In its quest to make roads safer and more efficient, the roads agency’s efforts were recognised at a ceremony of the Intelligent Transport Society of South Africa Awards (ITSSA), held at the Sandton Convention Centre recently.

The South African National Roads Agency (SOC) Limited (SANRAL) won the ITSSA Award for Excellence for its Intelligent Transport System (ITS) project.

While SANRAL received the ITSSA Award for Excellence for the Freeway Management System (FMS) in the Western Cape, the submission was also judged for the larger FMS project, which extends to Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, and its significant positive impact on the motoring public by relaying real-time information on the flow of traffic.

Receiving the award, SANRAL’s Eastern Region ITS Project Manager, Kersen Naidoo, said: “It is a great honour to receive this award on behalf of SANRAL.

“Our team of engineers can be proud of the world-class system they have developed and continue to maintain. This is a great example of how infrastructure improves the quality of life of commuters and sustains the economy of the country.”

The conference and exhibition

The awards took place during the i-Transport and UATP Conference and Exhibition.  It has become a well-established event on the transport calendar, a platform for knowledge sharing in the quest to promote the sustainable deployment of ITS projects.

This year’s theme: “Future of Public Transport: Go Green – Go Smart” reflected the need to improve transport efficiencies, to reduce the carbon footprint of the transport sector and to encourage modal shifts. The theme specifically reflects the strong synergy between public transport operations and Intelligent Transport Systems.