average number (cost) of traffic lights vandalised each month; 81 (R500‚000) – the average number (cost) of traffic lights damaged by vehicle accidents each month; R2‚500 – the average monthly maintenance budget allocated by the JRA (per traffic signal)...