Smart Freeway
Smart technology will open and close traffic lanes in the event of an incident and adjust speed limits to get more traffic through during busy periods. Credit: © Arup.

BMD Construction, Ventia, and Arup consortium SmartWays Alliance have secured a contract to work with Main Roads Western Australia to construct Perth’s first Smart Freeway.

SmartWays Alliance will build an additional 10km northbound lane on the Kwinana Freeway using smart technology. The lane will span from Canning Highway to the Narrows Bridge.

The A$47m ($33.9m) Smart Freeway project will feature improved lane-use management, variable speed limits and coordinated ramp signals to provide safer and more efficient travel.

The project is part of the federal and state government’s A$2.3bn ($1.6bn) ‘boosting jobs, busting congestion’ package of WA road and rail projects announced in May last year.

“This initiative has been highly successful in other cities in Australia and overseas, with Main Roads WA drawing on expertise from across the country and the UK to inform a Smart Freeways solution for Perth.”

Federal Minister for Cities, Urban Infrastructure and Population Alan Tudge said: “Like the name says, this is smart technology, and it will bust congestion across Perth’s southern suburbs.”

Planning for the project is currently under progress while construction and installation of smart technologies are scheduled to be completed next year.

The Government of Australia is providing A$37.6m ($27.1m) for the project, while the remaining A$9.4m ($6.78m) will be sourced from the state government.

WA Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said: “It will deliver journey time savings of up to ten minutes for freeway road users travelling northbound from Roe Highway to the city.

“In a constrained location where the railway and Swan River prevent traditional widening works, Smart Freeways offer a great solution to help alleviate and manage congestion, while also improving safety for road users.

“This initiative has been highly successful in other cities in Australia and overseas, with Main Roads WA drawing on expertise from across the country and the UK to inform a Smart Freeways solution suitable for Perth.”

The new Smart Freeway is expected to be open for traffic by early 2020.