New height safeguard for Melbourne tunnels

Toll road operator Transurban is about to activate new overheight detection systems for Melbourne's Burnley and Domain tunnels

A new electronic height detection system will be active on the approaches to Melbourne's Burnley and Domain tunnels from Tuesday, August 5.

From that date on, trucks over the legal height limit of 4.65 metres will automatically lower speed limits before the tunnel entrance, trigger red lights and then the lowering of boom gates, with all traffic brought to a halt for a short period while CityLink crews isolate the offending vehicle.

Once the vehicle has been identified traffic will be permitted to enter the tunnel while the overheight truck is dealt with.

Overheight trucks have entered Melbourne's two busiest tunnels 11 times over the past year, causing significant damage and delays.

Victoria's Road Minister, Terry Mulder, said that the while the damage bills were often extensive, the knock-on costs caused through the resulting congestion and delays ran to millions of dollars.

CityLink has said it expects the triggering of the system will result in a minimal delay of around 15 minutes.

"CityLink understands this will be an inconvenience for drivers, but the short closure is preferable to the safety risks and extensive delays caused by overheight truck damage," says a statement on the CityLink website.

New height safeguard for Melbourne tunnels

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