Weigh-in-Motion Implementation Along North-South Expressway Malaysia

Premature damage to roadways caused by overweight vehicles increase hazards to road users, slow down traffic, increase lane shutdowns and increase road maintenance costs. To minimize premature pavement damage along the North-South Expressway (NSE) between Thailand and Singapore, weigh-in-motion (WIM) systems have been installed to measure vehicle-in-motion weight based on a combined information capture of speed, axle count and weight detected by piezoelectric sensors within the expressway pavement. Preliminary results from WIM systems deployed at 13 locations along the NSE and 6 more at NSE interconnections indicate that 3 - 16% of Heavy Vehicles in general along the NSE are overloaded. At WIM locations adjacent to Singapore and Thai borders, 13.8 - 16% of Heavy Vehicles traveling were detected as overloaded. With such data from WIM system monitoring confirming significant overloading, what remains is how best to notify, divert, police and impose suitable deterrent penalties effectively with an ideal result of penalties recouped to pay for premature expressway damage. Also presented in this paper is an overview of existing WIM system implementation, present and future challenges faced, and potential solutions.