Perth traffic: ‘Smart’ Kwinana Freeway reduces commute by 15 minutes but drivers already breaking rules

Perth’s new smart freeway has been credited with shaving up to 15 minutes off the morning commute, but drivers are already flouting the rules, according to Main Roads.

Talkback radio callers had high praise for the $56 million system on Kwinana Freeway, which marked its first peak hour trial this morning, reporting how it saved them much-needed time on their journeys to work.

One caller on 6PR told how their usual 90-minute journey, starting at 7am, was reduced by 15 minutes thanks to the extra lane on the 15km stretch from Roe Highway to the Narrow’s Bridge.

Nine reporter Kamin Gock also took to Twitter to gloat about his seamless commute.

“Smart Freeway working insanely well. It has taken 15 minutes off the trip to the city today,” he wrote.

The emergency lane has been converted to a traffic lane as part of the congestion-busting plan, while breakdown bays have been introduced for emergencies.

However, Main Roads’ real time traffic operations manager John Venables said that, by 8am, 26 motorists had used the emergency bays — 23 of which had used them for non-urgent tasks.

Mr Venables said the motorists may have used the bays to make phone calls but were urged to leave them for breakdown emergencies only.

“Please avoid using those bays unless you really need them,” he said on ABC Perth.

Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said the Canning Highway northbound on-ramp had been a major contributor to traffic congestion on Kwinana Freeway.

“Converting the emergency lane into a full time traffic lane means vehicles no longer need to merge into freeway traffic from Canning Highway,” she added.= “This will reduce congestion and keep traffic flowing more smoothly – saving up to 10 minutes for commuters.

The freeway, which opened on the weekend, is being watched by 15 cameras, while emergency bays are also monitored.

Traffic lights have been installed on five on-ramps to try and streamline merging.

The technology is already used in North America, Asia, Europe and the UK, along with most eastern states of Australia.

A lot of the technology crucial to making this project work is buried beneath the bitumen, with fibre-optic cable linking it all together and power supply safeguards to ensure the electronic signs are never lost should the network ever experience a blackout.