Transport Minister Gears Up for Summer

With a busy summer of events across Scotland Transport Minister, Humza Yousaf has visited the Traffic Scotland National Control Centre to see the preparations being made to help people reach their destinations.

Staff at the £5 million facility in South Queensferry will be providing the most accurate and up to the minute travel information across the next few months to make sure the trunk roads keep moving. There will also be dedicated sections on the Traffic Scotland website giving details of travel arrangements for specific events.

The Minister had the opportunity to see how the information, sourced from hundreds of sensors and over 440 cameras across the network, is distributed using variable message signs, radio broadcasts, Traffic Scotland web site and to 140,000 followers on twitter so that road users can plan their journeys using the most up to date and accurate information.

The service provides invaluable journey planning tools and with unprecedented levels of investment in the trunk road network, including major improvements on the M8/M74/M73 and the construction of the Aberdeen by-pass, has helped keep disruption to a minimum. It is being designed to support the Queensferry Crossing and the associated corridor, where it will contribute to journey time reliability using state of the art Smart Motorway Techniques.

Transport Minister, Humza Yousaf said:

“The events that are run across Scotland throughout the coming months will make a huge contribution to our economy and it is essential that they run smoothly to maintain Scotland’s reputation on the worldwide stage.

“A huge amount of work goes on behind the scenes to make sure that the transport network plays its part in the process and the trunk road network is an essential part of that. The real time travel information that is distributed from South Queensferry allows travellers to make informed choices so that they enjoy the sporting event, festival or show that they are going to.

“The Scottish Government is investing billions in Scotland’s trunk road and motorway network to better link all of our cities by the end of the next decade. This type of work inevitably brings some disruption but the journey planning tools supported by Traffic Scotland are helping people plan effectively and are proving more popular than ever.”