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Abbotsford to Chilliwack Highway 1 Variable Speed Signs Now Operational

Fraser Valley – BC’s first congestion-based Variable Speed Limit System (VSLS) on Highway 1 between Abbotsford and Chilliwack, is now in operation.

The system lowers the speed limit to slow people down before they reach stop-and-go traffic, helping to reduce the number of collisions that can happen when drivers don’t notice vehicles are stopped on the highway ahead. The system, which also adjusts speed limits based on road and weather conditions, covers a 24-kilometre stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway between the Sumas River Bridge in Abbotsford and the Prest Road overpass in Chilliwack.

Province of BC
Province of BC

What Travellers See

The Highway 1 Fraser Valley corridor has two “gateway” Dynamic Messaging Signs (DMS), one for each direction of travel on the corridor. Together with static signs, these gateway DMS advise drivers they are entering a variable speed limit corridor. If a reduced speed limit is in effect along the corridor, gateway DMS can also post road-weather or traffic related information.

There are 23 variable speed limit segments along the corridor. Segments are spaced roughly every 2 km, depending on local site conditions. Each segment has two variable speed limit signs (one shoulder-mount and one overhead). Fourteen of these segments also have DMS to provide more information to drivers – info such as road-weather or traffic related messages describing why a reduced speed limit may be in place.

How Speed Limits are Set

There are multiple traffic and road-weather sensors installed along the corridor. Traffic sensors are installed approximately every 500 m to collect traffic data; meanwhile, multiple road-weather sensors measure driving conditions such as level of grip, visibility, temperature, and surface status. All this data feeds into the system’s algorithms, which then propose a speed limit.

An added feature of the Highway 1 Fraser Valley corridor is the speed smoothing function. Due to the closer spacing of variable speed limit signs along this corridor, the speed smoothing function helps to ensure differences between speed limits on adjacent signs are within acceptable limits (i.e. not drastically different).

Engineers will continue to monitor the system and adjust the algorithms that govern the system as needed.

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