Main Roads Western Australia has recently completed the instalment of Perth’s first Smart Freeway technology at Kwinana Freeway northbound, stretching from Roe Highway to the Narrows Bridge. The new smart technology has significantly reduced congestion and increased road safety for Perth drivers and will soon be brought to other parts of the freeway network, making better use of existing road infrastructure. With Main Roads Western Australia staff managing traffic on the freeway and entry ramps, this new development has saved drivers up to 10 minutes on journey times.
Corsign was involved in the development of the Kwinana Smart Freeway project by providing the required custom-made road safety signage to the Main Roads contractor appointed for the construction of the Smart Freeway. A benefit for them was that Corsign was also able to install all signage, and as with all Corsign projects, this project’s signage was manufactured and installed through an efficient process whilst ensuring that site safety protocols are always met.
Smart Freeways use Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) to monitor and adjust traffic conditions, reducing congestion by changing speed limits when needed and using ramp signals to make merging easier, as well as opening and closing lanes in the event of an incident. The Kwinana Smart Freeway project involved converting the emergency lane into an additional traffic lane, from Canning Highway to the Narrows, and new technology and traffic signals have been installed at five northbound on-ramps. Six emergency stopping bays are located roughly 630 metres apart for driver safety in the event of a breakdown. Operators are alerted as soon as someone pulls into a bay or stops in a traffic lane, and the Road Network Operations Centre monitors traffic numbers and speeds on the Smart Freeway using sensors, radars and CCTV 24/7.
Corsign GM and Project Manager, Jo Lim, advised that due to the location of the project, being on a live freeway, the windows of opportunity to install the required signage was small and limited to a number of scheduled freeway closures. This meant we needed to work to a strict project timeline requiring all signage to be manufactured, and our installation team made available, prior to the scheduled closures.
Also being located right next to the Swan River, consideration had to be taken to any potential environmental impacts caused by contaminates.
Corsign has a strong ongoing partnership with Main Roads WA, and its various Civil Construction partners, and are already preparing for their next project, the Mitchell Freeway ‘Smart Freeway’.
