Roads Australia
With the Federal election campaign entering its final week, questions are now being asked in the media about whether the AusLink 2 funding package announced in the May budget can cover the road spending promises.
Citing BIS Shrapnel analysis of infrastructure spending announcements, Saturday’s Australian Financial Review said the Federal Government had committed so much AusLink 2 funding to new roads that there was little left for maintenance.
The Fin Review quoted BIS Shrapnel senior economist for infrastructure and mining, Adrian Hart, as saying the Coalition’s promised spending on road projects so far tallied $16.3 billion. The Fin Review said its own tally of Federal Labor’s AusLink 2 road spending commitments came to $11.4 billion.
Participants at last Friday’s Australian Road Forum meeting in Brisbane were given a preview of Mr Hart’s analysis on election road spending commitments during his regular presentation on the economic outlook for the roads industry.
Other media outlets have also been scrutinizing election road spending commitments over the past fortnight. The tally of ‘who’s promised how much‘ varies according to which paper you read.
For example, last Thursday’s Age came up with $7.2 billion in ‘infrastructure’ spending promises from Federal Labor and $14.8 billion from the Coalition.
In The Australian, Treasurer Peter Costello denied that the Coalition’s $1.5 billion road and rail package for South Australia was a repackaging of previous commitments, or a response to an outcry over the $10.5 billion in road spending promises in the eastern states.
The Australian said $750 million of the Coalition’s package would be spent in Adelaide, with $279 million earmarked for Adelaide's Northern Expressway and $250 million for the South Road upgrade. (Federal Labor has promised $500 million for the South Road upgrade.)
The Coalition’s promised $10.5 billion package for the eastern states predictably drew a lot of media attention. The SMH said Sydney would get an eight tollway out of its $3 billion share; the Age said Melbourne’s West Gate bridge would be strengthened, a Frankston bypass built and most of Victoria's regional highways upgraded with its $2.45 billion share.
Queensland received the bulk of the spending package with $5.2 billion, the SMH reported.
In other news, the Courier Mail reported that an extra westbound lane was one of the options being considered to address congestion at the notorious Brisbane Airport roundabout.
The Herald Sun reported on the results of a new survey that found eight out of 10 drivers usually speed.
And AAP carried a report on a billboard campaign by the TWU to pressure both major parties to fix road blackspots.
A re-elected Coalition Government will invest $100 million on new roadside rest areas.
The funding is conditional on the States and Territories matching the commitment for new rest areas on roads within their jurisdictions.
Announcing the funding last week, Transport Minister Mark Vaile said the Coalition was already funding additional rest areas on the AusLink National Network when undertaking road upgrades, “but we recognise that we need to do more.”
“In order to deliver real safety improvements, a re-elected Coalition Government will therefore provide $100 million over five years to build an estimated 100 extra rest areas on the AusLink National Network,” he said.
"The extra rest areas will include truck stops, because driver fatigue is an important issue for the trucking industry.
"To receive the funding, the State and Territory governments will have to match our funding and construct rest areas on their own road networks bringing the investment to $200 million in total in approximately 200 rest areas.
“The funding will be distributed according to the State and Territory shares of the agreed B-Triple and higher mass limit networks.”
RACV has welcomed announcements from federal parties for road and rail funding packages in Victoria, but says the state is still not getting its fair share.
RACV Public Policy General Manager, Brian Negus, says most commitments will not fully cover the cost of the projects, and there are still a number of key projects which have received no funding from one party or the other. These include the Western Ring Road, Princes Highway West and Melbourne’s Ring Road connecting to the Eastern Freeway and Eastlink.
“We urge federal parties to put the politics aside, and make rational economic decisions concerning Australia's road system. The Coalition and Federal Labor needs to recognise Victoria’s contribution to the national economy by committing a fairer share of funding under AusLink 2 to priority projects.”
RACV has identified nine key road infrastructure projects that will provide important safety and economic benefits to the state and deliver a first-class road system and infrastructure for Melbourne and Victoria.
These are:
Leighton Holdings Limited has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Macmahon Holdings Limited which formalises a partnering relationship between the two companies.
