Utilizing Innovative Technologies

The Thruway Authority has obtained a patent pending on one of the safest pavement striping programs techniques available worldwide. The new pavement marking system, invented by an Authority engineer and known as "Recess Triple Drop," is more visible in all lighting and weather conditions, making the highway safer throughout the year. This technique also provides pavement striping which is much more durable than traditional methods.

Recess Triple Drop uses colored ceramic elements, mixed with various sized glass beads and applied onto a recessed epoxy base, providing high reflectivity. By installing the ceramic elements and glass beads into a one tenth inch deep groove, the stripe is protected from plow damage in the winter months. The glass beads supply superior nighttime reflectivity, more than twice as bright as standard highway striping. The ceramic element provides wet and fog reflectivity, sustaining the stripe's visibility during all types of weather conditions.

The Thruway is the first superhighway in the country using this new technology and including this striping system in all highway striping, resurfacing and rehabilitation contracts. By the end of 2014, the Authority had installed this pavement system on more than half of the Thruway. 

The Thruway Authority is leading the way in modernizing infrastructure inspection through the strategic deployment of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). This innovative program leverages cutting-edge drone technology to enhance safety, reduce environmental impact, and improve operational efficiency across the Thruway’s 570-mile superhighway system.

UAS technology enables the Authority to conduct inspections of bridges, overhead signs, light poles, retaining walls, and other critical infrastructure with minimal disruption to traffic and reduced risk to workers. Equipped with advanced aircraft, Thruway staff—professionally trained and FAA-certified—can capture high-resolution imagery, generate 3D terrain models, and create digital twins of assets which are being developed to support near and long-term predictive maintenance and long-term asset management.

Following a highly successful pilot under the USDOT SMART Grant Stage 1 program, the Thruway Authority was one of 158 governmental agencies nationwide awarded a Stage 2 SMART Grant.  The 100% reimbursable funding through this grant will allow the Authority to scale its UAS program statewide and extend our technological know-how to other state and local agencies.

Key anticipated benefits of the UAS program include:

• Enhanced Safety: Reduced lane closures and remote inspections minimize exposure to active traffic for both workers and motorists.
• Operational Efficiency: Automated data collection and streamlined reporting processes reduce field time and accelerate report generation.
• Environmental Sustainability: Fewer idling vehicles and optimized maintenance scheduling which will lower emissions.
• Digital Asset Management: Creation of new technological methods to monitor the condition of our systems.
• Workforce Development: The program will foster creation of high-quality job creation and training opportunities through partnerships with educational institutions and workforce agencies.

The Thruway’s UAS initiative exemplifies how technology can transform infrastructure management—delivering safer, smarter, and more sustainable outcomes for New York State.

The safety of its patrons will always be the Thruway Authority's number one priority. To help prevent wrong-way drivers from entering the highway via interchange ramps, the Thruway Authority is installing innovative new Doppler-radar-enhanced LED signs, which were developed by an Authority Engineer.

The Doppler radar detects vehicles traveling the wrong way, and when identified, the sign flashes a customized set of LED messages to alert the drivers of their error. Currently, the Authority is working to connect the system with the Thruway's Statewide Operations Center to trigger automatic alerts to other drivers on the Thruway's Variable Message Signs, and dispatch law enforcement if necessary.

Manufactured by Fiberdyne Labs of Frankfort, New York and Herkimer Industries of Herkimer, New York, this technology has been installed at: Interchange 9 (I-190) in Buffalo, at Interchange 10 (I-87/I-287) in Nyack, at Interchange 21 (I-87) in Catskill, and at Interchange 34 (I-90) in Canastota. This innovative technology will be implemented at several other locations, making the Thruway the leading superhighway in the nation to utilize this technology.

Weigh-in-motion or weighing in motion (WIM) devices are designed to capture and record weights of vehicles as they drive over a measurement site.  Unlike static scales, WIM systems are capable of measuring vehicles traveling at driving speed and do not require vehicles to come to a stop.  This makes the weighing process safer and efficient, allowing trucks under the weight limit to bypass static scales or inspection.

WIM also allows for the continuous monitoring of vehicular weights, allowing the facility owner to make more accurate predictions of pavement life expectancy.  An analysis of data from Thruway WIM sites portrays a very specific picture of the extent of pavement damage caused by unpermitted overweight vehicles.  On the Thruway, 10% of the commercial vehicles are overloaded and cause over 50% of the damage to the pavement.   WIM technology allows the Thruway to track where unpermitted overloaded vehicles cross the roadway and assists State Police with enhancing enforcement efforts targeting this specific group.  As a result, the roadway will be safer and useful life of Thruway pavements can be appropriately extended.