Road travel times shown
The National Road Authority has put up six display boards to flash up journey times for drivers heading to key junctions on the M1, which links Dublin and Belfast.
Four of the boards are on the southbound carriageway near Dundalk, Drumleck, Drogheda and Skerries-Lusk while two are on the northbound stretch near Balbriggan and Dublin Airport.
Using roadside cameras, computers will work out the speed of traffic so the signs will display in real time how long a driver’s journey will be to key junctions of the M1.
The NRA is also planning to inform people of journey times on the M1 via text message and email to help motorists about to set off on a journey.
Yesterday the electronic road signs system was switched on as part of a trial which, if successful, could be used on other key highways in Ireland to help drivers.
NRA chief executive Fred Barry said: “In future the system will also notify incidents, events, road closures and severe weather conditions.
“We are looking forward to the feedback from the public on this pilot programme on the M1.”
Messages on the display boards, known as variable message signs, will tell drivers how long their journey will take to junctions for four key locations: Dublin Port Tunnel, Dublin Airport, Drogheda and Dundalk.
The scheme was aided by the Northern Ireland Roads Service, which plans to put up similar signs on the road for drivers on the other side of the border.
An NRA spokesman yesterday said the system would take account of traffic congestion so drivers were given useful information on their journey times.
“The information will be updated at five-minute intervals so the displays reflect actual travel times,” the spokesman said.
The system used automatic number plate recognition cameras to track vehicles and work out average speeds for display on the signs.
The NRA computer system will discount very slow or speeding vehicles in calculating journey times.
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