Roads Australia has launched a milestone campaign seeking a new deal for road and transport infrastructure funding in Australia.
RA has commissioned one of Australia’s most eminent road engineers, Dr Max Lay, to write a major report on the issue. In the meantime, RA will be directly contacting every treasurer, roads minister, transport minister and environment minister in Australia in coming weeks to bring them into the loop.
“This is a campaign that will be won with decision-makers, not the general public,” RA Chief Executive, Ian Webb, said today.
Yesterday RA issued a policy statement on the issue, saying that the current debate on road pricing needed to go beyond single issues like fuel excise and congestion taxes to fixing the whole 'dog’s breakfast'.
“The taxation review by Dr Ken Henry opens the way for a ‘new deal’ on the way Australia’s transport infrastructure is funded, managed and priced. It presents an historic opportunity for generational change,” RA President, Ray Fisher, said in the statement.
“Road pricing is only half the story - the critical debate we need to have is on road funding.”
Click here to view the full statement from Roads Australia.
The Victorian Government has released its 2009 submission to Infrastructure Australia, outlining infrastructure funding priorities it says will dramatically reshape the State’s freight network and build the capacity of its international gateways.
“Victoria’s submission includes critical projects to help boost the productivity and efficiency of the Australian economy,” Mr Pallas said last week.
The Minister said two key projects critical to Victoria’s freight network and the Port of Melbourne were WestLink and the Truck Action Plan.
WestLink is a road tunnel from the port precinct to Geelong Road/Sunshine Rd, with a longer term connection to the Western Ring Road. The Truck Action Plan will create an alternative route for freight to access the Port of Melbourne.
Both projects are among 10 major infrastructure projects for which Victoria is seeking Commonwealth Government funding.
“WestLink will help reduce Melbourne’s over-reliance on the West Gate Bridge, remove cars and trucks from local roads and create more jobs. We’re already getting on with initial works for WestLink, with a $10 million planning study announced last month,” Mr Pallas said.
Other projects in Victoria’s submission include the development of new intermodal freight terminals in Melbourne’s north and west, the development of the Port of Hastings, including rail freight connections, and a package of road and rail projects in the Green Triangle Region in the state’s south-west.
Victoria’s 2009 Infrastructure Australia submission is available at www.transport.vic.gov.au
In other Victorian road news, construction of two additional overtaking lanes on the Western Highway west of Kaniva is set to start early next year, the first major works in a series of improvements on the road between Stawell and the South Australian border.
Fulton Hogan will build a 1.2 kilometre overtaking lane for motorists travelling towards Adelaide and a one kilometre overtaking lane for traffic heading to Melbourne.
The works are part of a $50 million investment by the Commonwealth and Victorian governments to improve safety and travel times along the route.
Major works to improve Melbourne’s M80 Ring Road are underway, with the first sod turned this week on stage one of the $2.25 billion freeway upgrade project between the Tullamarine Freeway and Sydney Road.
“The M80 Ring Road from Laverton North to Greensborough is being upgraded to increase traffic capacity, improve safety and ease congestion along one of Melbourne’s key corridors as part of the Victorian Government’s plans for building a better transport system,” says Victorian Roads and Ports Minister, Tim Pallas.
“The improvement works on the 8.5 kilometre section from Tullamarine through to Sydney Road, Campbellfield, include an extra lane in both directions, reconfigured interchanges and ramps and new traffic management initiatives that will help traffic flow better.”
The first stage of works are due for completion by the end of 2012. The works are being delivered by an alliance partnership involving Thiess, Parsons Brinckerhoff, Hyder and VicRoads.
Mr Pallas also announced the second section of works on the M80 Upgrade would be between the Western Highway and Sunshine Avenue.
“The upgrade to the Furlong Road to Sunshine Avenue section will also include an extra lane in both directions, including widening of the bridge over Furlong Road,” he said.
VicRoads is currently inviting industry to submit tenders to design and construct a portion of the second section of the upgrade between Furlong Road and Sunshine Avenue, with the contract expected to be awarded and construction to commence in 2010.
