Roads Australia
The decision to call a halt to work on the controversial Metro rail project dominated media reporting on the NSW Government’s much anticipated Metropolitan Transport Plan, released last weekend.
The media’s focus on the Metro decision and the public transport initiatives left little room for commentary on the road component of the Plan. There was some criticism about road’s overall share of funding over the next 10 years ($21.9b) compared to rail - although put into context, the road funding is accounted for by Sydney and regional road upgrades, works and maintenance, and contributions to National Highway projects.
Specifically mentioned were:
There was no funding commitment to projects such as the M4 East or M5 duplication, although the Plan noted that these '...could be brought forward if additional funding becomes available...’
The Plan also mentioned $536 million for motorway planning, transit corridor reservations and land acquisition for future projects.
The Government also announced changes to the vehicle weight charge to help fund its $50.2b transport strategy.
The Plan document is available at the NSW Government website.
Roads Australia has welcomed the Victorian Government’s SmartRoads transport management guidelines, designed to maximise the efficiency of Melbourne’s existing road infrastructure.
Releasing details of the initiative yesterday, Roads and Ports Minister, Tim Pallas, said the Australian-first SmartRoads operating plans would improve the efficiency of metropolitan road network for all transport modes – including trams, buses, taxis, cyclists, cars and walking.
“SmartRoads is an innovative approach to managing Melbourne’s arterial road network – giving priority to different transport modes at certain times of the day.
“By designating which modes have priority on particular roads, we can make the system work better for everyone, rather than every mode competing for space all on the one road.
“The aim is to reduce delays and congestion for commuters and make the most of our existing road space and use SmartRoads to guide planning into the future and encourage smarter road sharing.”
Roads Australia Chief Executive, Ian Webb, described the Government’s latest initiative as a new benchmark in demand management.
“Solving congestion isn’t just about building new roads, it’s about making better use of the existing asset,” he said.
“Roads Australia has long advocated the need to ‘sweat’ the asset - to make our existing road networks work harder and smarter - and we applaud the Victorian Government for showing the way.”
Mr Pallas said SmartRoads was a long-term plan for smarter management of traffic, with the real benefits seen into the future.
“People will be making informed decisions about what type of transport to use and when it’s best to travel with the knowledge the network is being managed efficiently for this purpose,” he said.
“It’s a smarter way of managing the roads and making sure we’re moving people and goods around the network as efficiently as possible – its world best practice and we’re committed to ensuring Melbourne and Victoria has a world class transport system.
“While new road links will always play an important role in our growing city, we understand the need to make the most out of our existing inner metropolitan road space, to make all transport types more effective in the longer term.”
The SmartRoads network operating plans are a work in progress and are being developed by VicRoads in partnership with the Department of Transport and local councils, setting mode priorities in each municipality – with 24 councils already indicating their support.
Mr Pallas said the metropolitan network was carrying more vehicles than ever before, with more than 80 per cent of Melbourne’s public transport services also on road, leaving buses and trams competing for limited road space.
“All road users will continue to have access to all roads. But using this knowledge of road priority for different journeys, SmartRoads will inform new upgrades and choices about our transport system into the future,” he said.
“However, under the plan, certain routes will be managed, at certain times of day, to work better for cars and trucks, and others will be best suited for public transport, cyclists and pedestrians.
“Importantly SmartRoads also complements vital Victorian Transport Plan projects, and will combine key road infrastructure improvements with a comprehensive plan of how our metropolitan road network will work sustainably into the future.”
Into the future SmartRoads will be used to guide improvements to the network, including more effective use of traffic signals to allow extra time for trams and buses, intelligent crossings that detect the presence of pedestrians cyclists and improved co-ordination to assist with traffic flow.
Other technology innovations such as the variable message and ramp metering systems being implemented on the M1 Upgrade Project will support the plan. Providing real time traffic information from VicRoads will also help road users to make smarter travel choices.
The Principal Bicycle Network is currently being reviewed and will be used in a further round of consultation with key stakeholders, including Bicycle Victoria and local governments, to inform the plan in respect of bicycle priority routes.
VicRoads has also started working with regional centres to expand the concept outside of metropolitan Melbourne.
Abigroup has been appointed by VicRoads to deliver the $108 million Nagambie Bypass in Victoria.
The project, which is due to open in mid 2012, involves the design and construction of six bridges and 13.5 km of freeway-standard road extending from Mitchellstown Road to Kirwans Bridge - Longwood Road.
The Bypass will complete the missing link in the freeway route through the Goulburn Valley, better connecting Victoria’s fruit and vegetable growing regions and forming part of the national highway network between Melbourne and Brisbane.
Abigroup’s Managing Director, David Jurd, said the award of the project rewarded the company’s Victorian engineering team for its extensive tender effort.
