Side Note
Technology is helping to maximize inspection procedures and safety at the Peace Bridge, the third busiest crossing between the United States and Canada.
Operated by the Peace Bridge Authority, the bridge is located near the center of downtown Buffalo, N.Y. and Fort Erie, Ontario, where it crosses the Niagara River. A link for passenger car traffic, the Peace Bridge is also a vital link to long-distance, interstate travel and international trade.
Regal Decision Systems Inc., a Linthicum, Md.-based technology company specializing in simulation software and decision support analysis, has worked closely with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to evaluate changes in inspection procedures to improve safety at the Peace Bridge.
BorderWizard, a decision support software tool developed by Regal, is used to assist in planning, design, operation and evaluation of alternate strategies to enhance national border security. BorderWizard is a facility design and planning tool that allows the user to define the infrastructure and operating characteristics of any U.S. land border station. It allows planners to simulate the processing of commercial vehicles, passenger vehicles, buses, and pedestrian traffic.
The model has been used to evaluate design and procedural changes, identify chokepoints within the port’s operation, and perform regional analysis. GSA requires that all new design changes be analyzed with BorderWizard before being approved. The system consists of a database management system, a facility design, two discrete-event simulation models, a statistical reporting system, and 2-D or 3-D visualization capabilities.
“The BorderWizard software allows a model port to be created rapidly, accurately and to scale.” says Brian Renn, vice president of special projects for Regal.
Together, DHS and Regal concluded that the locations of secondary facilities in the Peace Bridge layout would cause a negative impact on the traffic flow. “At Peace Bridge, they wanted to improve traffic flow by building a new facility or by adding additional capacity to the current facility,” says Jenish Joseph, senior software developer. “We used BorderWizard to analyze the designs from a traffic flow point of view.”
Renn says this software was chosen because it is “proven to work.” “They were looking for rapid turnaround,” he adds.
