The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) is expanding the installation of its Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) to the nation’s provincial highways, with popular tourism routes being the top priority.
The ITS has been used by the Taiwan Area National Freeway Bureau to ease congestion. In 2006, the ministry decided to install the infrastructure, including vehicle surveillance devices and cameras, on alternative routes for Freeway No. 5, which is notorious for congestion during holidays. It then decided to install the system on alternative routes for Freeway No. 1 and Freeway No. 3 the next year. It says it decided to install ITS on all provincial highways this year.
The Directorate General of Highways (DGH) is in charge of the project. In a briefing at the weekly ministerial meeting on Thursday, the DGH said it planned to install surveillance devices and cameras on 100 sections of provincial highways where traffic congestion and accidents are most frequent.
Of these road sections, 11 are on the highways to Alishan and Sun Moon Lake. Another 20 are located along the Suhua Highway, the Southern Link Highway and other major travel routes.
The DGH estimated that 70 of the sections would be equipped with ITS, which motorists will be able to access online, by the Lunar New Year holidays in February. It estimated the project would cost NT$665 million (US$22 million).
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