Transport for NSW has revealed new technology and truck turning areas have been successfully installed at the Tugun bypass tunnel to help prevent overheight vehicles getting stuck.
The completion of the works should solve the “rare but highly disruptive” problem of overheight drivers slip past warning signs prior to the tunnel’s entrance.
Should the overheight drivers reach the tunnel, previously they would have had to reverse their rig four kilometres back up the motorway before they could turn around.
New advance warning signs have been installed alongside a turning area closer to the tunnel, meaning overheight drivers will not have to back up such a significant distance.
“The time and cost savings from this change are enormous and it will mean the lengthy delays when an overheight vehicle inadvertently entered the tunnel are a thing of the past.
“Transport for NSW put in new overheight detection systems to notify staff of a vehicle approaching the tunnel, so they can immediately activate variable speed limit signs to stop them reaching the tunnel.
“We’ve also installed five new advance warning signs and new traffic lights just short of where we’ve put in new heavy vehicle crossovers.
“The Tugun tunnel goes underneath Coolangatta Airport, with the southern end of the tunnel in NSW and the northern end in Queensland, and we had great collaboration with the Queensland authorities to get the work done.
“The project has improved advance warning technology as well as the infrastructure, so if any overheight vehicles did get past the advance warning systems, they would be stopped and able to turn around at the tunnel entrance.”
Most of the work to fix the issue was carried out over two years during quarterly maintenance tunnel closures to minimise impacts to motorists.
The turning areas have been installed close to both the southbound and northbound entrances of the tunnel.
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