Roads Australia
Media speculation continues over the future of ‘big ticket’ infrastructure items in NSW, including roads, ahead of the State Government’s November mini-budget.
According to last week’s Sydney Morning Herald, a raft of major rail projects – including the $12 billion North West metro – are under a cloud, along with future road projects like the M4 East motorway. The Herald said the State Government was hoping some of these projects may be rescued by Federal funding.
The Herald reported the new Premier, Nathan Rees, would submit a list of projects for which he is seeking Federal funding within the next few weeks. This list builds on the State's funding submission sent to Infrastructure Australia in June, the paper said.
In other news, the Sunday Age says the Victorian Government’s forthcoming transport plan is likely to include a push for greater use of car-pooling.
The Herald Sun has reported that Melbourne’s proposed east-west road link would likely be built in stages, starting at the western end of the corridor.
Next month’s COAG meeting is set to endorse reforms to establish national systems of road, rail and maritime regulation and licencing, with new national road safety standards likely to be in place as early as next year, according to the AFR.
And the Daily Telegraph has reported that tolling on the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge will go fully cashless by the end of January next year.
Detailed planning on the $55 million duplication of the Douglas Arterial Motorway between Townsville and Thuringowa will begin next month, with an independent consultant expected to be appointed soon to do the work.
The Federal Government has provided the Queensland Government with $5 million to make sure the necessary planning work is completed by June 2009.
“By beginning the critical planning work now, we will be in a position to start delivering on our commitment to fix this section of the Bruce Highway at least 12 months earlier than previously thought possible,” Federal Infrastructure and Transport Minister, Anthony Albanese, said last week.
Funding for the Douglas Arterial duplication project is part of the Federal Government's plan to invest $2.2 billion between 2009 and 2014 on improving the condition and capacity of the Bruce Highway.
This plan includes $490 million for projects in the Townsville-Burdekin area.
Meantime, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has turned the first sod on Townsville's $190 million Port Access Road, up to two years earlier than originally anticipated.
The Federal and Queensland governments are each contributing $95 million to link the Flinders and Bruce Highways to the Port of Townsville - a project which the Rudd Government says could help attract up to $10 billion worth of investment to the region.
The road is now scheduled to be completed by the end of 2011 or early 2012. It is being delivered in two stages - the Stuart Bypass (Stage 1) and the Eastern Access Corridor (Stage 2).
The contract for Stage 1 was recently awarded to the Abigroup/Seymour Whyte joint venture.
The $245 million upgrade of the Pacific Highway at Bonville, in northern NSW, was opened to traffic last week.
Jointly funded by the Federal and NSW governments, the 9.6 kilometre dual carriageway starts south of Perrys Road, bypasses Bonville village and finishes at the junction of Lyons Road, about 11 km south of Coffs Harbour.
Newly appointed NSW Roads Minister, Michael Daley, said the community had contributed enormously to the project.
"The workforce on the Bonville upgrade rose from 30 employees in November 2006 to about 500 each month as the project continued," Mr Daley said.
Meantime, the northbound section of the first stage of the F3 Freeway widening project, north of Sydney, was also opened to traffic last week.
The northbound section of stage one involved widening an 11.5 kilometre section of the Freeway to three lanes in each direction between Cowan and Mt Colah.
The Federal Government has provided an extra $160 million for the New Perth Bunbury Highway to ensure it is completed by the middle of next year.
All up, the Commonwealth is investing $330 million on the construction of this new road connecting the State's main production centres in the Peel and South West regions to domestic and overseas markets.
This $705 million project extends the Kwinana Freeway to a new bypass of Mandurah and then continues on before rejoining the existing highway between Perth and Bunbury.
Main Roads Western Australia is constructing the New Perth Bunbury Highway under an alliance with the Southern Gateway Consortium which comprises Leighton Contractors, GHD and WA Limestone.
Federal Infrastructure and Transport Minister, Anthony Albanese, last week announced the preferred routes for the bypasses of Tarcutta, Holbrook and Woomargama as part of the plan to upgrade the remaining sections of the Hume Highway to dual carriageway by 2012.
The corridors for these three new bypasses were selected following technical, environmental and social assessments of the various options as well as extensive consultations with the affected communities.
The preferred corridors for all three bypasses are the 'western option'.
The bypasses of Tarcutta, Holbrook and Woomargama will take up to 2,700 trucks off the local roads of these towns and reduce the time it takes to move freight between Sydney and Melbourne.