The M80 Ring Road upgrade project is being delivered in partnership with the Commonwealth Government as part its Nation Building Program, and was identified as a priority project in the Victorian Government’s $38 billion Victorian Transport Plan.
A number of crucial transport reforms were reaffirmed at this week’s Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting.
At the meeting COAG agreed to:
The National Transport Commission (NTC) has welcomed this week’s outcomes.
“COAG’s decision is an important next step towards a sustainable national transport system with less red tape, higher productivity and better safety outcomes,” said Nick Dimopoulos, Chief Executive, NTC.
Mr Dimopoulos said NTC is pleased with the findings of the NTC Review.
“The review acknowledges the important contribution the NTC has made towards national transport reform to date, and recognises that there is more to be done across road, rail and intermodal transport reform to meet the challenges facing the nation.”
This week’s COAG meeting has given the green light to the adoption of national planning criteria against which the states and territories will produce capital city strategic plans by 2012.
State and territory planning systems will be independently assessed by the COAG Reform Council to meet national criteria for transport, housing, urban development and sustainability.
In a joint statement released after the COAG meeting, Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, and Infrastructure and Transport Minister, Anthony Albanese, said the capital city strategic plans were needed to lift economic productivity, respond to climate change and ensure the nation was geared up for 35 million people by 2049.
“The national criteria will deliver better integrated and longer term - 30 year - infrastructure and land use plans,” the statement said.
“The criteria require planned, evidence-based land release to improve housing affordability, better transport planning to tackle urban congestion, and new urban development to be better linked to transport, jobs and services.
“Work will begin in 2010, with an initial report on each jurisdiction’s plan to be completed during 2011. A formal intergovernmental agreement will provide details of these arrangements.
“From 1 January 2012, the Commonwealth will link future infrastructure funding to states and territories meeting these criteria. The Commonwealth must have confidence in the integrity of a capital city’s strategic planning system if it is to invest in that city.
“The Commonwealth also has agreed to contribute to the reforms through its own property, assets, service delivery and approval processes.”
Meantime, in another positive step towards better integration of transport and planning services, new legislation was introduced in the Victorian Parliament this week to align all state transport agencies in the biggest reform of the transport portfolio since 1983.
The Transport Integration Bill aims to unify the transport portfolio, including ports and marine, under the one central statute for the first time in Victoria’s history.
Under the Bill all transport agencies – including the Director of Public Transport, VicRoads, VicTrack, V/Line and the Linking Melbourne Authority – will be required to work together towards the common goal of an integrated and sustainable transport system.
At the same time, land use agencies – including the Department of Planning and Community Development, municipal Councils, the Growth Areas Authority and Parks Victoria – will be obliged to have regard to the legislation when making decisions that impact on the transport system.
Roads and Ports Minister, Tim Pallas, said the new proposed VicRoads charter states that the corporation’s primary object is to “provide, operate and maintain the road system consistent with the vision statement and the transport system objectives.
“As part of this object VicRoads will ensure the road system operates as part of an integrated transport system and supports a sustainable Victoria,” Mr Pallas said.
Abigroup has completed its first project for Main Roads Western Australia - two and a half months ahead of schedule and using an innovative construction method never before used in WA.
The 8.7km, $52 million Geraldton Southern Transport Corridor – Stage 2 (GSTC-2), between North West Coastal Highway and Geraldton Airport, was officially opened to traffic last weekend.
The GSTC-2 is designed to significantly reduce the volume of heavy and oversize vehicles using the local road network, thereby improving safety while also providing a direct east-west link to the Port of Geraldton.
Abigroup’s GSTC-2 Project Manager Craig Irvine said: “This is an important landmark in Abigroup’s development within Western Australia.
“To complete our first road project in the state this early, with no construction injuries and to an extremely high standard is a fantastic achievement.”
The project utilised an innovative alternative pavement in highly trafficked intersections, incorporating a concrete sub-layer for the first time on a Main Roads WA project.
