Skip to main content

Port authority to replace ITS system at George Washington bridge

The Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) at the George Washington Bridge (GWB), first installed in 1997, is to be replaced by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey as part of a road improvements being planned throughout the region. The ITS provides information on traffic conditions, estimated travel times, and lane restrictions to motorists via electronic signs on roads leading to the GWB. An estimated 101 million vehicles crossed the world’s busiest crossing in both directions in 2011. Work on t
November 16, 2012 Read time: 3 mins
The Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) at the George Washington Bridge (GWB), first installed in 1997, is to be replaced by the 1698 Port Authority of New York and New Jersey as part of a road improvements being planned throughout the region.

The ITS provides information on traffic conditions, estimated travel times, and lane restrictions to motorists via electronic signs on roads leading to the GWB. An estimated 101 million vehicles crossed the world’s busiest crossing in both directions in 2011.

Work on the early-action item of replacing the eight electronic ITS signs on the New York and New Jersey approaches to the George Washington Bridge is expected to commence by the end of 2012 and be complete by the end of 2013. The entire ITS is scheduled to be replaced in approximately four years.

Message signs are located on state highways on both sides of the bridge, so the Port Authority is working closely with the New York State and New Jersey Departments of Transportation on the project.

The ITS will help reduce congestion by informing motorists of traffic conditions in advance so they can plan accordingly. Reduced congestion helps speed motorist travel times, while also benefiting the environment by cutting emissions.

“Replacing the existing ITS at the George Washington Bridge is consistent with one of the Port Authority’s main priorities, which is to keep people and goods moving throughout our region,” said Port Authority Chairman David Samson. “The world’s busiest bridge crossing and the motorists who use it will benefit greatly from a new, upgraded ITS as our region prepares to host the 2014 Super Bowl.”

“By providing motorists real time traffic information about the George Washington Bridge, the new ITS will allow them to plan accordingly,” said Port Authority Executive Director Pat Foye. “It will assist the people who live and work in the region for years to come by reducing delays and emissions from traffic backups.”

“Our decision to replace the ITS is part of the Port Authority’s ongoing effort to deliver solutions for the people of our region,” said Port Authority Deputy Executive Director Bill Baroni. “The Super Bowl is one of the premiere sporting events in the world and it will attract visitors who will help boost our local economies. The new ITS will ensure we are ready for them.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Considering accessibility costs little and pays dividends for all travellers
    August 8, 2017
    Catering for those with disabilities can be cost-effective and improve services for all travellers, as David Crawford discovers. Clearer understanding of the economic value of accessible transport is essential if we are to speed up the current slow deployment levels, according to the Paris-based International Transport Forum (ITF), which staged a 2016 round table on the ‘Benefits and Costs of Inclusion in Transport’. It wants to see greater availability of data on levels of actual and unmet demand for acces
  • Benefits of Florida's traffic signal retiming
    November 7, 2012
    Lee County in Florida has consolidated dramatic results of a major traffic signal retiming with installation of advanced monitoring and management technology for generating further benefits. The Lee County Department of Transportation (DOT), in the US State of Florida, has completed retiming of traffic signals for over 50 intersections in the cities of Fort Myers and Bonita Springs. The project aimed to evaluate existing operations and enable adjustments to optimise flows, and has produced dramatic results
  • ITS needs continuity at the policy-making level
    February 1, 2012
    ITS needs to be sold to politicians in plainer terms and we need to be encouraging greater continuity at the policy-making level says Josef Czako, chairman of the IRF's Policy Committee on ITS. At the ITS World Congress in New York in 2008, the International Road Federation (IRF) held the inaugural meeting of its Policy Committee on ITS. The Policy Committee's formation, says its chairman, Kapsch's Josef Czako, reflects an ongoing concern over the lack of deployment of ITS technology on roads in anything li
  • Siemens awarded TfL maintenance contracts
    August 27, 2014
    Siemens is to maintain traffic control equipment in the north and north-east London regions under two new traffic control maintenance services contracts awarded by Transport for London (TfL). The contracts represent two of the five contracts that will see London’s traffic signals upgraded to the latest energy-saving technology, as well as expanding the use of intelligent traffic signals and new crossings for pedestrians and cyclists. Worth in total around US$525 million for up to eight years, the five co