HARRISBURG, Penn. — The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) recently received regional America’s Transportation Awards for operational excellence and best use of technology. PennDOT’s operational excellence award was for its Automated Work Zone Speed Enforcement Program, and the best use of technology award was for the Shaler Street Bridge Replacement.
“Innovation is at the heart of PennDOT initiatives across the state,” said Yassmin Gramian, PennDOT’s Secretary of Transportation. “It is gratifying to have our efforts recognized by our transportation partners.”
The Automated Work Zone Speed Enforcement Program works by deploying a mobile unit to an active work zone; the mobile unit can detect any vehicles going at least 11 miles over the speed limit. When a vehicle goes over the limit, its license plate is captured, and a violation is mailed to the address on file.
The Shaler Street Bridge Replacement project marked the first use of self-propelled modular transporters (SPMTs) in Pennsylvania. This technology allowed the department to replace the Shaler Street Bridge over busy Route 19 in Allegheny County over the course of two weekends.
The America’s Transportation Awards competition is sponsored by American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO), AAA and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. State DOTs compete in three categories: Quality of Life/Community Development; Best Use of Technology and Innovation; and Operations Excellence. Each category is also designated by budget size, and projects are judged within their region.
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Speed cameras rely upon poor engineering and predatory ticketing. Sometimes they may cause crashes too. Pull up the National Motorists Association for real info.