Transurban’s new state-of-the-art Motorway Control Centre at St Peters is the all-encompassing heartbeat of Australia’s largest road infrastructure project, WestConnex.
The Motorway Control Centre, monitors the entire 33km WestConnex network, including 22km underground, in what is the longest continuous underground motorway network in Australia, and the second longest road tunnel in the world.
Traffic Control Room Operators monitor the entire WestConnex network tracking the movements of vehicles on 60 mega screens measuring 15.5m x 5.2m, 24/7. Alongside hundreds of CCTV cameras, there are roadside technologies such as lane-use management systems, variable speed limit signs, automatic incident, height and occupancy detection systems to keep drivers safe. The average response time for incidents on the network is around six minutes from Transurban’s team.
This new control centre streamlines the coordination of critical incidents, maintenance, and network-wide traffic monitoring for the M4, M8, M5 East and the new extensions of the M4 and M8. In future, the control room will also monitor the Rozelle Interchange project and from 2026, the M5 South-West Motorway.
Streamlining the coordination and operation of the motorways into one centralised control room allows the team to leverage resources and responses as one coordinated team.
The unique integration of a third tunnel between two operating tunnels ensures the entire WestConnex system acts as a continuous tunnel for all our safety and operational systems (including ventilation, deluge, cross passages and emergency response).
The tunnels need to connect physically but also via modern, innovative technology so drivers can remain safe, traffic can keep flowing and incidents can be responded to by Transurban and emergency services.