Skip to main content

Indra chooses Q-Free for North Carolina express lane project

NCDoT and NCTA are behind I-485 Express Lane Roadside Toll Collection System
By Adam Hill June 6, 2024 Read time: 1 min
Charlotte, North Carolina (© Serge Skiba | Dreamstime.com)

Indra has chosen Q-Free’s Intrada Synergy Server to process licence plate-based video toll transactions on a contract in North Carolina, US.

Indra is the toll system integrator of the I-485 Express Lane Roadside Toll Collection System (RTCS) project by the North Carolina Turnpike Authority (NCTA), which aims to improve travel time reliability and traffic flow in the Charlotte area.

It is part of a strategic initiative by North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDoT) and NCTA to develop an interconnected express lane network within critical transportation corridors.

Located along the Charlotte southern outer and inner loop between I-77 and US74, this segment of I-485 is regularly congested, with between 72,400 and 118,400 vehicles per day.

Indra is employing technologies including 3D Lidar and artificial intelligence to make the system work; Intrada Synergy Server uses advanced image-to-data conversion technologies and AI, and can process a diverse range of US licence plate styles.

"We are committed to delivering tangible benefits to toll agencies and road users alike," says Marco Sinnema, Q-Free VP of image review solutions. “By leveraging Q-Free's innovative technology, we aim to enhance operational efficiency, minimise revenue loss and ultimately improve the commuting experience for residents and visitors in the Charlotte area."

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • GridMatrix goes back to the future in New York City
    September 25, 2023
    Legacy traffic management infrastructure doesn’t have to be a marker of the past: software upgrades can bring it into the present in a cost-effective and timely way, says Gordon Feller
  • Meeting the challenges of smartcard fare payment
    July 4, 2012
    David Crawford monitors a growing trend in contactless smartcard ticketing The north east United States has become a hive of activity in the smart fare payment arena. In October 2011, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) published, as a preliminary to an imminent procurement process, the detailed concept of its New Fare Payment System (NFPS). Based on open payment industry standards, this is designed to be implemented on all MTA bus and subway services operated by New York City Transit (
  • Q-Free to upgrade largest free-flow tolling operation in Portugal
    September 4, 2020
    In a major coup for the company, Q-Free has announced it has been awarded a contract to upgrade nearly 100 free-flow tolling locations along 500km of four major highways in Northern Portugal. The network is the largest tolling operation of its kind in the country. The award underlines Q-Free’s long-standing ethos of strong on-going relationships and active support for its customers: the company designed the original installation between 2009 and 2011 and has maintained it ever since.
  • Kapsch upgrades North America ANPR engine
    February 27, 2025
    It will ID licence plates from 58 jurisdictions in US, Mexico and Canada