The Government’s congestion plan, Keeping Melbourne Moving includes $11.7m to expand VicRoads' Incident Response Service to arterial roads to clear broken down vehicles and other lane blockages.
VicRoads' patrols on metropolitan freeways are being extended to arterial roads during peak times to keep traffic flowing. The service will now include a team of 35 officers and 17 vehicles who will provide on-road assistance to road users and emergency services during incidents to reduce the effect of the incident on traffic conditions.
The incident response officers’ primary role is to assist police and emergency services with the safe and timely management of incidents, by managing traffic.
Once emergency services have left the scene the incident response team will help clear debris and re-open lanes to get traffic moving again as quickly as possible. They will also assist drivers to move their vehicle should it break down and will “move-on” vehicles that are illegally blocking traffic.
The incident response team will also fulfil another important role on the network during times when no incidents are requiring their attention. During these times they will monitor any roadworks that are impacting traffic flow and ensure that the works comply with permit conditions.
The expanded incident response service on freeways and major arterials will not only improve safety by assisting emergency services to quickly and safely manage incidents, but will also help restore normal traffic conditions by removing blockages to allow traffic to flow.