Movable barrier systems that regulate the direction of vehicle movement through traffic lanes are becoming increasingly popular due to their impact on traffic flow and safety.
While our capital city is still considering actively redirecting traffic using traffic signs, elsewhere in the world, individual lanes can be physically separated in real time, with minimal impact on traffic flow.
All this is thanks to the American system offered by companies such as Barrier Systems and Lindsay, which offers a complete solution for changing lanes by installing movable barriers. A recently released video of a specially adapted vehicle for instantly moving barriers in operation quickly went viral with more than 2.2 million views.
A concrete example is the Auckland Bridge, which has eight lanes. However, depending on the time of day, the direction of traffic in certain lanes changes. This solution has been used by the city authorities since the 1990s, and is particularly useful during the Christmas holidays when traffic is heavier.
The need to install a mobile barrier system arose after traffic on the bridge reached 140,000 vehicles per day, with frequent traffic accidents. Namely, as early as the 1970s, traffic was redirected exclusively by traffic lights, which led to numerous fatal traffic accidents. The installation of such a system in the 1990s enabled the regulation of four inner lanes, in which it was easy to safely change the direction of traffic in record time.
The system was renovated in 2009 with two automated vehicles that move the barriers, each weighing around 750 kg, at a speed of 16 km/h. Despite the slope and curvature of the path, the entire barrier replacement job on the 2.2 km long section of the bridge takes less than 20 minutes.
Let’s also say that the implementation of this system on the bridge cost around 6.6 million dollars in 2009. The 60-year-old bridge, which is constantly maintained without major traffic disruptions, crosses around 172,000 vehicles daily.
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