Image: Michael Huey
In 1956, US President Dwight D. Eisenhower revolutionised road transport in America when he introduced the Interstate Highway initiative, which would ultimately see a network of freeways stretch across the country from coast to coast.
Now, thanks to technology developed by Queensland company Transmax, America’s highways could be revolutionised all over again.
In what the Colorado Department of Transport (CDOT) says is a US first, Transmax’s Managed Motorways system of traffic control will be trialled over the next six months on a freeway stretch in the Denver area.
Managed Motorways, which Transmax has already implemented on Melbourne’s M1 Freeway, uses real-time traffic information to control ramp metering so as to reduce congestion and accidents.
Queensland main roads and safety minister Mark Bailey said the technology improved traffic performance by the equivalent of adding another lane to a highway.
“We are working with Colorado Department of Transport to help it embrace emerging technology to manage transport, reduce crashes, and improve congestion,” he said in a media release.
Visiting Colorado as part of an effort to showcase Queensland business solutions, Bailey said he was proud to champion the expertise of the state’s companies.
“This is an example of the incredible range of skills, ingenuity, and capability Queensland has to implement innovative technological business solutions across the globe.”
Costing US$7 million, the Colorado trial will address traffic on a 24-kilometre stretch of one of Denver’s most congested north–south corridors. If the trial is successful, CDOT will expand it further along the I-25 interstate highway.
Colorado’s neighbouring state Utah is also considering adopting the Managed Motorways technology for its I-15 highway.
“Transmax has partnered with Parsons Brinckerhoff and Maurice Burley (an Australian consulting road safety and traffic engineer) to introduce its functionality to the United States,” Bailey said in the release.
“The first project involves a trial for the Utah Department of Transport to improve the reliability, capacity, and safety of its freeways.”