Under the MOU, Leighton will promote Macmahon as a ‘Partner of Choice’ to joint venture on large infrastructure and resources related construction projects. Leighton currently has a 15 per cent shareholding in Macmahon.
Announcing the MOU on November 5, Leighton Holdings’ Chief Executive Officer, Wal King, said having a partner of choice relationship with Macmahon increased the Leighton Group’s ability to take on and execute work, while boosting Macmahon’s ability to take on major projects.
“This relationship also gives MacMahon opportunities to participate in projects in regions and industry sectors where it does not currently have a significant presence,” Mr King said.
“It will strengthen Macmahon’s position as a vigorous and expansive competitor in the Australian construction, engineering and contract mining industries.”
Macmahon Holdings’ Chief Executive Officer, Nick Bowen, said the Company’s expansion into the East Coast has continued to gain momentum and that Macmahon was emerging as a top-tier contractor in the national construction market.
“This agreement will allow Macmahon to fast track its move to the next level by taking on larger construction projects, including Public Private Partnerships,” Mr Bowen said.
“We believe it will lead to a bigger, stronger and expanding Macmahon, which will be good for our shareholders and out customers.”
Abigroup and Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to undertake a Graduate Engineers Industry Exchange Program.
The MOU was signed last month by Abigroup Victorian Civil Division Manager, Graeme Chambers, and SKM Infrastructure Manager, South East Australia, Philip Morgan.
The agreement will facilitate the temporary exchange of graduates between the two companies.
“The exchange will foster tomorrow’s leading engineers by increasing their flexibility and broadening their experiences,” Mr Chambers said.
“It will enable young professionals to better understand the issues faced by both consultants and contractors in the delivery of projects for clients,” Mr Morgan added.
A key element of Abigroup’s Young Professional Development Program (YPDP) is the position rotations which will include three months in a design role.
While acknowledging that the design experience could be obtained by working with a design manager or coordinator in-house, Mr Chambers said that a more ‘hands-on’ understanding of the design process would be achieved if a graduate engineer was actually working in the SKM office. It would also allow for the graduate to experience the differences in working as a consultant and as a contractor.
Abigroup and SKM have a long association, with the latter undertaking detailed design for a number of key Abigroup projects such as the Craigieburn Bypass, Albury Wodonga National Highway upgrade, the Geelong Ring Road and the Pakenham Bypass.
The two are also currently working together on the Monash Freeway Upgrade Alliance.
It is expected that the first position will occur in early 2008 and will be either a secondment or an exchange.
Work will start soon on stage one of the $92 million Bundaberg ring road project, designed to route heavy transport vehicles out of the city area.
Bellero Constructions has won a $30.3 million contract for stage one, with work starting soon and ending by February 2009.
Stage one will involve full construction of 7.4 km of a new 10m-wide bitumen sealed road connecting Goodwood Road and Bargara Road. This will include construction of two single-span bridges over an irrigation channel and two three-span bridges over Bundaberg Creek.
Stage two, expected to start in mid-2008, will connect Goodwood Road and the Isis Highway.
The Bundaberg ring road is expected to be open to traffic by December 2009. It is funded under the Rural and Regional Road Funding Initiative.
Meantime, bridge construction for the $33.6 million Hospital Bridge project at Mackay is well underway, with the outline of the new Lagoon Creek crossing already starting to take shape.
The Hospital Bridge replacement project will see a new concrete bridge built across the Pioneer River by early 2009, improving traffic flow around the Mackay CBD and moving traffic away from the Mackay Base Hospital.
A high level taskforce has been set up to ensure South Australia capitalises on a resource sector that is moving rapidly from exploration to extraction.
Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Paul Holloway, said last week the new Resources and Energy Sectors Infrastructure Council (RESIC) had been established to plan and develop viable, fit-for-purpose infrastructure to support mining operations in South Australia.
RESIC will operate through the Office of Major Projects and Infrastructure within the Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure (DTEI).
