Bentley Systems, one of the leading global providers of comprehensive software solutions acquired SignCAD Systems, a leading provider of software for traffic sign design and manufacturing. SignCAD offers design solutions to 43 state departments of transportation (DOTs) in the U.S as well as many cities, counties, engineering firms and manufacturers. SignCAD’s sign capabilities complement Bentley’s OpenRoads civil design software offerings for roadway projects.

Commenting on the acquisition, Dustin Parkman, Vice President -Civil Infrastructure Design Engineering, Bentley Systems, says, “With the addition of SignCAD, 3D modeling of signs within the context of our roadway designs allows us to provide a higher fidelity representation of roadway assets, yielding benefits beyond design and construction workflows. In this new era of autonomous vehicles, the digital representation of roadway networks is quickly becoming just as vital as the physical roadway. Faded or obscured signs and unusual intersections are commonplace throughout most of world’s roadway networks, presenting new and interesting challenges for roadway owners—challenges that often cannot be met by physical upgrades alone.

To bridge that gap, we need a digital representation of roadway assets often referred to as a ‘digital twin.’ Roadway signs provide important information about the road network that can be leveraged far beyond conventional line of site machine learning methods, to provide additional depth of information and calibration. With the addition of SignCAD, Bentley’s digital twin for roadway assets will provide this valuable data to roadway asset owners”.

The offerings for traffic signs include sign design, sign manufacturing, and asset management software solutions. The acquisition builds upon Bentley’s ability to deliver the most comprehensive set of solutions for design and construction of transportation assets. The acquisition will also allow Bentley to better serve roadway asset owners for the purposes of maintaining safer construction work zones while sustaining roadway performance criteria for the public.

Judd Roby, President, SignCAD, comments, “We are extremely excited about adding SignCAD into the realm of 3D modeling with OpenRoads. This acquisition supports our goals of continuing to meet the transportation owner/operators’ needs across the design, build, operate, and maintain lifecycle”.
Since its inception in 1984, the company has remained majority-owned by its five founding Bentley brothers. It employs more than 3,500 colleagues, generates annual revenue of $700 million in 170 countries, and has invested more than $1 billion in research, development, and acquisitions since 2012. Bentley’s MicroStation-based engineering and BIM applications, and its digital twin cloud services, advance the project delivery (ProjectWise) and the asset performance (AssetWise) of transportation and other public works, utilities, industrials and resources plants and commercial and institutional facilities.