The installation of new technology and truck turning areas at the Tugun bypass tunnel has solved a problem for heavy vehicle drivers on the Pacific Motorway.
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Drivers of over height vehicles would sometimes slip past warning signs and find themselves stuck at the northbound or southbound tunnel entrances.
Drivers were at times made to reverse their truck four kilometres back up the motorway before they could turn around if they approached the tunnel from the north side.
To resolve the issue, support from Transport for NSW, Transport and Main Roads Queensland and the police forces of the two states to was needed.
“With the investment from the Minns Labor Government, over height vehicles should never reach the tunnel, but if they do, they can be turned around with help from the Tugun incident response officer or a single police officer,” says transport minister Jenny Aitchison.
“The time and cost savings from this change are enormous and it will mean the lengthy delays when an over height vehicle inadvertently entered the tunnel are a thing of the past.
“Transport for NSW put in new over height detection systems to notify staff of a vehicle approaching the tunnel, so they can immediately activate variable speed limit signs to stop them reaching the tunnel.
Five new advanced warning signs and traffic lights have now been installed just short of where the new heavy vehicle crossovers are.
If any operators do happen to go past the warning signs, they will only have to reverse a short distance up the highway to reach an area where they can cross over.
To minimise impacts to motorists, most of the work to fix the issue was carried out over two years during the quarterly maintenance tunnel closures.
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