Roads Australia
There was very little reporting by the national media last week on land transport infrastructure outcomes from the Rudd Government’s 2020 Summit, with most of the media focus on tax reform.
An AAP report made brief reference to infrastructure issues being raised in the rural and economic sessions, but most of the reporting was left to the Government’s own Initial Summit Report, which noted the need for “world-class infrastructure” in the Future of the Australian Economy section.
The report said: “The infrastructure imperative is to create a regulatory and institutional framework to allow timely and efficient investment, especially in key export areas. A specific priority is a simpler, national regime for third party access to give up front regulatory certainty and to promote competitive pricing and adequate returns. The stream endorses a need to coordinate national infrastructure priorities through Infrastructure Australia, underpinned by rigorous cost-benefit analysis and focusing on Australia’s competitive advantages.”
In other news, the Sydney Morning Herald reported this weekend that the RTA was undertaking new traffic modelling of the F3 to M2 missing link in Sydney’s north-west to test its viability.
In Brisbane, the Courier Mail has reported in the last fortnight that Brisbane City Council wants the Riverside Expressway put underground so pedestrians can access North Bank from the CBD.
In Melbourne, the Age reported last week that a proposal was being considered to unify clearway times on arterial roads as part of road congestion measures.
And today’s Age reported on a submission by the Public Transport Users Association to the Garnaut Climate Change Review calling for a ban on new freeways.
Running roads as a business, climate change, road congestion and project delivery are among the key topics to be covered at this year’s ARF National Roads Summit, to be held in Sydney on June 17 and 18.
International speakers include Nazir Alli, Chief Executive Officer of the South African National Roads Agency, who will speak on the role of road infrastructure in promoting economic transformation; and Professor John Read, Shell’s Global Bitumen Development & Product Manager, who will address issues of climate change and sustainability.
NSW Roads Minister, Eric Roozendaal, will open the Summit, and Mrs Janet Holmes a Court AC, Chairman of John Holland Group, will deliver the keynote address at the John Shaw Award Dinner on the evening of day one.
The heads of four state road authorities will also address the Summit - Alan Tesch (QMR), Les Wielinga (RTA), Gary Liddle (VicRoads) and Menno Henneveld (Main Roads WA).
An important agenda item will be discussion of ARF’s policy development initiatives (see story below).
The ARF National Roads Summit is the peak annual gathering for the major stakeholders in Australia's road industry, attracting executive staff of the major roading organisations in Australia as well as the major suppliers to the roads sector. More than 150 delegates attended the Summit in 2007.
Sponsored by Shell Bitumen, Pitt & Sherry and ARRB, this year’s Summit is again at the Stamford Plaza Hotel at Double Bay.
For more information including the full speaking program, accommodation, or to register on-line for the Summit, go to the Summit website or contact Denise McQueen, 03 8534 5021 or via email.
The ARF has committed itself to a major, long-term research initiative that will involve members from across the industry in helping to shape the new national road transport policy agenda.
The initiative comes out of a recent ARF Board workshop and subsequent meeting that looked at how the organisation might help facilitate informed debate on some of the key road transport challenges facing Australia in the coming years.
ARF President, Ray Fisher, says the policy initiative will look at establishing working groups - or chapters - to research and draw together current and relevant information from Australia and overseas on congestion management, resource and capacity management, and sustainability as it affects the road industry.
“These issues are closely aligned with the key policy areas identified in the new National Transport Plan currently being advanced by the Commonwealth, state and territory governments, and indeed with the priorities identified by our own members,” Mr Fisher says
“Urban congestion and sustainability are pressing issues for every government around Australia, while the issue of resource levelling – in other words, managing the project pipeline so that people and resources can be better utilised – was nominated in the recent ARF Skills Survey as a key challenge for governments and industry.
“We see our role as the peak road transport stakeholder group to help inform the debate – to ensure representatives of government, industry and the community have access to up-to-date and relevant information to move these debates forward.”
Mr Fisher says policy breakfasts on congestion management and resource levelling are planned for the forthcoming ARF National Roads Summit, to be held in Sydney in June.
“The policy breakfasts will include an overview of how the chapters will work and an outline of the issues themselves,” he says.
“We’ll also be indicating how members can be closely involved in the process as we move towards formulating the chapters and setting their respective agendas.”
The Tugun Bypass, linking the Gold Coast and northern NSW, is expected to open to traffic on June 2 - more than six months ahead of schedule.
The news was announced by Acting Qld Premier Paul Lucas earlier this month during an inspection of the project with Main Roads Minister Warren Pitt and Federal Infrastructure and Transport Minister, Anthony Albanese.
The 7km road connects the Stewart Rd interchange at Currumbin with the Tweed Heads Bypass in NSW. Traffic modelling shows about 46,000 vehicles will use the bypass each day, reducing existing traffic along the Gold Coast Highway by up to 55 per cent. The bypass will cut travel times between Currumbin and Tweed Heads to five minutes.
The four-lane road cost $543 million, with $120 million being provided by the Federal Government and $423 million from the Queensland Government.
Mr Albanese said the bypass was estimated to save $1.9 billion in reduced travel times and vehicle operating costs and $59 million in avoided accidents over 30 years, as well as reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 3.5 per cent by 2017.
Yet another milestone in Victoria’s $404 million Calder Freeway upgrade was reached earlier this month with the opening of the Malmsbury to Elphinstone stage.
Works on the the 15 km section was jointly funded by the Australian and Victorian governments.
Victorian Roads and Ports Minister, Tim Pallas, said with the new Malmsbury to Elphinstone section of the freeway opening, duplication of the Calder Highway between Melbourne and Bendigo was almost complete.
