Bruce Highway (Pine River - Cairns), Road Operations Improvements
This project will provide Intelligent Transport System infrastructure at various locations along the Bruce Highway between Pine River and Cairns.
The Bruce Highway is Queensland’s major north-south freight and commuter corridor, connecting coastal population centres from Brisbane to Cairns. The 1,673km long highway is subject to a variety of internal and external impacts, from congestion to crashes, to roadworks, bushfires, landslips and flooding.
The Bruce Highway Road Operations Improvements Project will deploy roadside technology (Intelligent Transport Systems) at various locations along the highway to provide additional tools to achieve the project vision of sharing of real-time situational awareness.
It is anticipated the increase in roadside sensors and signage will enable more informed decision-making by road users, the department, and emergency services.
The focus of the project is:
- installing new roadside sensors to collect real-time information at priority locations to enable identification of traffic incidents, weather events (flooding etc.) and other issues
- the provision of enhanced real-time information to motorists through:
- roadside electronic signage
- QLDTraffic website and 13 19 40 phone line.
The objectives of the Bruce Highway Road Operations Improvements Project align with those of the Bruce Highway Upgrade Program, under which it is being delivered. These are:
- improved safety – enhancing safety of the highway
- improved flood immunity – increasing reliability of network (connectivity) and reducing duration of closures during flooding
- capacity improvement – enhancing economic opportunity through improved level of service on the highway.
Benefits
- Increases capacity
- Improves network efficiency
- Accessibility
Key features
Roadside sensors
- Close Circuit Television cameras will be installed at key locations for traffic monitoring by Traffic Management Centre operators.
- Flood Monitoring System devices will be installed at known flood locations along the Bruce Highway. These devices will be supported by Close Circuit Television cameras and will provide validation of rising water levels to Traffic Management Centre operators.
- Wireless Traffic Sensors devices are being installed at 10km intervals to capture real-time traffic and traffic congestion on the road network. This data will be used to inform messaging on nearby Variable Message Signs and Road Condition Information Signs devices via the department's STREAMS traffic management system.
Traveller Information System (Electronic Signage)
- Road Condition Information Sign devices provide live road condition information for motorists.
- Variable Message Sign devices will be installed in advance of key decision points and used as a mechanism for sharing real-time critical road information details, road closures, traffic hazards and potential delays to motorists.
- Active Advanced Warning Sign devices are designed to provide approaching traffic with advanced warning of localised flooding events. These signs will be triggered by Flood Monitoring System devices.
Funding
This project is jointly funded by the Australian and Queensland governments on an 80:20 (federal:state) basis.
Investment ID 155029
- Total investment
- $56 million
- Australian Government
- $44.8 million
- Queensland Government
- $11.2 million
Current status
Construction commenced in early 2020.
Map of the Bruce Highway showing sectors by region from Cairns in the north to Brisbane in the south.
| Category | North Coast | Southern Queensland | Central Queensland | North Queensland |
| Incident Confirmation and Verification System (Closed Circuit Television) | 24 | 6 | 15 | |
| Flood Monitoring System | 9 | 11 | 21 | |
| Traveller Information System (Electronic Signage – excluding Active Advanced Warning Sign) | 1 | 20 | 30 | 15 |
| Vehicle Detection System (Wireless Traffic Sensors) | 3 | 28 | 98 | 40 |