UDOT launches variable speed limit system

The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) has installed a new US$750,000 electronic sign system on Interstate 80 in Parleys Canyon that will allow engineers to adjust the speed limit during storms or icy weather. Eight electronic signs are in eastbound lanes, and seven in westbound lanes. Data from road sensors shows the road condition, along with the canyon’s temperature and humidity and traffic speed, while cameras will show visibility, enabling traffic engineers to remotely adjust the speed limit s
January 8, 2014 Read time: 1 min
The 1904 Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) has installed a new US$750,000 electronic sign system on Interstate 80 in Parleys Canyon that will allow engineers to adjust the speed limit during storms or icy weather. Eight electronic signs are in eastbound lanes, and seven in westbound lanes.

Data from road sensors shows the road condition, along with the canyon’s temperature and humidity and traffic speed, while cameras will show visibility, enabling traffic engineers to remotely adjust the speed limit signs and send alerts to the Utah Highway Patrol.

"Its whole aim is to improve safety and the consistency of flow in Parleys Canyon during weather events," said Robert Miles, UDOT Region 2 East District engineer. "We’re excited about it. We think we can really affect the safety and capacity of the roadway."
Air Quality & Weather Systems Detection, Monitoring & Machine Vision Urban Traffic Control

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Road weather information system combines traffic information
    December 16, 2013
    A new road weather information system developed by Hyundai Engineering and Construction (Hyundai E&C) can provide drivers with reliable real-time traffic and road condition information, says the company. The system, developed in concert with Hyundai Motor Company and Hyundai Mobis, can help alert drivers of traffic congestion and potentially hazardous road conditions up ahead by collecting data from all cars, such as ambient temperatures and road conditions. It also processes information from various roa
    Read More
  • How ITS weathers the storm on I-80
    September 7, 2021
    Weather-related closures on Wyoming’s I-80 can cost as much as $11.7m each. But a new initiative is harnessing V2X technology to prevent snow shutting things down
    Read More
  • Illinois implements smart tollway
    October 19, 2016
    The new US$2.5 billion Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90) in Illinois, US, covers 62 miles and features reconstruction and expansion to eight lanes on one section along with significant improvements to seven interchanges and bus-on-shoulder service along the eastern segment. In addition, the new I-90 includes flexible infrastructure to enable the tollway to add new smart features and future transit expansion, including active traffic management (ATM) on a portion of the roadway to make I-90 safer and mo
    Read More
  • US speed limit increases ‘cause 33,000 deaths in 20 years’
    April 14, 2016
    A new Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) study, which looked at the impact of speed limit increases in 41 states over a 20-year period starting in 1993, shows that increases in speed limits over two decades have cost 33,000 lives in the US In 2013 alone. The increases resulted in 1,900 additional deaths, essentially cancelling out the number of lives saved by frontal airbags that year. "Although fatality rates fell during the study period, they would have been much lower if not for states' dec
    Read More

Highlighted Content