Saskatoon businessman develops technology to detect overpass strikes - BERITAJA

A section Saskatoon businessman says he has a imaginable solution to forestall oversized vehicles from striking overpasses, pursuing four crashes earlier this year.

Vince Hardy, main executive serviceman of ConX Wireless, says he took to the drafting committee to deliberation up a solution erstwhile he heard of the first onslaught successful early March.

“The first overpass deed virtually was like, ‘Wow, OK, I sewage to do this,'” he said.

Hardy’s early-detection creation uses 2 laser devices that formed an invisible beam to measurement a vehicle’s tallness arsenic it approaches an overpass. If a motortruck breaks the beam, the strategy will transmit a awesome to a ample LED motion posted connected the overpass pinch a connection informing drivers up to a kilometre away.

The strategy could besides notify constabulary and metropolis administrators of the breach and could enactment arsenic a regular roadworthy motion erstwhile not successful use, Hardy said.

“We benignant of took it a measurement further to activity the measurement it is,” he said. “They usage akin products for assembly lines, conveyor belts, and airports for luggage. It’s very common.”

Hardy estimates that installing the exertion would beryllium a straightforward process that would return only a fewer days. He says that if he were fixed the greenish ray from the metropolis today, procuring the hardware from Germany would return the about time, estimated astatine a fewer weeks.

“Locally, we do the package for it betwixt the instrumentality and the server. We do each of the assemblies here,” he said.

The City of Saskatoon said successful an emailed connection to BERITAJA that last repair costs pursuing the 4 March overpass strikes person not been finalized.

“Some costs betterment specifications are associated pinch progressive claims, and preliminary figures cannot beryllium shared until that process is complete,” said a metropolis spokesperson.

Previous costs estimates shared by the metropolis for the first 2 strikes totalled $750,000.

Hardy says his exertion would costs about a 4th of that.

“We’re still awaiting them to interaction america to astatine slightest study about this to spot if there’s a use to them aliases not,” said Hardy, adding that small-scale testing has him assured his strategy will thief debar early overpass strikes successful the city.

Todd Grabowski, engineering head for the City of Saskatoon, told BERITAJA successful a connection that group are invited to scope retired to the metropolis straight for consideration.

“Ultimately, it’s important to statement that master drivers are responsible for ensuring the tallness of their conveyance aliases a load being hauled does not transcend the posted heights connected overpasses successful Saskatchewan,” Grabowski added.

At a metropolis assembly gathering successful March, Terry Schmidt, Saskatoon’s proscription and building wide manager, shared a study from metropolis management to assembly connected the 2 first strikes. Here, he shared that the management is looking to aviator CCTV and overheight sensing devices astatine a location experiencing repetition strikes.

Repairs for 3 retired of the 4 overpasses are besides still underway, according to the city. Timelines of their completion dangle connected the information and privilege of each structure, pinch repairs for the remaining overpasses planned for later this year.

“There are liability risks that travel pinch that if they are not operating, and a motortruck hits the bridge, past it becomes a liability issue, possibly. So we are looking astatine each of those things and will hole a study connected that,” Schmidt told assembly astatine the meeting.

Saskatchewan already uses physics informing systems astatine 2 overpasses successful Regina and Moose Jaw and has been doing truthful for about a decade. The highways ministry notes that these are planned for decommissioning successful the future, arsenic caller projects to raise the heights of the overpasses to the caller ministry modular of 5.3 metres will beryllium underway.

“Unfortunately, Saskatchewan’s utmost power and acold continually origin malfunctions and the systems require dense maintenance,” the ministry said.

“The ministry will ever see caller and innovative ways to amended information but the exertion must beryllium cost-effective, reliable and activity consistently successful Saskatchewan’s climate.”

The Highway 16 overpass that goes complete Highway 11, the first to beryllium deed connected March 5, has since been afloat repaired.

Tenders for fixing the 108th Street overpass complete Circle Drive, the 2nd to beryllium struck connected March 11, are presently open, according to the city.

The metropolis spokesperson adds that the Canadian Pacific Railway overpass, which was the 3rd to beryllium deed connected March 22, is being managed by the CPKC obstruction company.

Meanwhile, repairs to the McKercher Drive overpass complete College Drive, which was besides struck connected March 22, are to beryllium completed connected a time-and-materials ground “when scheduling allows” done the span insignificant attraction program.