In 2003 Abigroup successfully completed the $66.7 million Goulburn Valley Freeway – Murchison East Deviation for VicRoads. The project was delivered 10 months ahead of the contract completion date.
Leighton Contractors and Fulton Hogan have been selected to partner with the NSW RTA to duplicate the Pacific Highway between Sapphire and Woolgoolga, with work to start in the second half of this year.
The $698 million project will involve the design and construction of:
Preconstruction activities, including the relocation of utilities and property acquisitions, are already well advanced.
Peter Handel, General Manager NSW/ACT, Construction Division of Leighton Contractors, said the company was well known for its ability to deliver complex regional highway upgrades for the RTA, from the Hume Highway duplication to the current Pacific Highway Upgrade program.
“Our experience on other Pacific Highway alliance projects now underway at Ballina and Kempsey means we are ideally placed to work with Fulton Hogan to achieve best value for money and excellent results on the Sapphire to Woolgoolga Upgrade,” he said.
Meantime, major construction activities on the $60 million Glenugie upgrade of the Pacific Highway started last week.
This project will duplicate and straighten the Highway between Franklins Road and Eight Mile Lane, with work expected to be completed in late 2011.
The Brisbane public gets its first look at Australia’s newest piece of road infrastructure, the Clem Jones Tunnel (CLEM7), this weekend.
As part of Open Day celebrations on Sunday, about 5,000 locals have registered to take part in the CLEM7 Tunnel Run to raise money for the Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation.
The date for the new tollroad to officially open to traffic is yet to be named.
The CLEM7 is a 6.8-kilometre tollway – consisting of twin, 2-lane tunnels – linking five major roads north and south of the Brisbane River, and operated by the RiverCity Motorway Group.
The CLEM7 is also the first section of the city’s new M7 motorway, due to be completed in 2012 following the construction of the Airport Link tunnel. The M7 will provide a direct link from Woolloongabba to the airport and fast-growing northern suburbs.
The NSW RTA has called for expressions of interest from companies for construction of bridges for the new Kempsey Bypass.
The company ultimately selected will partner with the RTA to design and build new bridges over the Macleay River and the nearby floodplain.
Registrations opened this week and close on Wednesday, March 24.
At the conclusion of the registration period, a shortlist of applicants will be invited to submit tenders, with a preferred builder expected to be selected shortly thereafter.
As well as the new bridges, the Kempsey Bypass project will lay 14.5 kilometres of dual carriageway to the east of Kempsey and Frederickton, as well as construct two new interchanges.
The contract for these other aspects of the bypass was awarded in November to a consortium consisting of Leighton Contractors, AECOM and Coffey Geotechnics.
Major road works will start within months, with the erection of bridges due to begin by the middle of next year.
Once completed in mid-2014, this new section of the Pacific Highway will deliver safer driving conditions, cut travel times and take up to 2,000 trucks a day off the local streets of Kempsey. The existing Highway will be retained as a local road.
For more information, visit the RTA’s website.
Brisbane’s new Gateway Bridge will open to traffic in May this year, six months ahead of schedule. Together with the existing Gateway Bridge, the precinct will be re-named the Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges.
Queensland Motorways CEO, Phil Mumford, said this week opening the bridge to traffic in May would be an exceptional achievement, allowing hundreds of thousands of motorists to enjoy reduced traffic congestion and improved travel times much sooner than originally planned.
“Works on the new bridge will be completed two years sooner than the construction time of the first Gateway Bridge, thanks to production efficiencies and innovative approaches to the bridge’s construction,” he said.
“Match casting methodology was found to be more efficient and cost-effective than the use of the cast-in-situ joint method used on the first bridge.
“The new bridge will open to traffic initially with four southbound lanes, as well as a new pedestrian and cycle path. Upgrades to the Gateway Motorway between Lytton Road and Mt-Gravatt-Capalaba Road also will be completed to coincide with the bridge opening. This involves increasing the four-lane motorway to nine lanes between Lytton Road and Wynnum Road, eight lanes between Wynnum Road and Old Cleveland Road, and six lanes from Old Cleveland Road to Mt Gravatt-Capalaba Road.
“Following completion of the immediate bridge approach roadworks, all six southbound lanes on the new Gateway Bridge will open in August 2010.”
Mr Mumford said refurbishment of the existing Gateway Bridge would begin in June, initially with the existing three northbound traffic lanes remaining open. New screens, lighting and pavements will be installed over the full six northbound lanes.
“Last year we delivered a new seven kilometre-section of the Gateway Motorway, including 17 new bridges, north of the bridge. This has provided new access to the Brisbane Airport, as well as a new off-ramp to Kingsford Smith Drive,” he said.
“Motorists are already benefiting from up to 10 minutes in travel time savings due to these completed works and the introduction of free-flow tolling. Further substantial time savings are expected when the project is fully completed,” he said.
