Skip to main content

Arizona DOT adds monitoring technology to state bridges

Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) engineers in Phoenix will get real-time information on the conditions of four interstate bridges in remote north-western Arizona thanks to technology funded by a US$768,000 Federal Highway Administration grant. To enhance safety and efficiency, ADOT will use the Accelerated Innovation Deployment Demonstration grant to add structural health monitoring systems to the Interstate 15 bridges, embedding sensors on the superstructures that record, analyze and share da
January 25, 2016 Read time: 1 min
6576 Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) engineers in Phoenix will get real-time information on the conditions of four interstate bridges in remote north-western Arizona thanks to technology funded by a US$768,000 831 Federal Highway Administration grant.

To enhance safety and efficiency, ADOT will use the Accelerated Innovation Deployment Demonstration grant to add structural health monitoring systems to the Interstate 15 bridges, embedding sensors on the superstructures that record, analyze and share data.

The systems, which will be installed by this autumn, will help ADOT identify and address problems quickly and decide when the bridges will need major repairs or replacement. They also will help ADOT engineers determine when to conduct inspections, which are required at least every two years and involve lane restrictions.

“The technology made possible by this grant will enhance the safety of the travelling public and help inform Arizona’s investments along this vital corridor,” ADOT Director John Halikowski said.

Related Content

  • April 1, 2015
    Six US states get funding for innovative infrastructure efforts
    US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx has announced US$4.38 million in grants from the Federal Highway Administration’s Accelerated Innovation Deployment (AID) demonstration program to Kansas, Minnesota, North Carolina, South Carolina, Vermont and Virginia. The grants will be used to fund innovative road and bridge work that will lead to better, safer road infrastructure efforts nationwide. “Innovation in our transportation infrastructure will change the way America moves,” said Secretary Foxx. “These
  • September 18, 2012
    Arizona upgrades traffic operations centre
    The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) has invested more than US$2 million in a major refurbishment of the agency's Phoenix-based Traffic Operations Centre (TOC), which opened in 1992. The upgrade gives TOC personnel a variety of tools to use: roadway sensors, overhead message boards, video cameras, on-route travel time estimates, ramp meters and the 511 Traveler Information system to manage Arizona's nearly 7,000 miles of highways.
  • May 19, 2017
    ADOT installs new sensors to help track freeway traffic flow
    Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) is installing new in-road sensors along the state’s freeways to monitor traffic flow in an effort to reduce congestion. The sensors provide the data used to estimate the travel times that that are displayed on message boards above freeways. The data also helps ADOT and the Maricopa Association of Governments, the regional transportation-planning agency make decisions about future freeway improvements. Using electronic wires embedded in the road, the sensors have b
  • May 31, 2013
    Temporary traffic monitoring with Bluetooth and wi-fi
    David Crawford reviews developments in temporary ITS. Widespread take-up of technologies such as Bluetooth and wi-fi are encouraging the emergence of more sophisticated, while still cost effective, ITS responses to the traffic issues posed by temporary road situations such as work zones and special events. Andy Graham of traffic solutions specialists White Willow Consulting says: “A machine-to-machine radio link is far easier and cheaper than reading characters on a plate.” There can be other plusses. Tech