Press Releases

IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 18, 2025
Contact: (212) 839-4850, press@dot.nyc.gov

Expanded Enforcement of Overweight Trucks Traveling on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway Begins Sunday

First-in-the-Nation Enforcement Using Roadway Weight Sensors Resulted in a Dramatic 60 Percent Reduction in Overweight Vehicles on the BQE in the Queens-Bound Direction

NYC DOT Will Begin Issuing Violations for Overweight Staten Island-Bound Trucks on June 22

NEW YORK – New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez today announced that the city will expand its crackdown on overweight vehicles on the Brooklyn Queens Expressway (BQE) this Sunday when it begins issuing violations to overweight Staten Island-bound trucks. NYC DOT's first-in-the-nation use of weigh-in-motion (WIM) technology uses roadway weight sensors to issue $650 violations to overweight trucks. The program's goal is to limit the wear and tear on the expressway's cantilever spans.

In March, a 90-day warning period began, and those operating overweight vehicles have received notices that they are in violation of state law and that automated enforcement will begin on June 22, 2025. Within the first 75 days of the warning period, more than 3,000 warnings were issued to overweight vehicles. During the first year of WIM enforcement for Queens-bound traffic, the number of overweight vehicles dropped by 60 percent.

"Overweight trucks cause wear-and-tear on our roadways and we all pay the price through expensive repairs to our infrastructure," said NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez. "That is why we are expanding our role as a nationwide leader by cracking down on overweight vehicles on the BQE, now deploying state-of-the-art roadway weight sensors for Staten Island-bound traffic."

Weigh-In-Motion Expansion

Given the success of the technology and thanks to advocacy by the Adams administration, during this year's legislative session New York State authorized the expansion of the use of weigh-in-motion automated enforcement to additional locations across New York State, including eleven locations within the five boroughs.

NYC DOT-Owned:

  1. BQE Route I-278 in Kings County (Atlantic to Sands)
  2. Greenpoint avenue bridge over Newtown Creek
  3. Metropolitan Avenue Bridge over Newtown Creek
  4. Hamilton Avenue Bridge over the Gowanus Canal
  5. Williamsburg Bridge
  6. Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge (State Route 25)
  7. Third Avenue Bridge over the Harlem River
  8. Manhattan Bridge
  9. Long Island Expressway (Interstate Route 495) over Woodhaven Boulevard

Non-NYC DOT-Owned in NYC:

  1. RFK Bridge
  2. George Washington Bridge

NYS-Owned outside NYC:

  1. Bear Mountain Bridge
  2. Newburgh Beacon Bridge
  3. Mid-Hudson Bridge
  4. NYS Thruway Interchange 34-A near Syracuse

Expanding the system will help reinforce existing vehicle weight restrictions citywide and protect additional critical infrastructure. NYC DOT will work with New York State agency partners to launch future efforts to deploy WIM systems.

WIM is Effective on the BQE

Since NYC DOT began WIM enforcement in 2023, the system has proven to be an incredibly effective tool at deterring overweight trucks from using the BQE in downtown Brooklyn. As of November 2024, overweight vehicles detected on the triple cantilever spans decreased by 60 percent, as noted in NYC DOT's 2024 WIM Report.

The WIM system technology utilizes roadway sensors to weigh passing vehicles in conjunction with adjacent cameras to capture the identifying information of vehicles that are overweight. Using this technology, those that violate the state maximum weight limit for their truck's weight/vehicle class are issued a $650 violation. For example, WIM legislation grants a 10 percent gross weight overage -- so a truck whose maximum gross vehicle weight is 40 tons is allowed to weigh 44 tons before a violation is issued. Prior to the use of this technology, NYC DOT found an average of 7,920 overweight vehicles driving in the Queens-bound direction on the city-owned portion of the BQE each month. During the first year of the use of WIM technology, this figure dropped to 3,041 vehicles on average.

WIM Across the Country

While WIM technology has been used across the country to screen and monitor for overweight vehicles, New York State became the first state to authorize direct enforcement when it was permitted for use on the BQE. With the expansion of the program to other critical infrastructure in New York City and beyond, and as other transportation partners around the country pursue this highly effective method to protect transportation infrastructure, the need for national standards becomes more urgent.

NYC DOT continues to advocate for the national standards to be included in future iterations of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Handbook so additional city and state governments can effectively implement this important and innovative tool. Proposed updates to address this need has the potential to be adopted via vote at the National Council on Weights and Measures's annual conference this July.

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