Case Study: Illinois Department of Transportation achieves 99% automated oversize/overweight permit issuance and faster bridge analysis with Bentley SUPERLOAD

Illinois DOT Improves Bridge Analysis; Increases Auto-issuance of OS/OW Vehicle Permits

The Illinois Department of Transportation faced slow, manual permitting for oversize/overweight (OS/OW) truck loads—processes that could take up to two weeks—hindering commerce and risking inconsistent route safety decisions. To modernize permitting, IDOT implemented the Illinois Transportation Automated Permits (ITAP) system and integrated Bentley’s SUPERLOAD Bridge Analysis to provide automated, load-specific structural assessments.

By integrating Bentley SUPERLOAD with ITAP, IDOT automated route and bridge analyses so permits that meet defined weight and dimension criteria are auto-issued; auto-issuance rose to about 99% (99.2% for loads ≤299,999 lb), manual analyses dropped by 91.5% (saving USD 11,400/month), and IDOT avoided roughly 54,600 manual analyses annually. The system now performs ~3 million Bentley-driven analyses per year, issues over 230,000 permits annually (generating USD 21M for the Illinois General Road Fund), improved safety and consistency, and even enabled nighttime travel for certain loads.

Illinois Department of Transportation

Geno Koehler

Permit Office Unit Chief