i-Traffic eases congestion

Johannesburg, 09 Oct 2006

The SA National Roads Agency's (Sanral's) R51 million pilot project to alleviate congestion on the Pretoria to Johannesburg highway is off to a smooth start, according to project manager Alex van Niekerk.

"So far, in the first week of operation, it's been quite successful," he says. "The back-up of traffic [motorists commuting into Johannesburg] starts later in the morning and it is over sooner."

He says during off-peak hours there are no longer any standstills, as was sometimes the case. "Traffic is flowing quite well throughout the day."

From the information Sanral has received since it has been monitoring the highway, an average of 180 000 cars pass between the Buccleuch and Allandale intersections, just to the north of Johannesburg, each day. In peak hours, 11 000 cars travel this route each hour, notes van Niekerk.

Future plans

"Acceleration lanes", extending the length of the New Road and Samrand on-ramps, will soon be opened, he adds. This promises to further ease congestion by utilising the emergency lane in the same way that the new shoulder lane has done.

Choosing the most appropriate places to open acceleration lanes has been facilitated by the monitoring information received during the first week of the project, explains van Niekerk.

Another initiative, "ramp metering", is on the cards, he says. This involves controlling access to the highway via restricting the traffic at the on-ramps. The general aim of the project, he says, is "to maintain optimal flow of traffic on the freeway," allowing the largest number of cars to reach their destination in a given period.

Message boards informing motorists of traffic problems along the highway, and inside the two metro areas, have also been up-and-running for over week.