Testing of Tasmania’s new $22 million overhead traveller information system, featuring 13 electronic signs across Greater Hobart, is progressing.
The signs, which were installed at the end of 2024 at a cost of about $1.7 million each, are starting to display messages as of this week.
They are intended to provide road users with real-time travel information and details about crashes and other incidents.
Minister for Infrastructure Kerry Vincent said testing of the system was “progressing well”, with signs being progressively switched on.
“Road users have already seen messages displayed on two signs on the Tasman Highway near the airport and now those travelling on South Arm Highway get the benefit of live updates,” he said.
“The testing process for this sign went very well on Monday and the sign is now displaying live travel time information.”
Other signs will follow suit in the coming weeks, with testing to be completed by the end of April.
However, Labor has criticised the investment, calling it a “complete waste” of taxpayer funds.
Shadow Transport Minister Meg Brown last month said the information provided by the signs can be easily obtained elsewhere.
“These signs provide the same amount of information that people would gain from their smartphones or sometimes in their car prior to taking their journey,” she said.
Brown suggested the funds could have been better spent on other areas like hospitals, bus drivers or fixing potholes.
Minister Kerry Vincent says the signs are part of the government’s plan to make the state’s roads “safer and more efficient”.
