NEW HOPE, PA – The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission recently approved the acquisition of new technology and software to replace the aging traffic counting system at the agency’s 18 vehicular river crossings.
The Commission collects traffic counts to make data-driven decisions related to budgeting, maintenance, and long-term capital improvements.
The agency’s current traffic counting system is roughly 20 years old. It uses an Inductive Loop Detection System of wire loops embedded in road surfaces or placed into saw-cut roadway grooves covered with epoxy. Vehicles are counted as they drive over the respective loops. Collected data is stored on local servers at each bridge. Daily traffic totals are then fed into a centralized database over land telephone lines.
The system’s counters, software and communications devices have reached the end of their useful life. The Commission is moving to replace the system with a non-intrusive microwave radar technology coupled with new auxiliary equipment, servers and software. Collected data will then be transmitted via cell tower technology to the central database.
The new system will improve reliability and accuracy. It also will allow for easier maintenance, since the traffic radar devices will be installed to the side of bridge approach roadways. The technology has proven to be reliable and is already utilized by other transportation agencies in the Northeast.
The Commission approved the purchase of radar traffic counters, auxiliary system, and software at its April 25 meeting. The $268,724 purchase will be made from Signal Services, Inc. of West Chester, PA through the Pennsylvania Department of General Services COSTARS Program. Installation will be performed by the Commission’s maintenance crews and could be completed as early as the end of this year.