“The new freeway will redirect 12,000 vehicles per day including 3,600 trucks, away from Malmsbury, Taradale and Elphinstone. Removing through traffic from these Goldfields-route townships will enhance the living environment for locals and make the streets safer and towns more attractive for visitors,” Mr Pallas said.
“Importantly, VicRoads and its contractor Fulton Hogan have been able to complete this section of freeway nearly 12 months ahead of schedule, providing early benefits for drivers, and for people living, working and doing business in rural communities along the Calder corridor.
“I look forward to completion of the final Calder link by early next year.”
Mr Pallas confirmed that good progress was being made on the final freeway section now under construction between Faraday and Harcourt North.
Leighton Contractors will build the next major link in the upgrade of Queensland’s Bruce Highway after winning the $109 million construction contract for works between Uhlmann Road and the Bribie Island overpass.
The link will complete the Federal Government’s plan to upgrade the Bruce Highway between Brisbane and Caboolture, improving safety and reducing traffic congestion.
The project involves the widening of the highway to six lanes, upgrading the Caboolture/Bribie Island Road Split interchange, and widening of the Caboolture River bridges and Bribie Island overpass bridge.
The project is expected to conclude by mid to late 2009.
Highly respected transport planning adviser, Peter Hunkin, has joined Sinclair Knight Merz as Transport Advisory Leader, while ARRB has announced the appointment of Simon Cusack as its new Regional Manager NSW/ACT.
Mr Hunkin brings to SKM nearly 30 years experience in the traffic engineering and transport planning fields, mostly in a consulting environment, and has established a strong reputation in transport planning and strategic modelling in recent years with a particular focus on traffic and revenue forecasts for major toll road projects.
SKM Infrastructure General Manager, Terry Petersen, says Peter will assist in the ongoing development of SKM’s traffic and revenue forecasting business in the toll road market.
“As well as servicing the current and future toll road clients in the Australian market this will also include development of an SKM business in other parts of the globe,” Mr Petersen said.
“Peter also has responsibilities in the delivery of major transport projects across Australia and the broader SKM network internationally.”
Mr Hunkin has led significant projects such as the Eastlink Patronage Forecasting Study for the successful ConnectEast Consortium in Melbourne, and the Dallas SH-121 toll road Patronage Review study in Texas for Skanska. He was also Project Director for the award winning North South Rail Corridor Study for the Australian Government, and Project Manager for the transport modelling component of the Auckland Road Pricing Evaluation Study for the New Zealand Ministry of Transport.
The appointment of Simon Cusack as ARRB’s new Regional Manager NSW/ACT sees his predecessor, Paul Hillier, move to a national position as Discipline Leader, Road Safety and Traffic.
Simon has a wealth of knowledge and experience gained at the NSW RTA, where his team was responsible for major infrastructure planning. He previously held the position of Manager of Motorway Program and Strategy and various roles in road safety.
Peter Damen, GM of ARRB Consulting, says Simon’s new role will focus on building strong relationships with the RTA, the ACT Government and local industry, and working collaboratively with them in researching and developing projects.
Australia's peak motoring bodies will come together on June 3 at an international climate change summit to develop solutions aimed at reducing private vehicles' greenhouse gas emissions.
The Australian Automobile Association and constituent motoring organisations – the NRMA, RACV, RACQ, RAASA, RACWA, RACT and AANT – will conduct the summit as part of its climate change policy, On the Road to Greener Motoring.
AAA's Director of Research and Policy, John Metcalfe, said the aim of the conference is to bring together the often differing views about cars' contribution to the environment and to examine ways of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the motor car while at the same time preserving Australians' mobility.
"On The Road To Greener Motoring will critically examine the role that cars play in our society and the environment, and set an agenda for future strategies and activities aimed at improving environmental outcomes," Mr Metcvalfe says.
The keynote address will be delivered by Director General of the FIA Foundation, David Ward. Mr Ward is also the Secretary of the Commission for Global Road Safety and has served on a number of road safety related advisory committees and working groups of the OECD, the WHO, the UN and the European Commission.
For further information on the Climate Change Summit or to register to attend, please go to www.aaa.asn.au/GreenerMotoring
The following stories appear courtesy of World Highways.
Too many signs poses safety risk
A study of driver reactions to advertising and signage shows they provide a distraction that can affect safety. According to the research by Oliver Clark and Simon Davies of the University of Hull in the UK, road safety could be improved if there was a reduction in the amount of advertising and signage drivers are exposed to on the road.
In 2006 the RAC reported that too much information on the road may be hazardous. However the supporting research was not relevant to driving situations. However the current study aimed to investigate the effects of visual distractions on reaction time. The researchers used an experiment in a driving simulator to examine how visual distractions might affect reaction times. Some 54 participants (27 male, 27 female) used a steering wheel/foot pedal joystick to perform a driving task whilst providing a foot pedal response to various road signs. The simulated journey was affected by four distraction settings, no load, where there were no distractions, low load, high load and overload where they experienced nine distractions as they drove the simulator. A major difference was found between the no load and load situations with significant increases in reaction time between the no load and high load and overload conditions.
According to Clark, this experiment shows that too much visual information in the form of advertising and signage has an effect on reaction times. The more distractions there are, the slower the reaction times of the driver and the greater the safety risk.
Beijing's road expansion
Plans are well in hand for a major expansion of the road network around the Chinese capital Beijing. By the end of 2010, the city will feature an urban road network consisting of 380km of high-speed road and 1,400km of trunk roads. By then, a car drive between any two places on the city’s Fifth Ring Road is expected to take less than an hour.
For more road news from around the world, visit the World Highways website.
Submitted by Mark Bowmer on Monday April 28th 2008 1:55pm
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