- New operations facility for road and traffic management across Perth
- Sophisticated technology and more data feedback to improve congestion
- Centre will help monitor Perth's first Smart Freeway - coming in 2020
A new high-tech Main Roads operations centre - capable of managing traffic flow across the entire metropolitan area - has now opened, Transport Minister Rita Saffioti announced today.
The Road Network Operations Centre (RNOC) is a purpose-built, world-class facility designed to optimise road network safety, performance and congestion management.
It enables close collaboration with critical first responders to manage real-time operations, emergency incidents and events on the road network.
RNOC provides Main Roads with a new and enhanced capability to manage traffic and congestion through:
- Using big data to understand traffic performance, including where excessive or abnormal delays exist;
- Enabling management of emergency incidents and major events in real time; and
- Providing real-time information to motorists through multiple channels.
The new centre will also have the capacity to manage Perth's first Smart Freeway, which will be operational by 2020 on Kwinana Freeway northbound between the Canning Highway and Narrows Bridge.
Smart Freeways use a range of advanced technologies and practices, such as lane use management, dynamic speed limits, driver information and co-ordinated ramp metering to provide motorists with greater journey reliability - saving time, reducing costs and enhancing safety.
The facility is also capable of adapting to other emerging technologies such as innovation at traffic signals, including priority for buses to improve real-time operations of the wider bus network, predictive analytics, and connected and automated vehicles.
Technology-driven congestion management initiatives so far have improved average speeds during peak hour compared to last year's levels. City-bound morning peak has experienced an overall 3.3 per cent improvement in traffic speeds and afternoon outbound peak a 3.5 per cent increase in traffic speeds.
RNOC replaces the Main Roads' Traffic Operations Centre in Northbridge, atop of the Graham Farmer Freeway traffic tunnel, which will be used as a reserve facility.
As noted by Transport Minister Rita Saffioti:
"This is the new nerve centre for Perth's road network, which is becoming increasingly sophisticated as technology evolves.
"On average, there are 270,000 vehicles using Perth's freeway system each day and this will undoubtedly increase as the city's population grows.
"Aside from the daily job of managing traffic and road incidents across the network, one of our priorities with RNOC is to ensure it is future proofing the network by adapting technological advancements that will get the most out of our existing roads in a safe and reliable way.
"Smart Freeways is a start to this, providing a sophisticated approach to adding more capacity to Perth's existing freeway system to manage congestion and improve safety.
"Feedback from RNOC and data from across the wider road network will help the Government make more informed decisions about future infrastructure investment."
