Iowa DOT implements eX² Technology smart truck parking system

The Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) has integrated eX² Technology’s Truck Parking Information Management System (TPIMS) into its operations.

According to eX² Technology, the Iowa TPIMS solution, “Trucks Park Here,” is among the first statewide networks to be implemented in the Midwest. Operational usage began on Jan. 4.

An eX² Technology ground truthing camera installed on a water tower took this photo overlooking the I-80 Truckstop, the world’s largest truckstop. This is one of the sites integrated into Iowa’s Trucks Park Here TPIMS network. (Photo: eX² Technology)

Iowa’s Trucks Parks Here provides real-time information on available truck parking spaces for public rest areas, private truck stops and other privately owned facilities along Iowa’s I-80, I-29, I-35, I-235 and I-380 corridors, said eX² Technology. In addition, the system connects to 41 truck parking facilities, including 24 public rest areas, 15 privately owned truck stops, one privately owned restaurant and one privately owned casino.

The components of the Iowa TPIMS solution are fully automated with a remote network monitoring system that provides operational, health and accuracy alerts and relies on a hybrid of detection methods to accurately assess available truck parking spaces, including screenline and space occupancy technologies such as in-ground sensors and video analytics, eX² Technology added.

“We’re really pleased with how seamless the project implementation went and the overall effectiveness of the solution,” said Kyle Hildebrand, vice president of project development at eX² Technology. “We leveraged our success with the Colorado DOT TPIMS deployment to deliver a reliable and economically feasible solution that was right for Iowa. In the process, we perfected a standardized, off-the-shelf product that we can implement quickly throughout other states across the country.”

The Iowa project was part of a larger Mid America Association of State Transportation Officials (MAASTO) initiative that was funded in part through a $25M federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grant awarded to a group of eight partnering states — Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin.

The Iowa Department of Transportation received $3.4 million in MAASTO grant dollars to fund the $4 million Trucks Park Here project with a portion of the overall costs covering three years of systems maintenance and operations.

“eX² Technology took an innovative and cost-conscious approach to designing Iowa’s TPIMS solution,” said Phil Mescher, a transportation planner with the Iowa Department of Transportation. “eX² incorporated existing pole and site infrastructure into the TPIMS design when possible, used low power consumption and solar powered solutions and worked independently to procure non-traditional parking site facilities to increase the overall number of truck parking spaces within the TPIMS network.”