Sensys Gatso completes a key roadsafety project at the pivotal Haringvlietbridge south of Rotterdam in record time

The Haringvlietbrug, 30 km south of Rotterdam, is one of the most important bridges in The Netherlands, as far as traffic flow is concerned. This bridge has been scheduled for a complete maintenance and improvement project in 2023. The Haringvlietbrug connects the Rotterdam area to the south-west of the Netherlands, the key harbour city of Antwerp, the rest of Belgium and the north of France. The A29 motorway that runs over the bridge is economically vital and needs to remain open to all traffic.

The bridge owner, Rijkswaterstaat (RWS), the Dutch roads and waterways authority, has found the large and still increasing daily flow of heavy traffic that crosses the bridge, causes structural parts of the bridge to develop certain weaknesses. To avoid any risk this develops into a dangerous situation before the scheduled maintenance completion, RWS decided to lower the speed limit for cars and trucks from respectively 100 and 80 kph to 50 kph for both. Additionally, traffic lanes have been narrowed to roughly 2/3 of their original width to force drivers to adapt their speed to this situation. Please visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1_cDCiqd6U for an informational video.

To maintain safety and to make sure drivers actually comply with the 50 kph speed limit, RWS urgently needed two speed enforcement cameras to be installed and commissioned with very short notice. This is where the versatile Sensys Gatso T-Series platform comes in. The Sensys Gatso local support team worked closely with RWS and the public prosecutor to install two speed enforcement cameras on the bridge, one for each direction. To test and prove that the T-Series would be an effective solution for speed enforcement to maintain road safety, Sensys Gatso executed a successful proof of concept (POC) in early August 2021. Installation of the two cameras followed only two weeks after the POC. The systems were commissioned and accepted on August 30 by the public prosecutor. Road safety enforcement started on August 31. Drivers are properly warned and speeding tickets will be issued immediately.

Sensys Gatso managed to plan, design, produce and install the two new speed cameras and get them commissioned in less than one month. The T-Series proven technology combined with the team effort, agility and expertise of Sensys Gatso's employees have been key to this success.