The Queensland Government is looking to the US model of reducing urban congestion as a means of freeing up the
The Queensland Government is looking to the US model of reducing urban congestion as a means of freeing up the State’s roads.
Premier Anna Bligh will visit a number of traffic management centres to gain advice on how to ensure major arterial roads are not blocked for hours on end following traffic incidents.
This will include a tour of New Jersey’s Emergency Garage, which uses specialised bulldozer trucks to clear accidents on one of New York’s busiest tunnels, the Lincoln Tunnel, which connects Manhattan with New Jersey.
“The tunnel carries about 120 000 vehicles per day, making it one of the busiest vehicular tunnels in the world,” Bligh says.
According to the Premier, bulldozer trucks can clear accidents from the tunnel within minutes, making it an attractive proposition to freeing up the Gateway motorway.
“We have seen recent examples where one accident on a major arterial like the Gateway motorway can bring the city to a halt,” Bligh says.
“This equipment could change that. While building new roads is part of the answer to urban congestion, using technology to get smarter use of our roads is equally important.”
Bligh will also be looking at a technological system designed to detect and manage accidents, which is used by the Transportation Operations Coordinating Committee (TRANSCOM) Regional Incident and Traffic Management Centre in New Jersey.
Bligh says TRANSCOM is responsible for manufacturing a number of systems which integrate the transport management schemes of its member agencies and distribute information to the public.
TRANSCOM encompasses 16 major transit, highway and police agencies in the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut metropolitan region, Bligh says.
“It is one simple coordinating system with a strong focus on clearing the roads quickly,” she says.