Key Installations
Otay Mesa Dedicated Commuter Lane Border Crossing
TransCore was selected by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) to design, install, integrate, test, and maintain the first-ever automated international border crossing located at Otay Mesa, California, near Tijuana. The system, named the Dedicated Commuter Lane (DCL), is part of a larger U.S. Customs and INS initiative to reduce wait times, improve data accuracy, and improve overall efficiencies at all border crossings for both freight and passengers.
The DCL employs automatic vehicle identification (AVI) technology, which allows participants to pass through the border crossing more efficiently. Participants run a card through a swipe card reader, which instantaneously sends patron information, including a photograph, to the Inspector’s screen for clearance. The gate rises and the patron through. The whole process takes about 30 seconds. The TransCore software also controls a variety of DCL security subsystems, including video surveillance, gates, and tire shredders.
Detroit Ambassador Bridge Intelligent Transportation Border Crossing System
TransCore recently integrated the first Intelligent Transportation Border Crossings Systems (ITBCS) at the Detroit Ambassador Bridge and the Buffalo Peace Bridge. The ITS technology used features the prototype phase of the International Trade Data System, called the North American Trade Automation Prototype (NATAP). NATAP is based on a vision of standardized data elements, electronic credentials, and electronic clearance processes for the movement of goods between Canada, the U.S., and Mexico.
TransCore installed the NATAP system on both sides of the international border, the first site in North America where one integrator has accomplished this. Five hundred trucks at each bridge were issued transponders for positive vehicle and goods identification. These transponders use a trip load number identifying the carrier, conveyance, driver, and cargo. TransCore also integrated dedicated commuter lanes to speed the flow of legal, registered commuters across the bridges, as well as integrated electronic toll collection (ETC) systems and customer service centers at each bridge.
Buffalo-Peace Bridge Intelligent Transportation Border Crossing System
TransCore was selected to design, install, operate, and maintain ITBCS, and to integrate an ETC system at the Buffalo/Fort Erie Peace Bridge. The ITBCS applies AVI technology to eight border and toll lanes to facilitate high traffic throughput across the Peace Bridge. As part of NATAP, this project established the standard system and technology benchmark for state-of-the-art electronic border crossings across the U.S./Canadian border.
