Pennsylvania awarded $1.3 million to pilot traffic signal tech for freight trucks

To help relieve traffic congestion for freight trucks, the large vehicles that move goods over long distances, Pennsylvania will pilot a new freight signal priority technology using a $1.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the state’s announced Wednesday.

The technology, funded through the Department of Transportation’s Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation grant, or SMART, program, uses GPS data from truck electronic logging devices to determine truck speed and location. It then sends a request to the signal controller, which can extend a green light for five to seven additional seconds.

“Efficient movement of goods is central to our economy, however truck traffic can create congestion, cause supply chain delays and increase pollution in our communities,’ said Mike Carroll Pennsylvania’s transportation secretary, of the pilot program.

According to a 2023 report from the American Transportation Research Institute, Pennsylvania ranks eighth in nation for statewide costs related to truck congestion, costing the state more than $3.7 billion each year. Less time at traffic signals can also limit emissions produced by trucks idling, according to the state.

“Truck congestion has a significant impact on the supply chain, causing delays, increasing costs for consumers, and making the job more challenging for truck drivers,” Rebecca Oyler, president of the Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association, said in a press release.

The announcement follows a global pandemic that exposed how reliant the global supply chain is on trucks as the primary mode of transportation for goods across land.

Freight trucks are responsible for moving a vast majority of freight domestically and delivering products from manufacturers to distributors and to consumers, including essential items like food and medical supplies, according to a 2022 assessment of the supply chain by the Department of Transportation.

“More than half of all freight by value crosses State lines and more than a quarter of freight movement is attributed to international imports and exports,” the report read.

Pennsylvania plans to install the new technology at two intersections that see high numbers of freight trucks. The Transportation Department selected them based on traffic signal efficiency, the percentage of each location’s total traffic coming from trucks, air quality reports and hardware at the traffic signals, according to the announcement.

In 2023, Texas launched a similar system and expanded it to 500 signals across the state the following year.