Skip to main content

Australia to develop national smart managed motorways trial

Australia's 2011 federal government budget, announced yesterday, will provide AU$61.4 million over three years for the development of a national smart managed motorways trial to improve congestion, lower urban emissions, and expand the capacity of existing outer city road infrastructure networks.
May 17, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Australia’s 2011 federal government budget, announced yesterday, will provide AU$61.4 million over three years for the development of a national smart managed motorways trial to improve congestion, lower urban emissions, and expand the capacity of existing outer city road infrastructure networks.

The programme will fund smart infrastructure road projects identified by Infrastructure Australia, a statutory body established under the Infrastructure Australia Act 2008, as demonstrating high benefit-cost ratios and improving traffic demand management and the overall efficiency of the transport flows in major cities. A range of ITS solutions, including ramp metering and signalling, variable message signs, traveller information systems, managed motorways and freight prioritisation, will be used, while Infrastructure Australia has had its funding increased by $36 million over the next four years. This is to enable it to develop long-term strategies to tackle infrastructure bottlenecks, improve freight networks, and promote private funding of domestic infrastructure by investors.

Outlining the government’s infrastructure vision and plans in a budget statement, Anthony Albanese, Australia’s minister for infrastructure and transport, said the managed motorway scheme would secure a higher and more consistent level of motorway performance resulting in travel time savings and improved reliability, improved road safety and lower greenhouse gases emissions.

His full, 42-page budget statement, which contains the principal elements of Australia's national policy (Our Cities, Our Future: A national urban policy for a productive, sustainable and liveable future) released yesterday.

Related Content

  • Melbourne installs smart road technology
    June 18, 2013
    Work is now underway on installing the latest electronic freeway management technology along Melbourne’s West Gate Freeway in Victoria, Australia, with the entire project to be completed by the middle of next year. Installation of the freeway management system along more of Melbourne’s road network will be fully integrated with the one already in use on the M1 east of Williamstown Road as well as that proposed for the M80 Ring Road, according to Victorian Roads (VicRoads) minister Terry Mulder. “Indeed, ou
  • Cost benefit: Toronto retimings tame traffic trauma
    July 19, 2018
    Canada’s largest city reckons that it is saving its taxpayers’ money simply by altering the way traffic lights work. David Crawford reviews Toronto’s ambitious plans to ease congestion Toronto, Canada’s largest metropolis (and the fourth largest in North America), has saved its residents CAN$53 (US$42.4) for every CAN$1 (US$0.80) spent over a 2012-2016 traffic signal retiming programme, according to figures released by its Transportation Services Division. The programme covered 1,275 signals (the city’s
  • Congestion pricing: the time to act is now
    August 20, 2024
    New York may have thrown a curveball on congestion pricing, but it is a proven global strategy for traffic management which cities should adopt, argues Wes Guckert of The Traffic Group
  • Cost benefit: Toronto retimings tame traffic trauma
    July 11, 2018
    Canada’s largest city reckons that it is saving its taxpayers’ money simply by altering the way traffic lights work. David Crawford reviews Toronto’s ambitious plans to ease congestion. Toronto, Canada’s largest metropolis (and the fourth largest in North America), has saved its residents CAN$53 (US$42.4) for every CAN$1 (US$0.80) spent over a 2012-2016 traffic signal retiming programme, according to figures released by its Transportation Services Division. The programme covered 1,275 signals (the city’s to