The SA National Roads Agency (Sanral) has begun the first phase, valued at R51 million, of its i-traffic project, also known as the Intelligent Transport System.
At a Johannesburg event on Friday, transport minister Jeff Radebe officially launched the project.
According to project manager Alex van Niekerk, i-traffic seeks to ease traffic congestion and improve incident reporting and response times.
"We launched on Friday, to mark the beginning of Transport Month, but full operations on the N1 will only start this week."
Closed-circuit TV cameras and electronic message signs on the highway between Pretoria and Johannesburg capture and relay real-time traffic information to motorists, police and emergency services.
Benefits
The opening of a fourth lane, controlled by electronic signs, on the North- and South-bound N1 between Buccleuch and Allandale, was delayed this morning due to a slight technical problem, notes Van Niekerk.
The electronic message billboards notifying motorists of traffic incidents should also go live this week.
"The benefits are not just improved traffic flow, but reduced reaction times to incidents and better incident reporting," he adds.
Radebe said the increasing traffic congestion through the use of private cars is impeding Johannesburg's economic growth, according to a report on state information portal BuaNews.
About 160 000 cars travel from Pretoria to Johannesburg each day, Radebe said.
Expansions
Van Niekerk says it is too early to assess the initial successfulness of the project, but plans to expand the scope of the Intelligent Transport System are on the radar.
The second phase of the project, set to cost about R44 million, will monitor sections of the N4, N17 and N12. The whole system, he says, "should be up and running by January 2008".
However, all communications infrastructure and CCTV cameras are expected to be set-up within the next eight months.
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