The Ngauranga Gorge ATMS Project in Wellington is one of two ATMS projects being undertaken by Transit New Zealand in Wellington and Auckland. The principal objectives of the Wellington project are to reduce accidents and the effects of accidents and incidents on the gorge through more effective deployment of emergency services, management of traffic flow and the use of integrated ITS components. This section of SH1 is of strategic importance to the Wellington Region, being the primary link between the City and the North. It passes through a steep gorge with poor horizontal geometry as a result of topographical constraints. The accident rate through this section is higher than the national average for this type of road and the delays and other costs associated with these and other incidents has been estimated in the region of $9.8 million per year. The project comprises a number of integrated systems including automatic incident detection, CCTV, variable message and speed signs, lane control and weather monitoring. The system is being developed in partnership with the Police, who will be responsible for the overnight operation once it has been commissioned. The system is due to be commissioned in December 2000. (a)
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