Roads Australia
News of and reaction to the release of Sir Rod Eddington’s report on Melbourne’s east-west transport corridor dominated Victorian media last week.
The reaction as reported in the Age and Herald Sun was mixed, with key business groups like the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Property Council of Australia indicating support for the study.
However, the Planning Institute of Australia, quoted in the Age, said the report was at odds with the State Government’s Melbourne 2030 growth strategy. The Institute said the focus should be on keeping people in their localities, not moving them across the city.
The Herald Sun quoted public transport advocates who said a proposed new 18km cross city road connection, which includes tunnel options, would fuel inner city congestion and greenhouse gas emissions.
The Herald Sun also speculated that motorists could pay as much as $9 to use a new cross city tunnel. It said planning for a tunnel could start as early as next year, and construction by 2014.
In other news, the Courier Mail reported last week that Queensland Premier Anna Bligh had established a special unit within her department to tackle transport congestion.
In Sydney, the Daily Telegraph reported that the mooted M4 extension would include a 14km tunnel from Port Botany.
And the Sydney Morning Herald carried a wire story last week on the push by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg for a London-style congestion tax for Manhattan - although subsequent reports say the move has been quashed by state politicians (see story below).
Victorian Premier, John Brumby, is seeking wide community consultation on the findings of the much anticipated Eddington east-west corridor study, released in Melbourne last week.
The report contained multi-billion-dollar proposals to improve Melbourne’s transport network, including two major infrastructure recommendations:
Other significant initiatives to address transport issues in the east-west corridor included:
The Premier has announced a 15-week period for members of the public to provide comment on the recommendations in the report. Public submissions and comments will be considered as part of a formal Government response later in the year.
The Eddington report is available at the Victorian Department of Infrastructure website.
Mr Brumby said the Government and the wider community would need to consider some critical questions in evaluating any proposal in the report, including:
Sir Rod Eddington’s report is the culmination of 12 months of research, with more than 130 public submissions, site visits, and consultation with councils, business, industry and the community.
The Queensland Government has ruled out building a road bypass west of Brisbane, but says it will continue to look at a range of projects including new tunnels, new public transport options and new roads on preserved corridors as part of its Western Brisbane Transport Network Investigation.
Launching the next stage of the study with Minister for Transport, John Mickel, last week, Deputy Premier and Minister for Infrastructure and Planning, Paul Lucas, said the Government had ruled out two surface road options for any western bypass because of low traffic volumes, but would investigate a tunnel closer to the city as part of a long-term alternative.
Mr Lucas said while none of the projects had been committed to by the State Government and most would be long-term, it was important to talk to the community and begin proper planning as soon as possible.
Major options in the study that would now be considered further include:
“I want to make it clear that these are long-term options and will be subject to further analysis of traffic volumes, engineering and environmental considerations, costings and public consultation,” Mr Lucas said.
The public consultation period ends on May 31, 2008. For more details visit www.wbtni.net.au.
The Queensland Government will include the findings of an RACQ roads assessment report into its planning for road upgrades, Main Roads Minister Warren Pitt said this week.
The Minister’s comments followed the release by RACQ of its latest AusRAP (Australian Road Assessment Program) report on Queensland roads, providing star ratings for nearly 8000 km of rural Queensland highways, including 2700 km of state-funded and controlled roads.
In the report sections of road are awarded a rating between one (least safe) and five (safest) stars based on such factors as road alignment, the presence of unprotected roadside hazards, shoulder width and whether or not the road was divided.
Of the state highways assessed in the latest report, 17 percent rated two stars, 82 percent rated three stars and just 0.4 percent rated four stars. There were no one or five-star roads.
This compared with one percent two stars, 59 percent three stars and 40 percent four stars for the 5200 km network of Queensland’s AusLink national road network previously measured by the RACQ in 2006.
Mr Pitt said concerns about the safety of roads expressed through the RACQ assessment was a valuable perspective and Main Roads would closely review the report.
"While Main Roads already assesses its network, this latest analysis compiled by the RACQ will help with the ongoing assessment of key priorities, and in directing available funding to where it is most needed,” he said.
Mr Pitt said Main Roads had completed, commenced or was in the process of planning work to improve roads listed in the RACQ report.
A copy of the AusRAP report, Safer Roads Save Lives, can be downloaded at http://www.aaa.asn.au/publications/reports.php
To view the Minister’s full response, click here.
Abigroup Contractors, Laing O’Rourke Australia and MacMahon have been shortlisted for the final 8.7km section of highway on the Geraldton Southern Transport Corridor.
WA Planning and Infrastructure Minister, Alannah MacTiernan, announced this week the three companies would now submit detailed proposals and pricing to construct the final section of the highway from the North West Coastal Highway connection, just north of the Waverley Street overpass, and eastward through to the Geraldton-Mt Magnet road near the Geraldton Airport.
“We expect to announce the preferred proponent in late August, with construction to commence towards the end of the year,” the Minister said.
“The road should be open for traffic in early 2010.”
The Townsville Port Access Road could be ready two years ahead of schedule following the Federal Government’s decision to bring forward $20 million to speed up construction.
Queensland Acting Premier and Minister for Infrastructure and Planning, Paul Lucas, and Federal Infrastructure and Transport Minister, Anthony Albanese, this week announced a $20 million injection of funds from July this year.
Overall, the Australian and Queensland governments will contribute $190 million on a 50:50 basis for the project.
Townsville Port handles 10 million tonnes of freight a year, which is expected to triple in the next 20 years.
“The $20 million will speed up the Townsville Port Access Road project and could see the new road ready by the end of 2011 or early 2012,” Mr Albanese said.
The Townsville Port Access Road is being built in two sections:
The following stories appear courtesy of World Highways.
No to New York's congestion charge
Local politicians in the state assembly have ruled against introducing a congestion charging scheme to New York's Manhattan island. The plan was put forward initially by mayor Michael Bloomberg but faced stiff opposition from both major political parties. The US$8 charge proposed was deemed an unfair tax against the poor and plans to relaunch the scheme are unlikely to get off the ground for some time now that the concept has been dismissed. The New York scheme was partly modelled on the congestion charging system used in UK capital, London. Opposition to the New York scheme was particularly strong from politicians representing Queens, Brooklyn and the city's suburban areas who said the plan would have benefited those in Manhattan most.
However, US secretary of transportation Mary E Peters said this move represented a missed opportunity for the US in general. New York has a fairly high percentage of commuters using public transport when compared with other US cities. This latest move represents a major blow to the concept of congestion charging in the US.
Toll road safety and support in US
Two studies by the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) in the US claim that toll roads are safer than non-tolled roads and that the introduction of tolled roads has public support. The first study compares the safety record of toll roads, tunnels and bridges to that of non-tolled facilities in the US. This concludes that toll facilities in the United States have a much lower fatality rate than do US roads overall and lower fatality rates than either urban or rural interstate highways. The second study summarises the findings from 110 different surveys that look at public attitudes toward tolling and claims to suggest that there is clear majority support for tolling and road pricing. Among all surveys, 56% showed support for tolling while opposition was found in only 31% of the surveys.
For more road news from around the world, visit the World Highways website.
Submitted by Mark Bowmer on Friday April 11th 2008 11:25am
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