“Using a LMC Sub-base is a major innovation for road-building in WA,” said Craig.
“The GSTC-2 project team are delighted to be introducing a viable alternative pavement for our client.”
Brisbane Airport’s new Northern Access Road officially opened to traffic last week to join with the new seven kilometre section of the $1.88 billion Gateway upgrade project.
Renamed Moreton Drive and Nancy Bird Way, the Northern Access Road is expected to take around 40 per cent of the 75,000 vehicles currently travelling on Airport Drive each day.
Premier Anna Bligh said last week that a third project - the State Government’s new Airport Roundabout Upgrade - would open in 2011 to complete the ‘trifecta of congestion relief’.
The new 4.5km road, fully funded by Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC), will provide the main airport access for those travelling in a north-south direction along the New Gateway Motorway.
Moreton Drive will take motorists to the domestic airport and Nancy Bird Way will take them to the International terminal.
Airport Drive will continue to act as the main route for traffic travelling to or from the city from the Airport.
In other Queensland road news, last month saw the official opening of the first of three projects to upgrade the Ipswich Motorway.
The $255 million Ipswich/Logan Interchange provides major improvements in safety, reliability and traffic flow for Ipswich Motorway motorists, as well as improved local access for the Gailes and Goodna communities, says Main Roads Minister, Craig Wallace.
“A major part of the new Ipswich/Logan Interchange has been replacing all right-side merges with free-flowing left-side merges, which provides motorists with a safer and more reliable motorway system. Twelve new bridges, new service roads and two new cross-motorway connections were constructed as part of this complex project,” the Minister says.
“The team worked hard to build around an operating interchange with 90,000 vehicles each day on the Ipswich Motorway, and with staging requiring more than 50 traffic switches.
“The completion of this project is a key milestone in the upgrading of the Ipswich Motorway.”
It’s also been announced that the upgrade of the Ipswich Motorway between Wacol and Darra will be completed six months early, with motorists set to be driving on this new section of road by the middle of next year.
A contract for the construction of the Dilston Bypass on the East Tamar Highway has been signed this week to signal the start of work in the new year on the $48 million project.
Tasmanian Minister for Infrastructure, Graeme Sturges, said he was pleased to see a contract for the project finally awarded after delays caused by design changes.
Fully funded by the Commonwealth, the bypass will consist of nearly 2 km of dual carriageway and 7 km of 3-lane highway with a median wire rope safety barrier. The Barnards Creek Bridge will be replaced with a four-lane bridge.
The Launceston City Council approved a revised development application for the bypass, which will incorporate a southbound underpass ramp on the southern junction and fog detection speed reduction signs for the northern junction.
Measures to help reduce roadkill will be a feature of the project and there has been extensive consultation with property owners to minimise impacts on farming operations during the construction period.
In other Tasmanian road news, tenders have been called for the construction of the $41.5 million Kingston Bypass.
Melbourne’s EastLink has set a new benchmark for electronic tolling systems in Australia, with owner/operator ConnectEast processing more than one million electronic tolling transactions for the first time on a single day in mid-November.
With 13 toll sections in each direction on the 39km motorway, and an average five toll point transactions per vehicle trip, ConnectEast’s tolling system processed 1.02 million transactions for the first time on November 13, equating to 212,000 trips.
Also in November, EastLink recorded more than 169,500 Average Daily Trips – the highest monthly result so far, representing a 19.4% increase on November 2008 and a 25.8% increase in Average Daily Revenue in the same period.
Since the start of tolling there has been a 25% increase in Average Daily Trips and a 32% rise in revenue. In the same period, average daily vehicle kilometres travelled on EastLink have increased by 29% and the average trip length has grown by 3.7%.
“In our first 16 months of operation, ConnectEast has successfully completed the transition to an efficient operating business capable of processing more than one million transactions in a single day,” said ConnectEast Managing Director Dennis Cliche.
“The team has quickly established a strong and growing customer base and has proven its capabilities in delivering reliable and convenient service.”
Submitted by Mark Bowmer on Friday December 11th 2009 11:14am
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