Smarter Highways Program
Project overview
The Smarter Highways Program is an initiative aimed at making NSW highways safer, more reliable, and more resilient through the deployment of innovative technologies.
This program is being implemented through a series of trials in regional NSW.
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Program overview
The Smarter Highways Program addresses core problems on the road network by:
- improving workplace safety by reducing risks for road workers
- reducing risky behaviours of drivers not driving to current road conditions, which lead to higher rates of crashes, injuries, and fatalities
- providing viable early detour alternatives to reduce economic and social consequences for motorists.
Trial projects
Smarter Highways Activated Vehicle and Environmental Signage (SHAVES)
- Status: Under development
- Locations: Three locations have been selected and are under review
- Description: The electronic signs will use machine learning to predict events and warn drivers about hazards like black ice and wildlife. This system eliminates the need for maintenance crews to set up portable signs in dangerous areas. It includes prism signs, VMS screens, and flashing lights. The signs are powered by solar energy, have high-capacity batteries, and use local radio and internet for remote access and status updates.
Permanent Traffic Counters - Road Pod Vehicle Magnetometer (VM)
- Status: The initial phase of trials has concluded. Results are being analysed, and this will determine whether the trial will proceed to permanent installation.
- Locations: Great Western Highway, Kelso and Newell Highway, Dubbo.
- Description: A new permanent traffic counter on NSW roads provides real-time information about vehicle numbers, types, speeds, gaps between vehicles, temperatures, and system health all day, every day. It uses affordable 4G technology, is powered by solar energy, and saves a lot of money and time compared to occasional traffic surveys. The system is easy to set up and can be installed in less than an hour. It allows live traffic monitoring, which is especially useful during holidays, harvest seasons, and times of seasonal changes or natural disasters. The data from these counters can be viewed by the public in the Traffic Volume Viewer (TVV).
Rural Intersection Speed Zone (RISZ)
- Status: Pre-counting/survey analyses started
- Location: Intersection of Golden Highway and Ulan Road
- Description: When a vehicle on a side road gets close to a high-speed main road, sensors activate signs that tell drivers on the main road to slow down. This creates safer gaps in traffic and gives drivers, especially those in larger vehicles, more time to enter the main road. It leads to fewer and less severe crashes because of the lower speed limit and reduces the need for permanent speed reductions. Similar systems are used in other states.
Improving Local Area Traffic Management During Major Disruptions
- Status: in development
- Locations: Jenolan Caves and Cowra
- Description: Using technology to ensure safe and reliable access during unexpected and planned road disruptions. Trials will be held at Jenolan Caves before it opens to the public in late 2025 and at Cowra, where roads often flood. The exact technology to be used is still being decided. The goal is to improve traffic management in local areas during major disruptions.
Permanent Congestion Management
- Status: Currently in development
- Location: Victoria Pass, Great Western Highway near Mount Victoria
- Description: Using radars and traffic signals, this system manages traffic congestion at a busy spot in the Blue Mountains. It aims to solve problems caused by vehicles breaking down while waiting on the steep climb up Victoria Pass during peak times. The system detects queues forming at the top of Victoria Pass and uses that data to control traffic lights at the bottom of the hill. Vehicles are then released up the hill in a safe and managed way, reducing the number of breakdowns on the incline. By controlling the traffic flow, cars go up the hill in groups without stopping partway, unlike the current method where a continuous queue crawls up the hill, causing breakdowns. If successful, this system will replace the current method where crews stay onsite during busy periods and use temporary signals to control traffic flow.
Road Condition Information System
- Status: Not started
- Locations: 13 sites including the Cut Line and Cameron Corner Rd
- Description: 13 new electronic road signs in remote parts of NSW give real-time updates on road and weather conditions, helping drivers avoid dangers like flooded roads. They can be controlled remotely from the control centre at McLeods Shoot, which is 1500 km away, saving road crews hours of manual work. This comes after the successful installation of 9 signs on the Cobb and Silver City Highways in 2021.
VMS Project on the Waterfall Way
- Status: Phase 1 completed
- Location: Waterfall Way
- Description: The Smart Infrastructure team installed 6 small electronic signs along Waterfall Way between Coffs Harbour and Armidale, which have been working since mid-2024. These signs warn drivers about road closures due to severe weather events like Cyclone Alfred. A weather station now provides rain data to automatically adjust the signs and predict flooding in advance.