Luxembourg's ageing motorway information panels are being gradually replaced with new digital screens capable of displaying a wider range of signs and warnings, starting with the A3 and later the A6.
The current panels from the Motorway Traffic Control and Information System (CITA) have been in service for more than 25 years, providing drivers with real-time information on traffic jams, accidents, roadworks, and other hazards.
The CITA control centre in Bertrange was inaugurated in 1999, at the same time as the first display panels were installed on the A6 and A3 motorways. Today, 70 gantries are in place across the network, carrying 140 panels in total in both directions.
Kevin Rupp, head of the CITA service, explained that while the existing signs still function, the technology is showing its age.
He noted that components inside the panels are beginning to delaminate after years of patch repairs, meaning the system cannot be maintained indefinitely. At some point, he said, replacement is unavoidable.
A new generation of motorway signs
The old panels will now be progressively replaced by large digital screens. The first of these next-generation displays has already been installed on the Micheville link road.
Serge Ross, head of division at the National Roads Administration, explained that unlike the old panels, which used perforated metal plates to display only a limited range of symbols and speed limits such as 70km/h or 90 km/h, the new screens function more like television displays. He added that they can show a much wider variety of signs and messages, tailored to current traffic conditions.
Over the past 25 years, new road signs have also been added to the Highway Code, such as those for carpooling, which the old panels could not display. The upgraded system will also include new installations at motorway access points, warning drivers when a motorway is completely closed due to major accidents or maintenance works.
Limits of the system
However, the new panels will not be used to reroute traffic through local villages, Rooss said. He emphasised that their aim is not to tell each driver the fastest route from A to B, leaving that role to navigation systems.
Experience shows, he said, that even when traffic slows on the motorway, it usually remains quicker than sending vehicles through towns with traffic lights and limited road capacity.
Next steps
The first replacements will be carried out on the A3 as part of the expansion of the Dudelange motorway to six lanes. After that, the A6 between Luxembourg City and Arlon is expected to follow.
