The Dunkettle Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Project is key to a sustainable transport system for the Cork Metropolitan Area. It will enable key information to be provided to road users and enable Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) to strategically manage the national road network in the greater Cork area.
The main objectives are to provide:
- Driver information
- Provide journey time information to allow road users to make a more informed decision on their journey either to delay or alter their route, thus reducing the impact on the road network and the environment
- Advanced Over Head Vehicle Detection (OHVD)
- Provide improved detection and warning of over-height vehicles such that the driver of an over-height vehicle is given sufficient warnings that they must exit the carriageway in advance of the tunnel
- Driver warnings
- Includes additional warning and diversion information to reduce potential congestion caused by over-height vehicles at the tunnel portals who have ignored the warnings. Drivers will also be warned in the case of imminent poor weather conditions.
The ITS Works will be installed in three phases. The first will be the roll-out of ITS equipment on the N40 and its main connecting routes. Following this will be the Dunkettle Advance ITS works. The final phase of the ITS Works will see the ITS infrastructure associated with the first two phases integrated with the main Dunkettle Interchange Upgrade ITS Works Scheme.
There will be Journey Time automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras installed at select locations along the network to capture the registration plates of vehicles. The sole purpose of this data is to enable the calculation of travel time information that will be displayed on the variable message signs (VMS).
Since this network includes the Jack Lynch tunnel, it is crucial that over-height vehicles are detected early, drivers will be warned and advised to re-route before they approach the tunnel. Extensive over height detection and warning equipment will be deployed along all routes that lead to the tunnel. The objectives for the ITS deployment of the N8 ITS works and the Dunkettle ITS Advanced Works is to provide local autonomous control of the ITS equipment as it is commissioned and becomes available. This means that the new OHVD equipment in these outlying areas will detect OHVs and present warnings to drivers locally as soon as it is commissioned. This approach will improve the advance warnings to offending vehicles on the approach roads and thus reduce the volume of OHVs that presently approach the tunnel.
There are also pan, tilt and zoom (PTZ) CCTV cameras installed along the network to provide comprehensive live coverage of the carriageway which can be accessed via the user friendly DUNKETTLE TRAFFIC website AND APP. The aim of providing this facility is to ultimately provide a reliable real-time traffic feed so that citizens may take pre-emptive measures when planning a journey. Click here for more information on how to use the Dunkettle Interchange Live traffic app.
