BORDEN-CARLETON, P.E.I. — The province of P.E.I. has installed an intelligent transportation system at its inspection station here, which will allow about 75% of trucks to pass by the scale without pulling in to be weighed.

Transport and Infrastructure Renewal Minister Ron MacKinley, was on-hand to officially launch the new weigh-in-motion technology, which he says will save truckers time and money.

“In the truck and transport industry, time is money,” said MacKinley. “By making this investment we can continue to do the important regulatory work we do at the Borden scales, but we can also save a lot of time for the hundreds of trucks which cross the Confederation Bridge every day.”

The system consists of pavement sensors, a fibre-optic link to the provincial scalehouse and computerized weigh-in-motion technology that pre-screens trucks as they arrive on P.E.I. The system then directs only the most relevant loads to the scalehouse for inspection, while most trucks will be allowed to proceed down the highway without stopping at the inspection station, the province announced.

Factors such as gross vehicle weight and the width of a load will be used to determine whether a truck must report to the scales for inspection. The system was welcomed by the Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association (APTA).

“We are very pleased with the launch of this new weigh system,” said APTA director, Tyson Kelly. “This will save our industry significant time and expense, and I think it will also smooth out the flow of traffic through the community of Borden, which is another benefit.”

More info is available at www.buildpei.ca.