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

  • Viaduct deck renewal creates detour dilemma for MassDOT
    May 26, 2016
    As the deck renewal of the I-91 viaduct in Springfield gets underway, David Crawford looks at the preparation and planning to ease the resulting traffic congestion. Accommodating the deck renewal of a 4km-long/four-lanes in each direction viaduct in the heart of Springfield (Massachusetts’ third largest city), has involved the state’s Department of Transportation (MassDOT) in a massive exercise in transport research and ITS-based area-wide preplanning and traffic management. Supporting a workzone of well ab
    Read More
  • Most crash reports do not capture critical data, says National Safety Council
    April 25, 2017
    A National Safety Council review of motor vehicle crash reports from across the US found no state fully captures critical data needed to address and understand the rise in roadway fatalities. Crash reports from all 50 states lack fields or codes for law enforcement to record the level of driver fatigue at the time of a crash, while many others lack fields to capture texting, hands-free cell phone use and specific types of drug use if drugs are detected, including marijuana. Excluding these fields limits the
    Read More
  • Computer technology increasingly aids traffic management
    February 3, 2012
    Alan Perrott, Tyco Fire & Integrated Solutions (UK) Ltd, looks at trends in CCTV technology for traffic surveillance applications
    Read More
  • Proposed system to take guesswork out of choosing a freeway lane
    March 17, 2014
    A fledgling advanced lane management assist system can take the guesswork out of selecting the right lane on a congested freeway, as its inventor Robert Gordon explains. As drivers we’ve all done it and control room staff see it all the time – motorists on congested freeways switching into what they perceive is a faster lane, only to come to a halt a few moments later and watch vehicles in the other lanes continue to move past. Now, by re-analysing readily available data in an advanced lane management as
    Read More

Highlighted Content