Motorists who have noticed giant metal poles with sophisticated, almost alien-looking equipment attached to them should fret not.

They are not the eyes of extraterrestrials or even Big Brother spying on people. They are used by the Texas Department of Transportation to monitor and manage the highways that millions travel each day.

DRC

The Texas Department of Transportation collects traffic data using equipment mounted on 60-foot poles dotting Interstate 35E and I-35W.

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The 60-foot poles in Denton County are situated along Interstate 35E from George Bush Turnpike up to the interstate’s east-west split, and along I-35W to the Dallas-Tarrant county line.

They transmit real-time data to the Dal-Trans Center in Mesquite, said Cynthia White, spokeswoman for TxDOT’sDallas district.

The units are also spread out in several other locations throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

The units can measure vehicles’ speeds, record the types and numbers of vehicles crossing a location, and monitor highway traffic incidents, she said. Data is transmitted by radio.

On-the-spot traffic reports on various media often use images provided by TxDOT’s monitoring units, White said. The department also uses data from the units for its digital highway signs alerting drivers about how long it’ll take to reach a certain exit or about other traffic information.

“But it’s not used for law enforcement,” White said.

Drivers have requested video images of accidents from the units for insurance purposes, but White said the cameras do not record that type of information.

“It’s gathering real-time traffic patterns that assist us in managing the highway system,” she said.

BJ LEWIS can be reached at 940-566-6875. His e-mail address is blewis@dentonrc.com .