Skip to main content

Upgrade for Minnesota’s tolling system data integration

Following the US Department of Transportation’s Urban Partnership Agreement’s award to Minnesota DOT of the necessary funds to improve traffic flow on I-35W to and from downtown Minneapolis, Comtrol's DeviceMaster RTS 1-port was implemented to provide an Ethernet connection between all the toll tag readers along the I-35W corridor. The project consisted of retrofitting existing high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes with technology that would enable single-occupant vehicles to use the HOV lanes. The toll lan
May 31, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Following the 324 US Department of Transportation’s Urban Partnership Agreement’s award to Minnesota DOT of the necessary funds to improve traffic flow on I-35W to and from downtown Minneapolis, Comtrol's DeviceMaster RTS 1-port was implemented to provide an Ethernet connection between all the toll tag readers along the I-35W corridor.

The project consisted of retrofitting existing high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes with technology that would enable single-occupant vehicles to use the HOV lanes. The toll lane had to be dynamically priced, meaning the toll rate would increase as traffic on the main lanes increased, allowing vehicles travelling in the high-occupancy toll (HOT) lane to maintain a speed of 55mph at all times no matter how congested the main lanes were, while an RFID toll tag in the vehicle registers the toll charge. Comtrol’s DeviceMaster gathers the serial information from each toll tag reader and transmits it via Ethernet to the main control.

Related Content

  • Rapid growth makes Texas an incubator for tolling innovation
    September 8, 2014
    As the IBTTA’s annual meeting and exhibition heads for Austin, Mitchell Beer, president of Smarter Shift, considers the role of Texas in the development of tolling strategies and technology. The State of Texas has always prided itself on being ‘larger than life’. From the sprawling geography of the state itself with its wide open skies, to its entrepreneurial ‘get-it-done’ attitude, Texas exudes an impatient restlessness that pushes businesses and public agencies to deliver faster, better results. More ofte
  • Comprehensive communications combats tolling resistance
    May 19, 2017
    Toll road operator must provide clear, comprehensive and consistent communications to user groups and the local community long before the facility opens. When new tolled highway infrastructure is about to go into service, the construction, management and finance specialists who brought it into being are about ready for a well-deserved celebration. But for the communications and outreach team responsible for building public support for the project – for bringing drivers to the road, and keeping partners and
  • Rating agency Standard and Poor Tolling sees a bright future for tolling
    September 6, 2017
    Few disruptions appear on the horizon for global toll road operators, with the US poised to become a better bet for major investment, according to ratings agency Standard and Poor’s (S&P’s) Global Ratings’ 2017 report, which rates toll road operators according to their ability to raise capital. The outlook is generally stable for business conditions and credit quality for toll roads worldwide. One positive exception is the US where the overall outlook is ‘positive’ as S&P expects traffic growth to increase
  • Do satellites provide a heavenly view of tolling’s future?
    December 16, 2014
    Satellite-based tolling opens up new options for authorities and can be integrated with DSRC systems as David Crawford discovers. As the proud custodian of the European Union (EU)’s longest road network covered by a single (truck) charging scheme – and the only one to include all major roads - Slovakia has become the continent’s poster-nation for the virtues of GNSS/CN (Global Navigation Satellite System/Cellular Network)-based tolling. It is also proved to be a very fast implementer. Speaking at the 2014 I