New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has unveiled an ambitious plan to upgrade and automate the infrastructure of some of the state's busiest bridges, tunnels and highways in an effort to relieve congestion and bolster their security against natural and man-made disasters.

Seismic upgrades will be carried out to make bridges more flexible in the event of an earthquake. Image credit: Mike LaMonaca, under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.Key aspects of the New York Crossings Project include:

· Seismic upgrades will be carried out to make bridges more flexible in the event of an earthquake. Existing bridge bearings will be replaced with "seismic isolation bearings" that allow for rotation, reducing the transfer of seismic forces to mitigate damage. Bridges will have reinforcement added to bridge columns and piers to provide greater resistance to seismic forces. Concrete armor units around the underwater portion of bridge piers will be installed to provide long-term protection beyond seismic events.

· To reduce traffic congestion, the state will implement open road tolling. Sensors and cameras will be suspended on gantries over toll roads so that vehicles will not have to stop. Pass-carrying vehicles will be charged automatically, and those without will have their license plate recorded and a bill mailed to the registered owner.

· At bridge and tunnel crossings, advanced cameras and sensors will be installed to read license plates and employ facial recognition software and technologies. These will ultimately be applied across airports and transit hubs to develop a system-wide plan.

· Tunnels will be hardened to withstand a 500-year flood, with water-tight barriers installed to block floodwaters from entering. Tunnels will also have increased submersible pumping capacity to protect against flooding.

Funding for the upgrades will be allocated as part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's $27 billion capital plan.