This week, New York’s Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that his state will be spending more than $4 million on technology designed to keep trucks from hitting overpasses.
New York To Spend Millions To Keep Trucks From Illegally Entering Parkways
Transportation workers will be installing over-height vehicle detectors in thirteen different locations on Long Island parkways. When the new technology detects an over-height vehicle, it triggers a message on a nearby full color LED variable message sign display warning the truck driver not to enter the roadway. The system will also notify the New York State Department of Transportation about the incident.
A news release from the office of Governor Cuomo notes that the detectors will be placed in areas where bridge strikes are common: “New York State parkways traditionally have bridges that are lower than the standard legal bridge clearance. Commercial vehicles, school buses, tractor trailers and other tall vehicles are prohibited from driving on parkways. Locations for the over-height detector systems were determined from places where trucks have been known to improperly enter parkways.”
The Governor’s office notes that after a similar system was installed in the Hudson Valley in 2015, bridge strikes dropped by 30% in 2016.
Cuomo says that the new technology will improve safety and reduce traffic: “Every bridge strike is not only a danger to the motorists and passengers involved, but also exacerbates the very serious traffic problems that Long Islanders experience every day. With the installation of these detectors, we are moving this region’s parkways into the 21st century with state-of-the-art technology designed to prevent these bridge strikes and improve the safety and reliability of these vital roadways.”
Governor’s Office Lists Locations For Over-Height Truck Detectors
The detectors are already in place in the following locations:
- Southbound Eagle Avenue to eastbound Southern State Parkway in the town of Hempstead, Nassau County
- Sunrise Highway north service road to westbound Heckscher/Southern State Parkway in the town of Islip, Suffolk County
- Southbound State Route 106/107 to eastbound Northern State Parkway in the town of Oyster Bay, Nassau County
- Northbound State Route 106/107 to eastbound Northern State Parkway in the town of Oyster Bay
- Southbound State Route 106/107 to westbound Northern State Parkway in the town of Oyster Bay
By the spring of 2018, the detectors are slated to be installed in the following locations:
- Eastbound Interstate 495/Long Island Expressway ramp to eastbound Northern State Parkway in the town of Oyster Bay, Nassau County
- Westbound Interstate 495/Long Island Expressway ramp to westbound Northern State Parkway in the town of Oyster Bay
- Northbound Peninsula Boulevard to eastbound Southern State Parkway in the town of Hempstead, Nassau County
- Southbound Peninsula Boulevard to westbound Southern State Parkway in the town of Hempstead
- Southbound State Route 135/Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway to westbound Southern State Parkway in the town of Hempstead
- Southbound State Route 111 to westbound Southern State Parkway in the town of Islip, Suffolk County
- Northbound State Route 111 to westbound Southern State Parkway in the town of Islip
- Spur Drive North ramp to westbound Southern State Parkway in the town of Islip