Palm Beach County Implements Video Analytics on Movable Bridges to Enhance Safety and Security

Nestled along Florida’s southeast coast, Palm Beach County spans 2,385 square miles, home to vibrant communities and 408 square miles of surface water. The Palm Beach County Bridge Section oversees eight bascule bridges along the scenic Intracoastal Waterway, as well as a historic swing bridge crossing the Rim Canal that encircles Lake Okeechobee.

To further improve safety measures at its movable bridges, the Palm Beach County Bridge Section sought to enhance existing precautions—such as traffic and pedestrian gates, warning lights, and signage—to better alert vehicles and pedestrians during bridge operations. After evaluating lidar and infrared sensing technologies implemented at other Florida bridge sites, the County selected a video security-based approach to deliver greater visual awareness and real-time alerts for Bridgetenders.

Recognizing Safeware as a trusted and proven vendor through previous county partnerships, the Bridge Section engaged the company to assist with system design and procurement. With Safeware’s experience providing public safety and security solutions nationwide—and its portfolio of national, state, and regional cooperative contracts—the acquisition process was efficient and compliant. Safeware assembled a specialized team comprising a national systems integrator and a leading manufacturer to develop a robust solution capable of meeting monitoring, alerting, and environmental durability requirements tailored to bridge operations.

The proposed solution delivers a fully integrated, intelligent bridge monitoring system that goes well beyond simple video verification. At its core is analytics that provide actionable insights and automated decision support for operational efficiency and safety. The video system seamlessly integrates with an alarm panel from Radionix for real-time event monitoring and system alerts, as well as with IP speakers that enable direct IP-to-IP communication for immediate on-site response and coordination. This level of integration creates a comprehensive platform—combining visual analytics, alarm management, and live communication—to proactively manage bridge access, monitor surrounding conditions, and enhance safety protocols under both routine and emergency scenarios.

Three county bridges are now equipped with MIC 7100i pan-tilt-zoom cameras as well as fixed cameras, including the FLEXIDOME multi 7000i, FLEXIDOME panoramic 5100i IR, and DINION 7100i IR, delivering full coverage of the bridges and surrounding waterways. Bridge Section staff installed the supporting infrastructure and developed and fabricated specialized mounts for the MIC cameras.

“The quality of the product engineered by the county is top notch” said Peter Van Kirk, North American Director, Government Security Solutions, for Safeware.

MIC cameras were chosen because they combine long-range coverage, precise pan-tilt-zoom maneuverability, and extreme ruggedization. The solid metal housing with superior metallurgy and finish protects against corrosion and operates in 100% humidity, while metal intermeshing gears resist shock and vibration.

“MIC cameras were selected not only for their superior coverage and smooth maneuverability, but because they are specifically engineered to deliver stable, high‑quality images in punishing environments—continuous vibration, salt air, and heavy humidity on movable bridges. This level of durability and performance under stress is exactly why, for this application, MIC cameras are in a class of their own,” Van Kirk emphasized.

BVMS provides live and recorded video display within the Bridgetender’s workstation. Operator permissions are configured so that Bridgetenders cannot modify camera pan, tilt, zoom or preset position settings to prevent unauthorized changes to fields of view. Privacy masking and/or privacy overlay functions obscure adjacent residential properties and other non-target areas to support compliance with privacy requirements. IQSIGHT’s Professional Services team configured BVMS and the video analytic alerts to ensure the system fully supports the specific requirements of Bridge Section staff.

A dedicated surveillance camera continuously monitors the Bridgetender control panel during bridge operation, recording each step of the bridge opening and closing sequence. Supervisors can remotely access this footage through the Video Security application to diagnose and resolve control panel issues more efficiently. This capability minimizes the need for on-site visits, accelerating restoration of bridge operations while reducing travel time and maintenance costs.

Compared to the lidar and infrared systems installed on other bridges across the state, the video system delivers broader functionality and operational benefits.

In addition to providing real-time visual confirmation of vehicles on the bridge, the system also monitors surrounding areas, including the adjacent waterway. This expanded coverage strengthens situational awareness and supports multiple county objectives.

The system design developed for the first two bridges—now nearing completion—serves as a blueprint for camera coverage implementation at the remaining sites. The county intends to deploy similar video surveillance systems across all bridges maintained by the Bridge Section.