Utah DoT Hands Quarterhill $6.3m Express Lanes Deal

Why It Matters

Modernizing the tolling back‑office gives UDoT real‑time visibility, reduces manual work and positions the agency to scale revenue as traffic volumes grow. The contract showcases growing demand for integrated mobility‑as‑a‑service platforms in U.S. transportation.

Key Takeaways

• Quarterhill wins $6.3 M, five‑year contract with Utah DOT
• Solution consolidates dashboards, automates rules, and tracks every transaction
• Network covers 82 mi each direction, 77 toll points, 30 k transponders
• Optional five‑year extensions allow flexible scaling without system downtime
• Expected to boost operational efficiency and revenue transparency

Pulse Analysis

The United States’ tolling infrastructure has long outpaced its administrative backbone. While sensors, cameras and dynamic pricing engines have become increasingly sophisticated, many agencies still rely on fragmented dashboards and manual data entry to reconcile transactions. This disconnect hampers real‑time decision making and inflates operational costs. As congestion pricing and express lane programs expand, the pressure to modernize back‑office systems grows. Quarterhill’s contract with Utah’s Department of Transportation exemplifies a shift toward unified, cloud‑native platforms that can keep pace with evolving mobility services.

Quarterhill’s modular platform centralizes transaction processing, account management and customer‑service operations into a single rule‑engine. Automated routing assigns each toll event to the appropriate workflow, while built‑in exception handling flags anomalies without human intervention. The system integrates with existing ERP and operational tools, preserving legacy investments while delivering a single source of truth. For UDoT, this means eliminating the “patchwork of dashboards” described by CEO Chuck Myers, reducing manual labor, and maintaining uninterrupted service even as the Express Lanes program adds new pricing rules or expands to additional corridors.

The Utah deal signals broader market momentum for back‑office as a service in transportation. With 1.63 million trips generating $2.75 million in FY2025 revenue, agencies recognize that streamlined billing and analytics can directly impact the bottom line. Quarterhill’s success may encourage other state DOTs and private toll operators to replace legacy systems, fostering a competitive ecosystem of SaaS providers. As integrated platforms mature, they will enable faster policy changes, improve customer experience, and provide richer data for traffic‑management strategies, ultimately supporting smarter, revenue‑positive mobility networks.