Illinois Dept of Transportation to Use Drones

Drones are everywhere nowadays, and now they could be watching you as you travel Illinois roadways.

The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) has launched a pilot program (no pun intended) to utilize drones to monitor bridge inspections and respond to emergencies along with other undisclosed potential future uses.

The drones would also have the ability to take photos and could be used for live-streaming.

IDOT tweeted:

The Journal Courier reports that the use of drones would also

• Improve the safety of workers and the public
• Reduce costs and introduce new strategies on everything from bridge inspections to determining the appropriate responses to emergency incidents

Here is footage from one of the IDOT drones at the intersection of I-74 & I-55 near Effingham.

The drones are expected to play a role in increasing efficiency and improving employee safety by reducing the need to have workers in the field in high-risk situations.

IDOT now owns two drones and may purchase additional drone units in the coming year. No word on if the drones will eventually be used to catch speeders or for other police purposes.