Traffic Management Plans (TMP & TGS)

A Traffic Management Plan is only as good as the drawing that sits under it. Too many projects lose days to TGS revisions after submission — misaligned tapers, missing longitudinal zones, undersized buffer distances, pedestrian paths that don't meet AS 1428, tapers calculated for the wrong speed, or plans that simply don't reflect the site. Our designers draw plans that pass council and TfNSW review first time, because they hold Prepare Work Zone TMP (Orange Card) accreditation and they've spent enough time on the ground to know what a reviewer actually looks for.

Under the NSW framework, works on public roads are governed by AS 1742.3:2019 Traffic Control for Works on Roads, the Austroads Guide to Temporary Traffic Management (AGTTM) and — for TfNSW jurisdiction — the TfNSW Traffic Control at Work Sites (TCAWS) manual (Issue 6.x current). The hierarchy is: the Traffic Management Plan (TMP) is the strategic document covering the project, its approach, responsibilities and risk controls; the Traffic Guidance Scheme (TGS) is the scaled drawing inside the TMP showing the actual field layout, including any per-stage variants. (TCP / Traffic Control Plan is the legacy term for what's now the TGS — the renaming landed with AGTTM in 2019/2020.) For TfNSW-classified roads, the Road Occupancy Licence (ROL) is the approval instrument, and for council roads it's typically a council road-opening or Section 138 permit.

Our TMP preparation follows the TfNSW template structure: project overview, governance, stakeholder engagement, risk assessment, traffic impact assessment, staged TGSs, incident and emergency response procedures, quality and audit arrangements, and monitoring. For projects that need a full TMP — typically anything on a classified road with material duration or complexity — we deliver a bound document with revision control, referenced drawings, SWMS cross-references and the supporting attachments council or TfNSW expects.

TGS drawings are our biggest throughput. We draw plans to scale, use the TCAWS symbol library, specify correct sign types (W5-7, W8-14, T1, T2, T3 series etc.), calculate tapers at the correct ratio for the posted speed, show longitudinal and buffer zones to spec, detail pedestrian management with AS 1428-compliant detours, and include site-specific notes on sight distance, intersection impact and emergency access. Every drawing is signed by an Orange Card holder.

For complex or staged projects we draw multiple TGSs — one per stage — and sequence them in a staging matrix so the site team knows which plan is active on which day. For short-duration works we can turn around a single TGS in 24 to 48 hours with the right site information. For larger TMPs with multiple stages and road classes, typical turnaround is 5 to 10 business days.

We also audit third-party TGSs (and any legacy TCP drawings still in circulation). If you've got a plan from another provider and you're not confident in it — or if a reviewer has come back with comments you don't understand — we'll audit the drawing against AS 1742.3, AGTTM and TCAWS and give you a straight written assessment. Sometimes the existing plan is fine and the reviewer is wrong; sometimes it needs significant rework. Either way, we'll tell you honestly.

ROL lodgement is part of the service. For TfNSW-classified roads we lodge the ROL application, handle any Traffic Management Centre (TMC) queries, and manage revisions if TMC requests changes. Typical ROL turnaround from TfNSW is 10 to 21 business days for standard impacts; higher-impact occupancies can take 6+ weeks. We build that into the project timeline upfront.

For council road-opening and Section 138 permits we handle lodgement with all major NSW councils. Each council has a slightly different process — some entirely online, some requiring emailed drawings with a cover letter — and we keep the templates for the councils we work with regularly.

When a plan is rejected, we fix it and resubmit. When a plan is approved but the site conditions change, we reissue under revision control and update the ROL. Drawings are living documents until the job closes.

We work with designers, project managers, head contractors, subcontractors and direct clients. You don't need to engage us for the physical traffic control to use our design service — we routinely design plans for crews other than ours. Our job is to draw a plan that works. Your job is to deliver the project. Both are easier when the TMP and TGS are right from the start.