South Australia’s Strategic Plan sets a target of $4 billion for production and processing of mineral resources by 2014, with proper planning the key to meeting and possibly exceeding that goal.
The establishment of RESIC was recommended by the South Australian Chamber of Mines and Energy and supported by the Parliamentary Natural Resources Committee, PIRSA, DTEI and the Department for Trade and Economic Development.
VicRoads has released details of the Outer Melbourne Ring Planning Study on its website.
The aim of the Study is to identify the long term need and demand for a transport corridor that could link Werribee, Melton, Tullamarine and Craigieburn/Mickleham.
Stage 1 of the study will seek to identify the wide range of land-use, geographic and environmental opportunities and constraints and identify broad options for a transport corridor.
Stage 2 will seek to place a reservation for the corridor into Council Planning Schemes to enable land to be acquired. Stage 2 may also include seeking Commonwealth and State clearances under environmental legislation.
VicRoads says Community and Agency Reference Groups will be formed to provide it with advice relating to the proposed concept.
For more information, go to http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/Home/News/OuterMelbourneRingPlanningStudy.htm
The Brisbane Airport roundabout task force would submit several options for the Queensland Government to consider by the middle of next month, Main Roads Minister Warren Pitt told Parliament last week.
The task force is examining options for short-term measures to reduce the traffic congestion in the area.
Mr Pitt said the installation of signals at the roundabout had achieved the key goals of safety and reliability.
“The intersection is now much safer, and motorists travelling to the airport are now more likely to make their flight,” he said.
“Another significant improvement has been the reduction in queuing on the north-bound off-ramp, allowing an extra 400 vehicles an hour to flow along the motorway.
“But the prospect of two more years of potential congestion at the interchange is a major concern and that’s why the task force was established.”
Mr Pitt said options being considered included:
. the possible upgrade or enforcement of alternative routes
. the possibility of an extra westbound lane from the airport to the roundabout
. the promotion of alternative travelling modes, including the option to make public transport in the area more attractive.
“Although I am committed to identifying short-term measures to improve the situation, the real solution is the $1.9 billion Gateway Upgrade Project, with its northern deviation due to be completed by late 2009,” Mr Pitt said.
“This is expected to relieve congestion at the roundabout by up to 40 per cent.”
The following stories appear courtesy of World Highways.
Aussies eyeing Thai tolls
Babcock & Brown, Australia's second-largest investment bank, has agreed to buy a stake in Don Muang Tollway which owns a 21km toll road in Thailand. The bank will buy between 28 and 32% of Don Muang Tollway in a move which will cost up to A$130 million. The agreement is subject to a tender of existing shares and a private placement of new shares. B&B says shareholders include the Thai Ministry of Finance, the Phanichewa family and a local Thai bank. "This acquisition provides Babcock & Brown with an entry point into the Asian infrastructure sector and a platform to acquire and develop other toll roads in Thailand and in the region," B&B global infrastructure chief Peter Hofbauer said.
UK's road network one of worst in Europe
Latest figures available say that the UK’s highway network is the worst in Europe. Licensed vehicle numbers have increased 27% in the last 10 years while car travel has risen 60 billion passenger km to 678 billion passenger km. However the major road network has increased by just 2%. And motorway capacity has been increased by 8%. The UK has more vehicles/km of any country in the EC and its highway network has amongst the worst congestion, as poor as several Eastern European countries, many of which are now upgrading their highways.
For more road news from around the world, visit the World Highways website.
Submitted by Mark Bowmer on Monday November 19th 2007 12:29pm
© 2008 Roads Australia. Roads Australia does not warrant, guarantee or make any representations regarding the currency, accuracy, correctness, reliability, useability, or any other aspect, of the material presented in Roads Australia Insider, nor of material provided by others to Roads Australia and presented in this newsletter, nor of material provided by others and accessed from this site using links or connections to their Web sites or distribution services. The user accepts sole responsibility and all risk for using material presented on or accessed from Roads Australia Insider. Roads Australia does not accept any liability for any loss or damage which may be incurred as a result of using Roads Australia Insider or any material presented in or accessed from Roads Australia Insider.