For further information on progress visit www.gatewayupgradeproject.com.au
Roads Australia has briefed Victorian MPs on the need for committed project planning and funding on roads. In giving evidence to the Victorian Parliamentary Enquiry on Road Funding last Monday, the Chief Executive of RA, Ian Webb, said the industry and the nation were disadvantaged by the present arrangements for funding major infrastructure projects.
Mr Webb told the Enquiry that most elements of our transport system had evolved as an accident of history, including user charges, funding sources, the relativities between transport modes and the responsibilities exercised by decision makers.
This had serious consequences in terms of infrastructure planning, equity between stakeholders and optimum outcomes, he said.
Mr Webb commended current political leaders for the outcomes they had achieved, despite the system they had inherited.
“RA particularly welcomes the co-operation between state and federal ministers and initiatives such as Infrastructure Australia,” he said.
“They provide a once in a generation opportunity for us now to begin a process of constitutional and administrative reform of how we plan, fund and deliver our transport infrastructure.”
Mr Webb added that Roads Australia did not enter the discussion to achieve a different mix of state-federal funding.
“We hope the needs of the transport system will lift the debate above this and generate important debate about:
“The challenges confronting our transport network cannot be fixed by one state or even one level of government - the changes needed require a co-ordinated national response.”
WA Transport Minister, Simon O’Brien, today opened the extension of Reid Highway from West Swan Road to Great Northern Highway.
Mr O’Brien said the $96million project involved the construction of 2.6km dual carriageway between West Swan Road and Great Northern Highway in Middle Swan; the provision of a road underpass and service road to facilitate safe local access; and significant improvements to the signalised intersection at Great Northern Highway.
It also involved building a new road bridge across the Swan River designed to accommodate four lanes of traffic; and a separate shared cycle and pedestrian path.
Mr O’Brien praised the work of Main Roads WA and Macmahon in bringing this important infrastructure project to a successful completion.
This week sees the launch of a new National Railway Level Crossing Safety Strategy (2010-2020) that will be seeking to deliver a nationally coordinated action plan to reduce deaths and near misses at Australian Railway Level Crossings.
Deaths and serious injuries at the 8,900 public railway and pedestrian level crossings across Australia are a serious national issue, with an average of 37 deaths per year and many more non-fatal incidents.
“Reducing crashes at railway level crossings will have a big impact on further reducing Australia’s road toll,” said Menno Henneveld, Chairman of the Railway Level Crossing Group and Commissioner of Main Roads Western Australia.
“Transport ministers across the country are committed to delivering on this Strategy to improve safety outcomes at level crossings”.
The Strategy, approved by the Australian Transport Council, assigns responsibility for critical action items including:
Click here for more information and a copy of the Strategy.
The program for this year’s Roads Australia Summit, to be held in Sydney on April 22 and 23, is now available at the RA website. Early bird registrations close on February 28.
The 2010 Summit is shaping as the most important roads conference of the past decade.
"As we move into a cycle of state and Federal elections, the future of Australia's transport infrastructure - how it adapts to issues like population growth and climate change, and how we fund and manage it - will be one of the most critical policy items on the national agenda," says RA Chief Executive, Ian Webb.
"The RA Summit brings together the industry's top leaders - political, public and private sector - to discuss these issues and establish a framework for future policy direction."
Among speakers already confirmed for this year’s conference are NSW Treasurer, Eric Roozendaal; NSW Transport and Roads Minister, David Campbell; Queensland Main Roads Minister, Craig Wallace; the head of Infrastructure Australia, Michael Deegan; Chairman of the National Transport Commission, Greg Martin, as well as the heads of state road authorities and private sector leaders.
"Unlike other commercial conferences who scratch up a list of celebrity speakers - many of whom fail to attend - the RA Summit is a roll call of the industry’s 'who's who'," Mr Webb says.
One of the highlights of the two-day program will be the John Shaw Medal Dinner on the evening of April 22, sponsored by Parsons Brinckerhoff.
For information and registration of a Delegate’s Seat (Summit and Dinner combined), click here. To book for the John Shaw Medal Dinner only, including corporate tables, click here.
The South Australian Government has committed to duplicating the Southern Expressway.
Premier Mike Rann said last week that combined with the cost of building a new $75 million interchange at Darlington – which triggered the need to duplicate the expressway - the whole project would cost an estimated $445 million.
Construction would begin at the end of next year and should be completed in mid 2014, he said.
Mr Rann said the duplication would ensure the city’s growth in the south was sustainable and that people living in southern Adelaide had improved access to employment, education, shopping and community facilities.
The Southern Expressway is currently an 18.5 km long (22km including the current interchange ramps) reversible road from Darlington to Old Noarlunga. Construction began in December 1995 and was completed in September 2001.
Submitted by Mark Bowmer on Friday February 26th 2010 3:59pm
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