NorthConnex tunnel will feature light displays to keep drivers alert
The $3 billion NorthConnex will be the first tunnel in Australia to feature lighting displays which aim to not only look pretty but keep drivers alert on the 9km tolled motorway.
NSW
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Blue forests and starry skies on the ceiling: these Australian-first lights in Sydney’s new NorthConnex tunnel aren’t designed just to look pretty.
The country’s longest and deepest road tunnel will feature the light displays to keep drivers alert on the 9km tolled motorway.
NorthConnex project director Daniel Banovic said the lighting — “never before seen in Australia” — was tested in simulations to ensure drivers weren’t distracted.
“It is a long tunnel and there’s not much going on in-between the entrance and exit point because we’re quite unique — we don’t have intersections mid-point so there’s not much activity happening,” Mr Banovic said.
“So we wanted to make sure drivers are engaged and aware of their surroundings but not distracted so we thought we’d find the right balance there with our feature lighting.”
Mr Banovic said research had shown “that in monotonous road environments, it is important to provide subtle stimulants to keep drivers alert and focused”.
“The lighting effects and graphic panelling are placed strategically along the tunnel alignment to provide just the right amount of visual interest to keep drivers attentive,” he said.
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Originally due for completion at the end of last year but now expected to open mid-year, NorthConnex will link the M1 Pacific motorway at Wahroonga to the M2 at West Pennant Hills.
The $3 billion tunnel has two lanes in each direction and can carry more than 100,000 vehicles each day with more than 700 CCTV cameras installed.
NorthConnex’s light displays — each about 160m long — are the result of a research partnership between federal and state governments, Transurban and the University of NSW into driver behaviour inside tunnels.
The designs include backlit silhouettes of native Australian birds such as cockatoos and lorikeets at the entrances, starry skies and speedlines lighting in the southbound tunnel and blue and white forests in the northbound lanes.
Mr Banovic said drivers would also use the designs as “marker points”.
“Obviously they are at set distances and when you regularly use the tunnel, you’ll know when you get to the last feature how far you are from the end which will be an assistance for people,” he said.
Transport for NSW also sought advice from their overseas counterparts in Sweden with two major tunnels in Stockholm also using innovative lights including illuminated butterflies.
Mr Banovic said 5500 LED lights will be used throughout the entire tunnel.
Originally published as NorthConnex tunnel will feature light displays to keep drivers alert
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