1. Oregon
Department of
Transportation

2. Oregon Green Light Project
Mainline Preclearance Systems
Weigh-in-Motion (WIM) Scales
Automated Vehicle Identification (AVI) Systems
Transponders
Travel Advisory Systems
Downhill Speed Information Systems
Road Weather Information Systems (RWIS) 12 12

3. How Is This Accomplished?
Weigh-In-Motion systems check the vehicles weight and height
An automatic vehicle identification reader checks state records for registration, tax status, safety inspection status
The driver is signaled with an in-cab device to either Report to the station or Bypass 17

4. Mainline Preclearance
Oregon Green Light System Checks:
Truck Size, Weight, Height
Transponder Signal to Identify Vehicle/Carrier
Records Related to Registration, Tax, and Safety
Transponder reader
Over-Height detector
Weigh-in-motion single load cells and axle sensors
The Green Light weigh station PRECLEARANCE SYSTEM weighs trucks in-motion and automatically identifies them as they approach Oregon's BUSIEST WEIGH STATIONS. Trucks that SUCCESSFULLY PASS a quick computer check of SIZE, WEIGHT, HEIGHT, REGISTRATION, TAX & SAFETY records are signaled to proceed without stopping.
This is a PHOTO of TRUCK being WEIGHED-in-motion, IDENTIFIED by its TRANSPONDER, and PRECLEARED to pass the Farewell Bend Port of Entry on I-84 by the IDAHO BORDER.

5. Single-Load-Cell (SLC) Scale Installation

6. Axle Sensor Installation

7. Loop Detectors System Electronics

8. Automated Vehicle Identification (AVI) & Over Height Detection
AVI Antennas
Infra-red
Over Height Sensor

9. TYPICAL SITE LAYOUT AVI READERS READ THE TRUCK’S TRANSPONDER
WIM SCALES MEASURE THE VEHICLE’S WEIGHT
LOOPS AND AXLE SENSORS DETERMINE LENGTH, SPEED AND AXLE SPACING

10. TYPICAL SITE LAYOUT AVI READERS READ THE TRUCK’S TRANSPONDER
WIM SCALES MEASURE THE VEHICLE’S WEIGHT
LOOPS AND AXLE SENSORS DETERMINE LENGTH, SPEED AND AXLE SPACING
OVER HEIGHT DETECTOR CHECKS IF THE VEHICLE IS OVER LEGAL HEIGHT

11. TYPICAL SITE LAYOUT AVI READERS READ THE TRUCK’S TRANSPONDER
WIM SCALES MEASURE THE VEHICLE’S WEIGHT
LOOPS AND AXLE SENSORS DETERMINE LENGTH, SPEED AND AXLE SPACING
OVER HEIGHT DETECTOR CHECKS IF THE VEHICLE IS OVER LEGAL HEIGHT
AVI READERS SEND A RED OR GREEN LIGHT TO THE TRANSPONDER

12. TYPICAL SITE LAYOUT AVI READERS READ THE TRUCK’S TRANSPONDER
WIM SCALES MEASURE THE VEHICLE’S WEIGHT
Green Light
LOOPS AND AXLE SENSORS DETERMINE LENGTH, SPEED AND AXLE SPACING
OVER HEIGHT DETECTOR CHECKS IF THE VEHICLE IS OVER LEGAL HEIGHT
AVI READERS SEND A RED OR GREEN LIGHT TO THE TRANSPONDER

13. Transponders Dedicated Short-Range Communications
Mainline Preclearance 15 30

14. 22 Oregon weigh stations operational
Green Light sites
22 Oregon weigh stations operational

15. MCTD began keeping track of the number of trucks that “bypassed” weigh stations in January Four weigh stations were preclearing an average of 51 trucks a day. There are now 22 stations preclearing 4,400 trucks a day.
1,600,000
1,400,000
1,200,000
1,000,000
800,000
600,000
400,000
200,000
1,606,000
1,500,000
1,425,000
1,375,000
Today, nearly 4,200
companies are
equipped With
more than 40,000
transponders
1,100,000
850,000
17,615

16. Information from the American Trucking Association estimates the cost of operating a truck to be $1.96/minute.

17. An independent evaluation determined that the average time a truck spends in a weigh station is five-to-eight minutes.

18. Based on these figures the carrier industry overall currently saves more than 125,000 hours of travel time and $14.7 million in operating cost annually.

19. Types of Data Collected
Individual axle weights
Axle group weights
Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW)
Axle spacings
Vehicle Classification
Date/Time stamp
Reports (hourly, daily, weekly, monthly)
Speed
Equivalent Single Axle Load’s
Weight warning/violation

20. Benefits of Data Collection State Government — Where taxpayers demand efficiency and cost savings
Highway Planning
Traffic volume counts
Vehicle classifications
Frequency patterns (minimum/peak)
Build for longevity (performance-based)
Bridge Planning
Designs based on Weight/Configuration data
Repair/Re-design of existing structures (change in patterns)
Infrastructure Preservation
Save an estimated $20 million annually in Oregon in maintenance costs
Address the problem with pavement damage from overweight trucks, estimated to cost the U.S. $670 million annually
PROTECTS INFRASTRUCTURE by more EFFECTIVELY ENFORCING size & weight limits. ENHANCES ability identify & stop OVERWEIGHT trucks that cause $670 million in PAVEMENT DAMAGE to the NATION"S highways.
Oregon STATE UNIVERSITY estimate Green Light could SAVE Oregon $200 million over 10 YEARS from COSTS related to DETERIORATING PAVEMENT.
ELECTRONIC DATA collection allows OFFICERS spend 40% time at OUTLYING scales where OVERWEIGHT trucks MORE LIKELY to be found 35 22

21. Independent Evaluation
OSU
Independent Evaluation
“Green Light Preclearance Systems identify and stop more overweight trucks that would otherwise be allowed to proceed and cause millions in highway pavement damage”
Dr. Chris Bell

22. The “Green” Light Program
The DEQ completed emission
testing in The results
found that trucks bypassing a weigh station experienced
a 57% increase in fuel
economy, and reduced harmful pollutants (particulate matter, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and hydrocarbons) by 36% to 67%. One study in particular found that these reductions achieve the highest per-value ton of pollutant reduced.

23. Winner of a 2000 “Best of ITS” Award
Semi-finalist 2001 JFK Harvard “Innovations in Government” Award

24. Oregon Green Light wins AASHTO Excellence award
2002 AASHTO Award
Oregon Green Light wins AASHTO Excellence award
The Green Light weigh station preclearance program is a
winner of the top award in the American Association of
State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO)
2002 Team Excellence Program. The “Exemplary Partner”
award recognizes the work of
ODOT’s Green Light team.
64 teams from around the U.S. entered the competition.

25. David Fifer david.a.fifer@state.or.us 503-378-6054
Comments or Questions?
Contact
the
Oregon Department of Transportation
David Fifer