LOGAN’S smart road sign technology that alerts motorists to flooded roads has been recognised with an award for its innovation, practicality and low cost.
The Flooded Road Smart Warning System has topped the road safety category at the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia Queensland Excellence Awards, which recognise best practice and innovation in public works projects.
Mayor Luke Smith said the award, which comes in addition to a win at the 2017 National Award for Local Governments, demonstrated Logan was an innovation leader.
“To be recognised again shows how serious we are about better preparing the city for severe weather and ensuring motorists’ safety; our team worked hard to get the system right,” he said.
“The problem we wanted to address was some roads on our network are flood-prone in heavy rain and can be a risk to motorists, particularly at night.
“So our officers collaborated with researchers from Griffith University and partnered with not-for-profit social enterprise Substation 33 to come up with an innovative solution.
Cr Smith said the FRSWS was the result.
“This award is great recognition for the hard work the team put into this program,” he said.
When a road with the FRSWS in place floods, the low-cost, solar-powered flashing signs are triggered automatically.
The smart signs can also automatically update flood information on council’s website.
They will be able to provide real-time information to other web pages in future.
Roads and water infrastructure committee chairman councillor Phil Pidgeon said the system was installed at 30 locations in the city and would continue to be rolled out.
“We know from experience that it works,” he said.
“When our road network was copping a lashing from ex-tropical Cyclone Debbie earlier this year, no vehicles drove into the flood waters at the sites where the signs had been installed,” Cr Pidgeon said.
“This project has been very well received by the community, with good reason, and as a council we’re keen to see it expand across more roads in the region.”
Council officers are reviewing priority sites for the warning system.
Assessment criteria includes the road classification, traffic volume, the flow rate and velocity/depth of water over the road, the number and type of properties serviced by the road and considerations such as lighting.
The awards were presented at Townsville in front of about 350 Queensland engineering authorities.
IPWEAQ chief executive officer Leigh Cunningham said the 2017 awards had attracted a record number of nominations, with 55 projects and 11 individual nominations submitted from councils in Queensland.
