First section of the new TMS with Hard Shoulder Running on A9 Motorway in Bavaria opened to traffic
The new TMS with Hard Shoulder running will improve traffic flows on the highly instable section between the Allerhausen junction and the motorway junction Neufahrn significantly. It will improve traffic safety as well as traffic flows due to the additional capacity during peak times with activated hard shoulder running. As a result, the times with traffic jams will be reduced.
Construction work for the second section is already under way. Opening of the full scale TMS is planned for end of 2013 and will be without Hard Shoulder Running during the initial period due to a lack of funding for the necessary adjustments along the road as emergency bays and fortifications of the hard shoulder.
Together with the second section an video-based automated incident detection system will be installed as an aid for the operator during the process of opening the hard shoulder for traffic. Sections, which have been already declared free of obstacles by the operator will be scanned permanently during this procedure to ensure, that no incidents are overseen by the operator while he is engaged with the remaining sections downstream. This procedure will increase traffich safety for Hard Shoulder Running significantly as well as reduce the workload fpr the operators.
Vierte Spur für die A9 (Video courtesy of Bayerischer Rundfunk, in German)
VIA project: A9 TMS with hard shoulder running direction Nürnberg
see also a similar VIA project in northern Bavaria: TMS with hard shoulder running A73, Erlangen