Focus LRTAWA by David Fyfe, President, Livestock and Rural Transport Association of Western Australia (Inc)
Connectivity and productivity are connected
I
t is well known that economic competitiveness is closely linked to the quality of our supply chain infrastructure. There are varying estimates about the potential growth of the freight task in the coming years with some predictions suggesting that land freight could increase
by 35% by 2040. Faced with growth challenges our supply chain infrastructure needs to improve if we are to meet increased demand. Without improvements we will be faced with more bottlenecks and pinch points and goods will take longer to reach markets and ports at a higher cost. Our reputation as a reliable supplier will
suffer. The community will feel the impact as will the many transport businesses that are servicing these markets and the economy in general. The Australian Infrastructure Audit in 2019 pointed out that agricultural supply chains in Australia were experiencing challenges. It noted that our cities are
News
Mitchell Freeway southbound transformation a step closer
S
mart Freeways technology is one step closer to being rolled out along the Mitchell Freeway southbound, with three consortia, invited to submit detailed design and construction proposals. The three consortia shortlisted are: • CPB, GHD, UGL and SAGE • Intelligent Freeways Alliance (NRW, Lendlease Services, WSP) • SmartWays Alliance (BMD, Ventia, Arup). This stage of the project will deliver
18
WATM • May 2021
coordinated ramp signals at seven freeway entry ramps from Reid Highway to Vincent Street, ensuring vehicles enter the freeway safely and efficiently while avoiding stop-start conditions at known pinch points. Closer to the city, Smart Freeway infrastructure will be installed with lane use management technology to display open and closed traffic lanes for incident management, unlocking additional freeway capacity and allowing traffic to be managed in real time.
Variable speed limits will improve traffic flow and safety by making adjustments based on traffic volumes and conditions, while dynamic message signs over the freeway lanes will display information about the road conditions ahead. The project will also install other smart technology such as CCTV, Vehicle Detectors, Automatic Incident Detection, and Stopped Vehicle Detection at emergency stopping bays, as well as upgrade the existing Traffic Control
