National Traffic Control Centre close to completion

DUBLIN Port Tunnel operator Egis Road and Tunnel Operation Ireland (ERTO) is nearing completion of the National Traffic Control Centre, the National Roads Authority’s (NRA) central roads management facility.

Already operating schemes such as toll plazas at North-Link (Dundalk), Mid-Link (Portlaoise), and South-Link (Waterford), ERTO will now assume a national operations and maintenance role for the NRA’s new control centre from the end of June.

ERTO chief executive Henry van der Pluym said: “We are delighted to take on the responsibility of operating the National Traffic Control Centre and look forward to efficiently and safely operating and managing traffic on these key roads and tunnels from the end of next month.

“While the economic situation for Ireland remains difficult, we have seen a steady increase in traffic in the Dublin Port Tunnel, with overall traffic increasing by 10% in 2010, and already in the first quarter of 2011, HGV traffic has increased by 9%.”

The new traffic control centre will manage traffic in the Dublin Port Tunnel, the M50, including the intersection into the city, the M1 and the Jack Lynch Tunnel in Cork. Later this year the control centre will also assume responsibility for traffic management for the M7/M8 motorway.

The control centre will be responsible for monitoring and managing 65 million vehicles per annum and for the safe and efficient management of the national roads network and Ireland’s tunnels. The centre will operate several services, including: electronic messages to motorists; emergency road telephones; and advanced traffic management systems.

ERTO is part of Egis Projects Ireland and the Egis Group. The company was established in Ireland in 2005 and currently employs 110 people.

France-based Egis Group specialises in transport engineering infrastructure.