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[ Johannesburg, 22 August 2007 ] - The SA National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) plans to install 76 electronic tollbooths along the Gauteng highway system, to generate cash for a 2010 Soccer World Cup-linked infrastructure upgrade.

Sanral toll and traffic manager Alex van Niekerk yesterday briefed the Gauteng legislature on the plan.

He told MPLs motorists will be billed 50c per kilometre travelled. The open tollgates, which will use e-tags and video surveillance equipment coupled to processors running nameplate recognition software, will be placed on most highway on- and off-ramps.

The processors will tag vehicles as they enter the highway system and will check them out when they use an off-ramp. The processor will then determine the distance travelled and bill the appropriate account.

Van Niekerk told the legislature parts of the N1, N3, N4, N12, N14, R21, R24, R59 and R80 would be fitted with the electronic tollgates. He added that motorists will be billed monthly. Those who do not pay regularly will be guilty of an offence under the Road Traffic Act, he noted.

Offenders will be unable to renew their vehicle registration until they have paid all due bills.

Van Niekerk previously told ITWeb the system will be in place by late 2010, early 2011.

Traffic control

The toll system is separate from the ongoing roll-out of the intelligent traffic (i-Traffic) system on the same highways, although the systems will share some backhaul.

i-Traffic is an integrated system of CCTV cameras linked by fibre optic cable to a central control centre in Midrand. It features variable messaging boards that update motorists on delays, congestion, accidents and travel time, as well as ramp metering and road sensors.

The sensors measure speed and following distance, while the ramp meters control the flow of traffic onto highways. A pilot project will launch shortly at the New and Samrand road ramps in Gauteng.

i-Traffic also has a 2010 application. Sanral CEO Nazir Alli says the hi-tech camera and messaging system will backbone emergency response and traffic control during the World Cup.

The system will provide real-time traffic information to law enforcement authorities, as well as World Cup transport managers. It will also allow emergency services controllers to evaluate the severity of accidents and breakdowns, and react to them as quickly as possible.

Technology could cut Gauteng congestion
Anna Cox
June 06 2006 at 10:47AM

Efforts are afoot to relieve congestion on the country's busiest motorway, the N1 between Johannesburg and Pretoria.

A pilot project by the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) for all Gauteng provincial roads focuses firmly on the congested motorway.

The number of vehicles using the motorway is increasing by seven percent a year - or 21 000 passenger trips a day.

The project will start within the next two months and will involve Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS).

'Severe traffic congestion'
This new technology incorporates, CCTV cameras, webcams, traffic monitoring devices and lit signs alerting motorists to back-ups, accidents and breakdowns. It also gives information on time delays and alternative routes.

The head of Sanral, Nazir Alli, said the answer to congestion was not always more road construction.

"We are experiencing severe traffic congestion, which has a negative effect on productivity, the running costs of vehicles, the amount of time people spend with their families, and the environment.

"More often than not it is too costly to provide additional road capacity within restricted space, so alternative solutions must be explored to optimise congestion management.

"Better road management can just as effectively reduce congestion, which is what we are planning with our ITS pilot project technology along the (motorway)," he said.

'Better road management'
An important aspect to the management of freeways and of congestion was the management of incidents, such as crashes or breakdowns.

The implementation of the pilot was being done with the co-operation of the Gauteng department of transport, roads and works and the Tshwane, Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni local governments.

"Through it we hope to reduce congestion, increase road safety and evaluate the effectiveness of ITS technologies to possibly deploy them nationally," said Alli.

"Further research and experiments will take place during the five-year operational phase of the pilot to determine tailor-made solutions for local conditions and road users."

A key component will be better incident management systems, achieved by improving lines of communication between the incident location and the system.

The pilot project encompasses all major national and provincial freeways in Gauteng, with the focus on a 21km stretch of the N1 between the Brakfontein and the Buccleuch interchanges.

The SA Road Federation (SARF), however, has warned that without central government funding for new roads, Gauteng faces mayhem and economic strangulation.

Areas particularly affected are the N1 Johannesburg-Pretoria highway, the Gillooly's interchange, the M2, the N1, major lengths of the national ring road around Joburg, and almost all the provincial and metropolitan support routes.

Dr Malcolm Mitchell, executive director of SARF and former deputy director-general of the Department of Transport, said: "The underfunding of transport infrastructure in metropolitan areas, especially during the past 30 years, is the prime cause of the problem.

"No matter how much is spent on public transport, such as a metro-rail system, funds will still have to be allocated to Gauteng's road network.

"Even if funds were available, no co-ordinated transport master plan has been made public," said Mitchell.

o This article was originally published on page 3 of The Star on June 06, 2006

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