PennDOT is installing a new wrong-way driving detection system on both Route 28 and the I-79/910 Wexford Interchange Project. This technology aims to improve safety by detecting vehicles traveling in the wrong direction on highway ramps.
The system is designed to alert wrong-way drivers and, if necessary, notify a traffic management center.
The wrong-way driving detection system employs a three-zone process. It is described as innovative and high-tech proprietary equipment.
The system first detects a driver entering a ramp incorrectly, then activates warning lights to prompt self-correction, and finally, if needed, sends an alert to a traffic management center.
Steve Sneddon, a Senior Assistant Construction Engineer with PennDOT, explained the high-tech nature of the system.
“It’s all pretty innovative, proprietary stuff. It’s pretty high tech,” Sneddon said.
When a vehicle proceeds through the three zones, warning lights activate to try to get the driver’s attention.
If a driver does not self-correct in the second zone, an alert is sent to the traffic management center upon crossing into the third zone.
“They can then take action based on what they see on the videos and based on what they see on our cameras,” Sneddon noted.
On Route 28, 19 of the 23 planned ramps have received the wrong-way detection system. PennDOT officials report already seeing positive impacts from the cameras that are online and functioning.
“The cameras that we have brought online and are functioning, we’re already seeing a positive impact from those. So it is definitely working. It is preventing some wrong-way drivers from entering the roadway,” Sneddon stated.
The I-79/910 project involves the construction of new flyovers designed to change both the on and off ramps on the northbound side. This new configuration will place all four ramps on the same side of the 910 bridge crossing 79.
PennDOT selected the I-79/910 Interchange Project for the new wrong-way technology due to its potential safety benefits.
“If we have an opportunity to add wrong-way detection where we think it might be beneficial to improve safety and reduce the number of potentially wrong-way drivers, we’re going to try to add that work to projects moving forward,” Sneddon said.
Valerie Fleischer, a driver, expressed support for the detection system on the two off-ramps at the I-79/910 project. Fleischer highlighted the prevalence of distracted driving as a reason for the system’s necessity.
“Unfortunately, we live in an age of distracted driving. Everybody’s on their phone or looking around, so I don’t think that would be a bad thing,” Fleischer said.
The Route 28 project for the wrong-way detection system is expected to be completed by the fall. The I-79/910 project, including the new ramp configuration, should be finished by December at the latest.
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