The city of Limerick in the west of Ireland has long been troubled by traffic jams in its narrow streets, not least because the city provides the main crossing points over the River Shannon for motorists travelling from Galway and Clare to Cork and Kerry.
To date, Limerick has three crossing points, but a fourth connection will help divert the mounting traffic, which grew 140 percent from 1976 to 2000.
Fourth connection
The fourth connection will be a ring road, and will include an immersed tunnel under the river. To enhance safety in the tunnel and get traffic flowing more freely, an Intelligent Transport System (ITS) will be used to manage and monitor the traffic over a ten kilometre stretch using the latest technology.
"We have chosen state-of-the-art solutions to ensure a modern and resilient in-tunnel ITS system. Above all, it will be used to provide approaching motorists with information about whether the tunnel is open, shut altogether or one lane only has been closed off. In addition, the new ring road will help direct the traffic away from the narrow streets of Limerick," says Ms Angela Grady, Commission Manager of RPS COWI Joint Venture.
Queue up ahead!
COWI is providing consultancy services to the Irish National Road Authority on ITS solutions in Limerick and is, together with RPS, reviewing the design and monitoring the construction works on the ring-road connection.
Once the project is completed in 2010, cameras spaced 200 metres apart will gather precise data on the number of motorists driving through the tunnel.
Data from the system will be used to inform other road users via roadside indicators about traffic conditions, weather conditions, and road works, allowing them to take a different route.
Focus on ITS