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Transportation
Palm Beach County Bridge Section
The Challenge
The county sought to enhance existing precautions to better alert vehicles and pedestrians during operation of its movable bridges and to deliver greater visual awareness and real-time notifications for Bridgetenders.
The Solution
Ruggedized MIC, FLEXIDOME, and DINION cameras with edge-based analytics deliver comprehensive coverage of drawbridges, roadway approaches, and adjacent waterways. Integrated IP loudspeakers broadcast automated announcements during openings.
The Results
Video monitoring and alerts enhance safety with real-time insights into vehicle and pedestrian activity before each bridge opening. Automated audio notifications improve awareness around bridge operations and keep Bridgetenders focused on critical tasks.
“MIC cameras were selected because they are specifically engineered to deliver stable, high-quality images in punishing environments—continuous vibration, salt air, and heavy humidity. For this application, MIC cameras are in a class of their own.”
Peter Van Kirk
North American Director, Government Security Solutions for Safeware
Real-Time Zone Breach Alerts
Automated Bilingual Audio
Remote monitoring of conditions
The Challenge
Palm Beach County maintains eight movable bridges along Florida's Intracoastal Waterway and a historic swing bridge crossing the Rim Canal surrounding Lake Okeechobee. These critical transportation assets require constant monitoring to ensure the safe movement of vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists, and marine traffic
The Solution
The Bridge Section engaged Safeware to assist with system design and procurement. Safeware assembled a specialized team comprising a national systems integrator and IQSIGHT to develop a robust solution capable of meeting monitoring, alerting, and environmental durability requirements tailored to bridge operations.
Three county bridges are now equipped with MIC, FLEXIDOME, and DINION cameras, delivering full coverage of the bridges and surrounding waterways. Edge-based video analytics alert Bridgetenders when vehicles, cyclists, or pedestrians are detected within designated safety zones during bridge openings or closings. The system also issues notifications when motion is detected beneath the bridge, around the movable spans, or on the waterway, ensuring enhanced situational awareness and operational safety.
“The system functions and alerts through the entire bridge process, from the closing of the roadway to the reopening of the roadway” said Tom Coppini, Superintendent, Bridge Section for Palm Beach County.
BVMS provides live and recorded video display within the Bridgetender’s workstation. Operator permissions are configured so that Bridgetenders cannot modify camera pan, tilt, zoom or preset position settings to prevent unauthorized changes to fields of view. Privacy masking and/or privacy overlay functions obscure adjacent residential properties and other non-target areas to support compliance with privacy requirements. IQSIGHT’s Professional Services team configured BVMS and the video analytic alerts to ensure the system fully supports the specific requirements of Bridge Section staff.
Integrated IP loudspeakers installed on the bridges broadcast automated bilingual announcements during bridge openings. Automating these messages allows Bridgetenders to focus on safety-critical tasks—conducting visual inspections of the bridge deck and monitoring video feeds to ensure the waterway and structure remain clear of obstructions.
“Automated announcements take that effort away from Bridgetenders so they can focus on the visual inspection prior to opening the bridge,” Coppini explained.
The Results
Compared to the lidar and infrared systems installed on other bridges across the state, the video system delivers broader functionality and operational benefits.
In addition to providing real-time visual confirmation of vehicles on the bridge, the system also monitors surrounding areas, including the adjacent waterway. This expanded coverage strengthens situational awareness and supports multiple county objectives.
The system further aids in asset management by enabling remote monitoring of bridge conditions before, during, and after major storm events. This functionality allows the county to quickly assess potential damage and ensure the safety of personnel performing post-storm inspections and repairs. Remote assessments will also support more efficient recovery efforts by helping prioritize repair work on the most critical structural issues before resuming standard restoration procedures.
The system design developed for the first completed bridges serves as a blueprint for camera coverage implementation at the remaining sites. The county intends to deploy similar video surveillance systems across all movable bridges maintained by the Bridge Section.
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