A section of one of Canberra's major roads is set to get variable speed limits as part of a bid to reduce the number of car crashes.
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Parts of the Tuggeranong Parkway will have speed limits that will change depending on factors such as traffic and weather conditions.
Currently, the parkway has a 100km/h speed limit along its 11 kilometres.
Documents seen by The Canberra Times have shown variable speed limit signs will be placed between the intersections of Forest Drive/Lady Denman Drive near the National Arboretum and Cotter Road.
Cameras will also be installed nearby along parts of the road, to help determine what speed limit will be enforced at a particular time.
Speed limits could be lowered from 100km/h if there was heavy traffic or in wet conditions.
The government also plans to install variable message signs along major roads leading to the Tuggeranong Parkway, including along Cotter Road and near the Heysen Street underpass.
Variable speed limits are commonplace among many major motorways in Sydney and Melbourne as part of measures to reduce congestion.
Project documents said the infrastructure would help reduce the number of road incidents on the Parkway.
"Tuggeranong Parkway between Cotter Road and Glenloch Interchange has a significant crash history," project documents said.
"This has brought up the need for variable speed limit systems to improve traffic safety at these locations by reducing the likelihood of secondary (rear-end) crashes along both carriageways, particularly northbound."
It's estimated up to 35,000 vehicles use the Tuggeranong Parkway each day. Up to 4000 of those are during peak hour.
The project is expected to cost $700,000, and half of that will come from federal government funding earmarked for road safety upgrades as part of COVID-19 economic recovery measures.
Documents for the project said the installation of variable speed limit signs along the road would enable the Tuggeranong Parkway to become a smart motorway.
Smart motorways are sections of major roads where information and communication systems are incorporated into the road to help manage traffic flow and road capacity.
"The optimal use of variable speed limit systems is achieved by being part of incident and congestion management systems, as well as weather/road surface condition detection systems where warranted," project documents said.
It's expected that information picked up by the cameras as part of the variable speed limit systems will be monitored and controlled remotely by Transport Canberra's traffic management centre.
Tender applications for the project close February 15.
The variable speed limit signs won't be the first piece of infrastructure placed along the road in recent years as part of road safety efforts.
Chevrons, or upside-down Vs, were marked on sections of the road as part of tailgating prevention measures in 2019.
That project was first flagged by the territory government in 2017, and chevrons were placed in southbound lanes between Hindmarsh Drive and Sulwood Drive and in northbound lanes between Cotter Road and Lady Denman Drive.
Andrew Brown
I've been part of the Canberra Times since 2016, after reporting at local papers in Sydney's north-west. Since starting at the paper I've had stints on the Sunday Times, on the early morning breaking news round, and now as a general reporter, covering the ins and outs of anything and everything happening in Canberra, with a focus on health.
I've been part of the Canberra Times since 2016, after reporting at local papers in Sydney's north-west. Since starting at the paper I've had stints on the Sunday Times, on the early morning breaking news round, and now as a general reporter, covering the ins and outs of anything and everything happening in Canberra, with a focus on health.