The RTA will now submit project applications to the NSW Department of Planning and start drawing up concept designs for each of the proposed bypasses.
To view the preferred routes, click here.
The upgrade of the Pacific Motorway between Springwood South and Daisy Hill is a step closer, with the appointment of two contractors to finalise the design for the high priority project.
Contracts had been awarded to Leighton Contractors and Pacific CBR for the design of section B of the Pacific Motorway Transit Project.
Pacific CBR is a joint venture between Bielby Holdings, Albem Operations and JF Hull Holdings.
"Both contractors are now working to finalise designs to upgrade this 3.3km section of road, ahead of Main Roads selecting one contractor to build the project," said Queensland Main Roads Minister, Warren Pitt.
The Pacific Motorway Transit Project is intended to enhance the motorway's dual role as an important interstate freight corridor and a commuter traffic route, meeting the transport needs of south-east Queensland for the next 30 years.
Melbourne’s new EastLink has consistently reduced travel times for motorists when compared to both Springvale Road and Stud Road, the main alternative roads running parallel to the new motorway.
Over a seven-week period, IMIS conducted travel time surveys along the full length of EastLink, Springvale Road and Stud Road. These surveys were commissioned by ConnectEast, and show:
For further information, click here.
Construction of critical new roads in outer Melbourne now by the private sector and funded by the State Government based on vehicle patronage over 20 to 30 years is the way to go, says RACV.
RACV this month released its Outer Melbourne Connect blueprint, detailing specific road, rail and public transport projects that it says are required sooner rather than later in outer Melbourne.
Connect is one of the key initiatives included in RACV’s comprehensive Melbourne Transport Plan submission to the Eddington East West Link Report.
Connect lists new road, rail and public transport projects, including 85 arterial road projects across outer Melbourne totalling $3.2 billion, suburbs needing new or expanded bus services, and level crossings requiring grade separation.
“RACV believes the State Government has tried its best but now the private sector needs to get involved in building roads in Melbourne’s fastest growing areas before it’s too late,” said RACV Public Policy General Manager, Brian Negus.
“We believe the State Government should first seek Federal funding for the appropriate road and public transport projects before delivering the remainder of the backlog with an ongoing program of works through the private sector.
“These works could be built within about five years and paid for via ‘shadow tolls’, a system used overseas but new to Australia, where a private contractor constructs roads then recoups costs from government during a 20 to 30 year period based on vehicle usage of roads.
“Let me make this crystal clear: a shadow tax is not an extra tax, in fact there would be no additional charge to motorists using these new roads.”
RACV-commissioned research conducted this year showed 86 per cent of Victorians believed upgrades to outer Melbourne roads were needed now or, at the latest, in the next few years.
For more information on the Connect report, click here.
As a first step toward an integrated road network for SMART heavy vehicles, the National Transport Commission (NTC) has published initial maps provided by states and territories.
The publication of road networks to support the Performance Based Standards (PBS) reform was directed by the Australian Transport Council (ATC), who approved the reform in October 2007.
“The maps are a starting point to identify and address the gaps and mismatches on the existing national road network and move toward a more integrated and productive transport system,” said NTC Chief Executive Nick Dimopoulos.
PBS allows SMART vehicles to access a suitable road network based on the vehicle’s ability to stop, turn and travel safely without damaging roads or bridges. The vehicle’s performance is linked to road network access; the better it performs the more roads it can operate on.
Better certainty of road access and more consistent decision-making were key issues identified by a PBS industry focus group meeting on 28 August, 2008. Outcomes of this workshop will inform a review of the PBS reform.
“NTC is committed to ensuring PBS meets the needs of industry. The review is an opportunity for this important COAG reform to reach its full productivity and road safety potential,” Mr Dimopoulos said.
The maps provide guidance for transport operators in planning PBS applications; however access to the network remains dependent on approval of the vehicle design and permits issued by states and territories. Maps for Victoria and Tasmania are currently being finalised.
Applications for road access outside the published network maps are subject to route assessments and will be considered by states and territories on a case-by-case basis.
Ministers signalled their intention to implement productivity reform through PBS following a majority vote to increase the gross mass limit twin-steer prime-mover and semi-trailer combinations earlier this year.
A regulatory impact statement in 2009 will incorporate outcomes from the PBS review, including a proposal to replace vehicle permits with regulations.
For more information, click here.
Submitted by Mark Bowmer on Monday September 22nd 2008 9:03am
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