Roads Australia
The RTA has signed an initial agreement with Interlink Roads to develop a concept design and funding plan to widen Sydney’s M5 Motorway.
The M5 West Widening project involves widening the M5 Motorway by generally one lane in each direction.
Under this initial agreement Interlink will develop the concept design, project cost estimate and funding plan for the project.
The RTA has already commenced work on the Environmental Assessment and Planning Approval process, according to a statement released today by Transurban, a 50 per cent equity stakeholder in Interlink Roads.
Roads Australia will be hosting its 2010 Summit in Sydney on April 22 and 23.
The Summit will comprise a mix of plenary sessions and workshops aligned with RA’s policy agenda, says RA Chief Executive, Ian Webb.
The Summit will also feature RA member chief executives and ministers, including Qld Main Roads Minister, Craig Wallace. Leading international transport expert, Jack Opiola, will also attend.
More information and news on the Summit will be available on the RA website early in 2010.
The first sod was officially turned last week on the $310 million Banora Point Pacific Highway upgrade in northern NSW.
NSW Premier Kristina Keneally described the start of works as a key part of the $3.6 billion Pacific Highway program.
The project will straighten and improve the Pacific Highway between Barneys Point Bridge and the Tweed Heads bypass, and is due for completion in mid 2012.
Field investigations and clearing works will continue over the summer and major works will begin early next year.
A major upgrade of the Victoria Highway in the Northern Territory, aimed at helping to prevent closure of the national road link during wet season flooding, has officially opened.
The $50 million upgrade, funded by the Commonwealth, has seen the completion of the Victoria River Bridge and crossings over the Joe, Lost and Sandy Creeks, as well as the raising of 7.5 kilometres of road to make the highway more reliable in the wet season.
The Victoria Highway is a key link in the Perth to Darwin corridor for tourism, defence, mining, cattle and transport industries.
Historically these sections of the road have closed every wet season for on average five days due to flooding, and extreme rainfalls causing the road to close for weeks at a time.
The new Victoria River Bridge, located about 200 kilometres south west of Katherine, is 7.5 metres higher and twice the length of the old bridge nearby, and incorporates a pedestrian walkway.
A local Aboriginal company was heavily involved in the construction of the bridge.
Seven projects - including two major road projects - have been selected as outstanding examples of construction excellence to compete for the Australian Construction Achievement Award 2010.
The winner will be announced at a gala dinner, hosted by Mr Wal King, President of the Australian Constructors Association and Professor Doug Hargreaves, National President of Engineers Australia, in Brisbane on 20 May 2010.
Since the Australian Construction Achievement Award was established in 1997, as a joint venture between the Australian Constructors Association and Engineers Australia, 68 of Australia’s best building and engineering projects have made it to the finalist round.
The ACAA 2010 finalists are:
Summaries and pictures of each of the projects are available at www.acaa.net.au
Nominations are now open for the 2010 John Shaw Medal, the Australian road industry’s most prestigious award for individual achievement.
Named in honour of former NSW Commissioner of Main Roads and Australian Road Federation president, John Shaw, the Medal has a long history and is recognised as one of the most significant achievements in the Australian road transport sector.
Recipients are chosen from an esteemed panel of previous winners, and the medal is only awarded in years where the panel believes a candidate of sufficient merit has been nominated.
In 2009, the Medal was awarded to Dr Max Lay, one of Australia’s most distinguished and respected road engineers.
A full list of past winners, together with information on criteria for the Award, can be viewed under the About Us tab on this website.
Further information is also available from RA Chief Executive, Ian Webb, at ian@roads.org.au
Nominations for the 2009 Award close at the end of February.
The following story appears courtesy of World Highways.
Amsterdam to get congestion charging?
A congestion charging scheme has been proposed for the city of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The Dutch transport ministry intends to test congestion charging in the city, with a view to rolling out the scheme to parts of the country at a later date.
The Netherlands has plans to introduce road user charging in the future and congestion charging for cities could become part of this plan in the future, although the Transport Ministry has yet to publish its full plans for the scheme.
In Europe UK capital London and Swedish capital Stockholm have already introduced successful congestion charging schemes that have now been run for a number of years. It is not clear at this stage how a system would be run in Amsterdam but the city can suffer high congestion at peak periods and the narrow streets of the central area are notorious for jams, with several measures having been tried in the past to cut traffic. In addition, Amsterdam has an effective public transport network, a congestion charging scheme for vehicles would have a good chance of success. Different tariff models will be tested to see which is the most effective; after this, it will be decided whether the congestion charging will be continued. The revenues from the tariff should not top €300 million/year.
Submitted by Mark Bowmer on Monday December 21st 2009 4:26pm
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