This traffic cone calculator counts the cones, bollards or delineators a layout needs, section by section, so the ute leaves the depot with enough. You enter the length and spacing the traffic guidance scheme (TGS) shows for the lead-in taper, buffer zone, work area and exit taper, add spares and stages, and get one number to load.
Running short of cones on site means either a gappy layout or someone driving back to the depot. Loading far too many wastes space you need for signs and gear. A two-minute count before you leave fixes both.
How it's worked out
Each section is counted the same way:
- Devices per line = length ÷ spacing, rounded up.
- Devices for the section = devices per line × number of lines.
- The first section that has devices gets one extra device per line for its starting point. After that, each section's first device sits on the last device of the section before, so shared end points are only counted once.
- Per site = all the sections added up.
- Without spares = per site × the number of identical sites or stages.
- To load = without spares × (1 + spare %), rounded up.
A section with zero lines, zero length or zero spacing is left out. Use 2 lines where cones run along both sides of a section, for example a buffer with a centreline and an edge line.
The default lengths and spacings in the boxes are examples only. Always use the figures on the TGS for the speed and layout you're setting out, and add devices for side roads, driveways and pedestrian routes.
The NSW spacing and taper rules
Under Transport for NSW's TS 05492 Traffic Control at Work Sites (June 2026), the maximum spacing depends on what the cones are for and the speed where they stand (Table 50):
| Purpose | Speed zone | Maximum spacing |
|---|---|---|
| Approach to a traffic controller position | All speeds | 4 m |
| Merge tapers | 60–70 km/h | 9 m |
| Merge tapers | 80 km/h and above | 12 m |
| Lateral shift tapers | 60–70 km/h | 12 m |
| Lateral shift tapers | 80 km/h and above | 18 m |
| All other purposes | up to 50 km/h | 4 m |
| All other purposes | 60–70 km/h | 12 m |
| All other purposes | 80 km/h and above | 18 m |
Spacing should be reduced on curves and crests, and where the cone row isn't clearly defined at night. Where volumes are high it can go down to 1 m.
Taper lengths come from Table 74. At 60 km/h a traffic control taper and a lateral shift taper are each 30 m and a merge taper is 60 m. A merge taper is 115 m at 70 km/h, 130 m at 80 km/h and 160 m at 100 km/h. Traffic control tapers aren't used from 70 km/h up. On multi-lane roads, Table 75 sets a minimum gap between tapers: 10 m up to 40 km/h, 25 m at 50, 70 m at 60 and 1.5 × the speed in metres from 70 km/h.
Cones also need to sit back from the traffic lane. Table 49 sets 0.5 m at 60 km/h or less and 1.0 m at 70 km/h and above, or 0.3 to 0.5 m behind the face of the kerb on kerbed roads. Our guide to traffic cone spacing and standards goes into each of these.
Traffic cone calculator worked example
A crew is closing the kerbside lane of a 60 km/h road for a 120 m work area. The TGS shows a 60 m merge taper, a 30 m buffer, the work area and a 20 m exit taper at 4 m spacing, with one line of cones throughout. They'll do it in two identical stages and want 10% spares.
| Section | Length | Spacing | Cones |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merge taper | 60 m | 9 m | 60 ÷ 9 = 6.7, rounded up to 7, plus 1 at the start = 8 |
| Buffer zone | 30 m | 12 m | 30 ÷ 12 = 2.5, rounded up to 3 |
| Work area | 120 m | 12 m | 120 ÷ 12 = 10 |
| Exit taper | 20 m | 4 m | 20 ÷ 4 = 5 |
| Per site | 26 |
- Two stages: 26 × 2 = 52.
- Plus 10% spares: 52 × 1.1 = 57.2, rounded up to 58 cones to load.
If a traffic controller is also stopping traffic at one end, add the cones on the approach to their position at 4 m spacing. Twenty metres of approach adds 5 more per stage.
Queensland and other states
Queensland uses the Austroads Guide to Temporary Traffic Management (AGTTM) with its own differences in QGTTM Part 3. Two that change a cone layout:
- The 200 m rule. Within the first 200 m after a speed drop, tapers use the higher speed. A taper that sits partly inside that 200 m uses the higher speed for its whole length.
- Shuttle tapers. For shuttle flow, the traffic control taper must start at least 6 m from the traffic controller or portable device.
Queensland's cone spacing values aren't loaded into the calculator, so take them from the TGS. The same goes for Victoria, WA and SA, which build on AGTTM with their own codes of practice. The counting method works the same in every state: only the lengths and spacings change.
Tips for the load-out
- Count from the TGS, not from memory. Spacing changes with speed, and a layout that worked last week at 50 km/h needs different spacing at 70 km/h.
- Remember the extras. Side roads, driveways, pedestrian paths, plant access points and the approach to the controller all need devices the four sections don't cover.
- Check the condition. Cones that are faded, cracked or missing their reflective sleeves don't count. Tag out damaged gear before loading. Our equipment inspection guide covers what to look for.
- Load in set-up order. What goes out first should come off the ute first: advance signs, then the taper, buffer and work area.
- Bring spares for nights. Spacing often needs to be reduced at night, so carry more than the daytime count.
The traffic control ute set-up guide shows a full load-out list.
When to get professional advice
The calculator counts what the TGS shows. It doesn't design the layout. Talk to the traffic management designer when:
- the site doesn't fit the TGS lengths, for example because of a side road or driveway inside the taper
- the speed on site differs from the speed on the TGS
- the layout needs a change beyond the allowed tolerances
In NSW any moved sign must be marked and initialled on the site copy of the TGS, and bigger changes need the designer's approval. The set-up tolerance check helps you see whether a measured distance is still within tolerance, and the sign layout builder works out where the advance signs go.