(Kingsbury) – Safer big rigs will be hitting Texas roadways thanks to the grand opening of the most state-of-the-art truck inspection facility in the state.
Five years in the making, the newly upgraded Seguin Inspection Facility on Interstate 10 East in Kingsbury is now well underway with several features designed to make the inspection of commercial vehicles easier.
Chris Nordloh, who oversees the commercial vehicle enforcement program for the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), says the project was accomplished through an industry partnership that involved state, local and federal agencies.
Nordloh says TxDOT designed the new facility and Guadalupe County built a four-lane-wide awning for trucks to pull under, screening commercial motor vehicles more quickly. He says this allows trucks that pass the screening to continue on their way while trucks with potential violations are pulled in for further inspection.
“In addition to this, you’ll see a 90-foot platform scale. This is the only one in the state of Texas. This is the only one. Most of them are about the size of this one right here where you pull up one axle both the steer axle and both the drive axles and then we pull up the trailer and then we add all the numbers together and we do that and this one right here allows us to pull the 18-wheeler up at weigh the entire 18-wheeler at one time and the computer does all the work for us. It’s pretty cool. It’s the only one in the state of Texas. Guadalupe County bought this and had it installed so I want to thank Guadalupe County for your continued support,” said Nordloh.
He says the new station also features a pit for DPS Troopers and inspectors to easily inspect brakes, linings, and other items in the undercarriage of an 18-wheeler.
“Guadalupe County not just by diverting some funding that they had for a project here in Guadalupe County to develop the bypass lane, they also installed a four lane awning and in that fourth lane right there is an inspection pit and what that does it allows our inspectors and our troopers to actually go down kind of like when you go get your oil change and there is a pit underneath and that’s where they drain the oil. (They) can actually go down in the pit,” said Nordloh.
Nordloh says another highlight of the Seguin Inspection Facility is $1 million in technology that helps detect in real time if a truck is following the law.
“Behind you is a bypass lane and what that allows us to do is install streaming technology at the beginning of the ramp that weighs the vehicles in motion. You don’t have to stop them to get a general weight. It weighs them in motion. We have an over height detector so any vehicle that is over 14 feet, the maximum height of most vehicles, it’s flagged. If it’s overweight, it gets flagged. We have a USDOT (number) reader and a license plate reader so we can identify the motor carrier in real time with this equipment behind me so we know who the carrier is as they come through,” said Nordloh.
A thermal imaging array can also look at a truck’s wheels and brakes for abnormalities. This ensures the safety of the commercial vehicle as it drives alongside millions of Texans each day.
The upgrades to the facility will also now allow the inspection station to be operated at least 40 hours a week and operated by DPS Troopers and commercial motor vehicle inspectors.