Over-height vehicle detection system implemented on New York City Parkways

A US$4.8 million over-height vehicle detection system has just been completed on two New York City parkways in a bid to minimise truck collisions, improve road safety and protect highway infrastructure. The infrared system identifies and alerts over-height vehicles illegally using the parkway to prevent the vehicles from striking low-clearance bridges, which are found on most parkways in New York. The system was installed at four locations on the Hutchinson River Parkway in the Bronx and one location on the
November 9, 2016 Read time: 2 mins

A US$4.8 million over-height vehicle detection system has just been completed on two New York City parkways in a bid to minimise truck collisions, improve road safety and protect highway infrastructure. The infrared system identifies and alerts over-height vehicles illegally using the parkway to prevent the vehicles from striking low-clearance bridges, which are found on most parkways in New York. The system was installed at four locations on the Hutchinson River Parkway in the Bronx and one location on the Grand Central Parkway in Queens.

The detection systems, developed by the 1780 New York State Department of Transportation, are part of the state’s latest effort to keep commercial vehicles off parkways and improve roadway safety across the State. Bridge strikes can result in serious accidents, significant traffic delays and damage to the bridges.

Using infrared beams, the detection system identifies an over-height vehicle illegally using a parkway, captures the vehicle’s movements on video and then posts an alert message for the driver on an electronic variable message sign, enabling the driver to leave the highway before encountering a bridge. The data and video are also sent to the Department of Transportation’s Joint Traffic Management Center so that police can assist in getting a truck safely off the roadway, or mobilise quickly if an accident occurs.

Large commercial trucks and tractor trailers are prohibited from entering parkways in New York because the roadways, built in the 1930s and 1940s, were designed for automobiles and have low bridge clearances, with some as low as seven feet.

The project has received a Platinum Award by the American Council of Engineering Companies, an organisation that honours excellence in the engineering field.

Detection, Monitoring & Machine Vision Air Quality & Weather Systems

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Urban tunnel replaces viaduct, improves safety
    October 10, 2012
    Earthquake sensors, automatic barriers and real time monitoring systems are all part of a scheme to make a major Seattle traffic artery safer, by taking it underground. Huw Williams reports. Seattle’s metropolitan area of 3.5 million people, like much of the western seaboard of the United States, lies in an earthquake zone. In Seattle’s case, the city and its hinterland sit atop a complex network of interrelated active geological faults capable of severe seismic activity and posing complex considerations fo
    Read More
  • The case for using toll revenues to fund Interstate improvements
    May 11, 2012
    High road toll increases threaten new regulation, but states should be free to use toll revenue for Interstate improvements. Bob Poole reports Large toll rate increases have been implemented recently by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, justified in part to help pay for its World Trade Center project. In response, a bill was introduced in Congress that would allow the Secretary of Transportation to regulate tolls on every bridge on the country’s Interstates and other federally aided highways. F
    Read More
  • Harnessing the power of smart technology
    June 28, 2018
    Keeping the public safe in a changing world requires smart thinking and sensible deployment of technology. Peter Jones of Hitachi Europe examines some available options From human threats, such as terrorism, to digital threats like hacking, the growing sophistication of crime is posing serious challenges to public safety. At the same time, mass urbanisation threatens to exacerbate these problems as there are more people to keep safe. According to a new whitepaper from Hitachi and Frost & Sullivan, Public
    Read More
  • Heart of Slough implements Siemens wireless traffic detection
    February 21, 2013
    As part of the Heart of Slough improvement project, new traffic intersections across seven key sites in and around Slough, UK have been equipped with a total of 162 Siemens WiMag wireless magnetometer sensors by Siemens to help improve the management of traffic using the A4 and travelling to and from the town centre. Complementing the company’s proven loop and radar detection solutions, the sensors provide the Heart of Slough project with an alternative traffic detection system that uses magnetic disturbanc
    Read More

Highlighted Content