Skip to main content

UK port installs Swarco traffic management

FM Conway, the main contractor for the traffic management improvement scheme at the Port of Dover, has awarded Swarco the contract to install 15 variable message signs as part of a US$123 million (£85 million) capital investment programme to better manage and control vehicles through a new freight holding facility to remove more than 4km of queuing traffic from Kent’s highways. Two signs are used to direct heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) into Customs or the holding facility, depending on the quantity of tra
May 18, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
FM Conway, the main contractor for the traffic management improvement scheme at the Port of Dover, has awarded 129 Swarco the contract to install 15 variable message signs as part of a US$123 million (£85 million) capital investment programme to better manage and control vehicles through a new freight holding facility to remove more than 4km of queuing traffic from Kent’s highways.

Two signs are used to direct heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) into Customs or the holding facility, depending on the quantity of traffic; the remainder are installed on a 57.5 metre-long gantry at the start of the holding facility, giving drivers clear information about which lane to enter.

The Port has created a 13-lane holding zone catering for 220 outbound HGVs, limiting the need for Dover Traffic Access Protocol, a ‘rolling road’ HGV queuing system on the A20, and greatly reducing traffic and delays in Dover itself.

The signs, which include over 160,000 individual LEDs, were required to meet the Port’s exacting light emission standards to cater for its 24/7 freight needs and reduce light pollution at night.

As a part of the contract, Swarco also installed its management software, giving the operator 12 settings for different scenarios; 65 traffic detection sensors with count in/out capability; and barriers, operated by a traffic light system, that mark the holding facility’s end.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • I-80 Smart Corridor sets the ITS standard for California's Bay Area
    March 23, 2015
    Colin Sowman looks at California’s ‘smartest’ road which will open this spring to counter congestion and accidents on one of the Bay Area’s busiest interstates. Interstate 80 (I-80) is one of the busiest roads in the San Francisco Bay area with up to 270,000 vehicles using the corridor every day. The section between the Carquinez Bridge in Crockett and the Bay Bridge not only suffers congestion during the working week but also at weekends. Traditional remedies such as building additional lanes (there are al
  • RAC survey shows big safety gains with average speed enforcement
    January 11, 2017
    Cheaper and easier communications are providing authorities with new options for influencing driver behaviour. Colin Sowman reports. It’s official; Average speed cameras (ASCs) cut the number of fatal or serious injury crashes by more than a third.
  • New changes could cut Britain's 4.6 million road signs
    May 2, 2014
    New plans to allow local councils in Great Britain the freedom to cut down the number of road markings and signs have been announced by Roads Minister Robert Goodwill. The changes are included in a new consultation which also contains proposals for clearer road markings and new low-level signals for cyclists which will help improve safety on the roads.
  • ASECAP examines tolling’s trials, tribulations and triumphs
    September 4, 2018
    If you want to get up to speed on the main issues facing the transport sector and tolling companies, ASECAP Study Days event in Ljubljana was a good place to start. Colin Sowman reports (Photographs: Louis David). Increasing populations, ever-higher technical and safety requirements, and electric and hybrid vehicles will provide both challenges and opportunities for tolling companies. The annual Study Days event organised by ASECAP (the European association for tolling companies) examined all of these aspec