Skip to main content

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."

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • New York unveils ‘Midtown in Motion’ traffic management system
    April 19, 2012
    New York Mayor Bloomberg has unveiled a new, technology-based traffic management system that allows city traffic engineers to monitor and respond to Midtown Manhattan traffic conditions in real time, improving traffic flow on the city’s most congested streets.
  • Asking drivers what information they need: radical but effective
    March 19, 2014
    When Texas A&M Transportation Institute was asked to devise a temporary traveller information system for work zones, it started by asking drivers what they need. Robert Brydia explains the thinking, implementation and results. US Interstate 35 (I-35) runs roughly north–south originating in Laredo, Texas and ends 1,500 miles away in Duluth, Minnesota having passed through Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Iowa. Within Texas the I-35 splits into I-35E and I-35W passing through Dallas and Fort Worth respectiv
  • Connecting DoTs with IoT for secure, connected transportation systems
    January 11, 2022
    Michelle Maggiore of Cisco outlines how connected roadways and intersections can help improve safety, reduce traffic congestion, and minimise our carbon footprint
  • Close shave for Brazilian project
    June 12, 2015
    Signing the order to equip a new control room just 45 days before the city hosts a major sporting event is challenging - but some deadlines just cannot be moved. There is nothing like a deadline to concentrate minds and effort as Mitsubishi and the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte discovered in the run-up to the 2014 World Cup. Although municipal authorities had been considering a new command centre for years, it was the hosting of the World Cup last summer that provided the final impetus.