Skip to main content

Mobile LiDAR equipment working in Pennsylvania

Michael Baker International completed a US$7 million project for the US state of Pennsylvania collecting nearly 20 million data fields from over 8,600 traffic signals During the year-long project, the engineering, planning and consulting business worked with PennDOT’s Traffic Signal Asset Management System. It collected nearly 20 million data fields for each of the 8,623 traffic signals analysed. The data has populated a centralised database to support PennDOT’s planning, design, maintenance and oper
February 6, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
Michael Baker International completed a US$7 million project for the US state of Pennsylvania collecting nearly 20 million data fields from over 8,600 traffic signals

During the year-long project, the engineering, planning and consulting business worked with 4907 PennDOT’s Traffic Signal Asset Management System. It collected nearly 20 million data fields for each of the 8,623 traffic signals analysed.

The data has populated a centralised database to support PennDOT’s planning, design, maintenance and operational decision-making.

“Pennsylvania is unique in that its traffic signals are owned and maintained by Commonwealth [state] municipalities and not PennDOT, which has resulted in varying standards of maintenance and operation care from municipality-to-municipality,” said Steve Barber, vice president and Harrisburg office executive for Michael Baker International.

Michael Baker team employed its mobile Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR)-equipped vans to efficiently collect all necessary data. Since all LiDAR data was collected at the intersections, PennDOT can now review data on other non-signal infrastructure assets at the intersections.

In 2013, Pennsylvania passed Act 89 that calls for an additional $2.4 billion funding over five years. PennDOT identified traffic signals as an area of necessary investment for this spend.

PennDOT established the Green Light-Go programme to manage the dedicated traffic signal funding and corresponding maintenance and operations projects. A by-product of this programme was implementation of the Traffic Signal Asset Management System, for which Michael Baker led the data collection through coordination with the PennDOT Central Office and each of their engineering districts.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • ARTBA forming commission to address transport safety
    October 14, 2016
    The American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) is forming an independent commission to help implement the new, industry-developed “Safety Certification for Transportation Project Professionals (SCTPP) programme. The SCTPP Commission will be led by the chief executive officers of two of the largest transportation construction firms in the United States. Both are passionate safety advocates. David Walls, president & CEO of Austin Industries, based in Dallas, Texas, and Ross Myers, chairma
  • Efficient asset management to trim maintenance budgets
    January 22, 2014
    Transport infrastructure is taken for granted in many, if not most, developed countries. This has resulted in a shortage of investment in maintenance, posing potential long term cost issues. In many developing nations transport networks are expanding fast, but insufficient thought is also being given to how these will be maintained.
  • South Carolina highway deal for Michael Baker International
    June 21, 2016
    Engineering and consultancy firm Michael Baker International will work on a major highway reconstruction project in Colombia, South Carolina. The project is intended to improve the commute for drivers in the state. The South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) has awarded Michael Baker International a US$8.8-million contract to provide construction engineering and inspection services for an 17.6km section of Interstate 20 (I-20) in Lexington County. The section of I-20 is a main artery into and
  • Foth Uses Collaborative Digital Engineering to Deliver Road Infrastructure Project
    June 1, 2020
    Foth utilised software from Bentley Systems to improve safety and traffic flow on an urban road stretch in Iowa.