Often as road users we take for granted all the work and planning that goes into making our roads both safe and as pleasant to use as possible. Obviously, as a tax-paying citizen, you would expect nothing less than the best when it comes to the conditions of your roads. With all the recent controversy surrounding whether or not this service should continue to come free to road users, it cannot be disputed how much effort and money it requires to make sure that our roads remain in tip-top condition.
Most people are not aware of all the time, money and risk it takes to embark on a road construction, and it requires an extensive amount of planning at every level of construction. All we do is wake up, hope that the traffic isn’t too bad, get slightly annoyed at the slight inconvenience caused by road works, and show no appreciation when potholes are repaired lanes are clearly demarcated, new lanes appear, and the roads are generally very smooth. While it is our right as motorists, understanding how much work goes into the efficiency of our roads might help us to appreciate them more than we currently do; tolls or no tolls.
A traffic protection plan or a traffic control plan as it is popularly referred to, is a plan put in place by contractors to manage and control the flow of traffic in the event of road works. The components of the project are highly contingent upon the complexity of the project. What is the most important aspect of any traffic protection plan is that it guides road users precisely as to how to manoeuvre around road works. While this sounds very simple, it is highly complex and the implementation of such a system is much specialised and requires expertise.
While there are general guidelines that must be followed by all traffic control operators, it is also important to understand that all traffic control plans must be applied and adjusted to the particular project that is being embarked on. So the next time you drive on smooth and convenient roads, know that a lot of work went into that.