Skip to main content

Texas receives national transportation award

ITS America has awarded the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV) and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) a Smart Solution Spotlight Award for a new web-based tool that allows truck owners to self-issue the permits and routes they need to move oversize and overweight loads on the state’s highway system. The Smart Solution Spotlight award is made to companies and organisations that use innovative technology to create a safer, cleaner, more efficient and sustainable transportation system. The
September 6, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
560 ITS America has awarded the 6524 Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV) and the 375 Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) a Smart Solution Spotlight Award for a new web-based tool that allows truck owners to self-issue the permits and routes they need to move oversize and overweight loads on the state’s highway system.

The Smart Solution Spotlight award is made to companies and organisations that use innovative technology to create a safer, cleaner, more efficient and sustainable transportation system.

The Texas Permitting and Routing Optimization System (TxPros) earned the award in recognition of its use of “smart” technology to improve service, save time and resources and keep loads and motorists safe.

Trucks carrying loads that are taller, longer, wider or heavier than legal limits must get a permit and, for many loads, a route from the TxDMV that avoids obstacles such as low overpasses, or bridges and roads that could be damaged by the load. TxPros is the first system to generate a route in real time using GIS, along with a map and turn-by-turn driving instructions, customised to the size and weight of the load.

TxPros allows trucking companies to apply for oversize/overweight permits, pay the fees, and route their trucks on the best roads for a load’s size and weight, all online, 24/7. The system is said to be the first of its kind in the US and so easy to use that customers have self-issued more than half of all permits since its launch in August 2011.

Related Content

  • May 8, 2013
    VDOT to get world-class transportation operations centre
    The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has issued a Notice of Intent to Award to Serco to integrate and run the state’s five transportation management centres under a six-year, US$355 million contract. The Commonwealth Transportation Board will make the final decision at its June meeting. The project will operate all five centres, including managing the Safety Service Patrol, under a single advanced active traffic management system platform, providing greater consistency and efficiency and enabli
  • December 5, 2014
    Small toll agency adopts big city thinking
    Andrew Bardin Williams looks at a novel option for new toll road authorities. While somewhat politically controversial, outsourcing has gained traction in the business world as a model worth investigating for its efficiency and cost saving benefits. Lean start-ups tend to employ independent contractors instead of full-time employees in an effort to remain flexible and avoid costs associated with pensions, retirement places, health insurance, office space and benefit packages.
  • January 10, 2013
    Need for simpler urban tolling solutions
    A common assumption, even amongst informed observers, is that there’s but a handful of urban charging schemes in operation around the world and scant prospect of that changing any time soon. Larger city-sized schemes such as Singapore, London and Stockholm come readily to mind but if we take a wider view and also consider urban access control and Low Emission Zones (LEZs) then the picture changes rather radically. There is a notable concentration of such schemes in Europe but worldwide the number is comfort
  • March 19, 2014
    Weigh in motion helps Caltrans minimise road damage
    Colin Sowman finds out why California is still expanding its already comprehensive weigh-in-motion (WIM) system. California has the most complete weigh-in-motion (WIM) system in the United States and recently announced a US$1.6 million contract for another Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Facility (usually called a weigh station) near Mountain Pass. According to the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), the aim is not to persecute offenders but to track vehicle weights in order to prevent or