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| Miami Dade Expressway Toll Gantry |
The one million motorists who traverse
the Miami Dade Expressway (MDX) every year share one common concern: they want to
get to where they’re going quickly and safely. To help them do this, the MDX
authority is constantly enhancing its network of roads by doing things like
installing open road tolling gantries that read vehicle license plates and
passes, thereby avoiding the stop-and-go issues created at traditional toll
plazas. At one such gantry, MDX went beyond its usual practical traffic control
and safety mission to offer motorists an additional aesthetic benefit with help
from a collection of Iluminarc fixtures from Chauvet Professional installed by
Barbizon Lighting Company.
Resembling an aircraft wing, the
impressive gantry and pylon toll structure spans ten lanes of one of the
busiest sections of the MDX system, the 15.4 mile State Route 836, referred to
by locals as the “Dolphin Expressway.” The
structure’s soaring design creates the impression that it is about to take
flight, an image that makes the daily commute more enjoyable (or less tedious)
for the thousands of motorists who pass under it every workday.
There are two
rows of the Iluminarc fixtures on the sleekly designed gantry. One row is on
the upper edge of the wing, the other on lower. This dual level arrangement
creates a sense of movement and adds to the depth of the structure.
“When you drive by the toll and see the
lights, it’s clearly impressive,” said Drew Bongiorno, Barbizon Systems Sales
Manager. “The structure is skinned to look like the wing of an airplane. It has
holes in it to allow wind and water to pass. The Iluminarc fixtures are inside
the wing so their light shines through the holes. It makes the whole structure come alive.”
According to Bongiorno, the color
changing capabilities of the RGBW Ilumiline 36 IP and Ilumipod 42 fixtures play
a key role in creating the impressive effect at the toll. “Full advantage is
taken of the fixtures’ color rendering,” he said. “There are a lot very nice color changes
preprogrammed into the system. Of course the changes are subtle. Given that
this structure is over an expressway you can’t have anything too jarring.”
Although the toll gantry projects an
image of smoothness and fluidity, building it was anything but a fast and easy
ride. The wing structure was built on
the ground in sections. Each time a section was complete, the Barbizon team would
go to the site to program and test the completed section individually. Then,
once the structure was assembled, the data lines were connected. It was over
eight months from the start of the first section until the structure was
completed.
“This was a project specified by a
consultant,” said Bongiorno. “Barbizon was selected for the project because of
its reputation for being the go to company to get the job done. There are
always a lot complex special requirements in a project of this nature and our
team members like Project Manager Shawn Finucane, System Sales Specialist Ted
Doyle and Tech Services people like Jack Hochberg, Cruze Hutcheson and Brandon
Cigainero did excellent work.”
Not surprisingly, the impressive new
toll gantry has generated a great deal of positive buzz among Miami area motorists.
“Many of our customers have asked me if I’ve seen the new toll gantry,” said
Bongiorno. “When I tell them we did that project, they’re just very
impressed. It feels good to all of us on
the team that we were part of something that’s appreciated by so many people
every day.”
