Motorists in Canberra have already begun adjusting their routes and travel times after encountering extra congestion at the start of the week, according to a top roads official. Tim Rampton, executive branch manager of Roads ACT, said the city always experiences a bit of extra congestion at this time of year when people return to work and re-establish their travel patterns.
Mr Rampton noted that this year's road works in the city centre, including major closures, Commonwealth Avenue bridge works and light rail extension, have added to the congestion. However, he said traffic has begun settling down as people change when they leave for work or pick different routes. Congestion usually resolves itself over a few weeks at the start of the year.
Traffic data from TomTom showed congestion levels peaked at 36 per cent on Monday at 8am, above the usual 33 per cent, but Tuesday's peak of 38 per cent was below the usual 41 per cent. The morning peak hour in the ACT is between 8am and 9am, with the most congestion on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
Mr Rampton said the first week of February is always busy as more people return to work and children go back to school. He noted that during previous road works, drivers started leaving earlier, spreading the peak from 7.30am to 9.30am. Roads ACT is monitoring congestion closely and making minor adjustments to traffic signals to ensure safe and efficient flow.
Staff at the Roads ACT traffic management centre can manually override traffic lights to manage abnormal congestion, such as after accidents or major events. However, Mr Rampton emphasized that the biggest improvements come from changes in travel behaviour, such as exploring alternative routes to relieve congestion on major roads like the Tuggeranong Parkway.
