Roads Australia
The Victorian Transport Plan, launched last week, has drawn a mixed response in the media.
While road and transport groups - including Roads Australia - have welcomed the Plan, some media commentators and editorial writers have been more guarded.
The injection of new jobs – a promised 10,000 a year during construction – and the increased focus on public transport, particularly rail, has been applauded. But some commentators have expressed pessimism about how much Federal funding will actually be forthcoming to help deliver many of the ‘big ticket’ projects within the Plan’s timeframe.
An Age editorial noted last week that the global financial crisis had called into question the availability of both Federal and private sector funding for major infrastructure projects. The Age also noted that in promising an almost equal spend on rail, the Plan made an important break with the past….’when 80 to 90 pent of spending was on roads’.
In other news, the Age reported earlier this month that the number of cars using Melbourne’s West Gate and Eastern freeways in the morning peak had dropped consistently over the past six years. However, a VicRoads spokesperson was quoted as saying peak traffic times had actually spread as a result of increased congestion, and overall freeway traffic across Melbourne was growing.
In Sydney last week, the Daily Telegraph reported that traffic speeds on major arterial roads across the city had fallen from an average speed of 34 kmh in 2004 to 30 kmh, according to the NSW Auditor-General.
Meantime the SMH reported that the State Government would have to make top-up payments to the private operators of the Sydney Harbour Tunnel worth an estimated $1.1 billion over the next 14 years under contractual obligations on guaranteed revenue.
And in Adelaide, the Advertiser reported on a call by a local transport expert for consideration of a congestion charge.
The Rudd Government’s $4.7 billion Nation Building Package announced on Friday includes $711 million brought forward this financial year and next to accelerate the commencement of a number of major road projects.
The road construction projects include:
NSW
Qld
Vic
WA
SA
Tas
The package also allows for an increase in spending this financial year in the Black Spots program from $50 million to $110 million.
The Government says it will make further announcements about nation building projects, funded from the Building Australia Fund and subject to the Infrastructure Australia priority list, early next year.
The number of lanes on Melbourne’s West Gate Bridge will be increased from four to five in both directions to address traffic congestion as part of the $240 million West Gate Bridge strengthening project.
To achieve five lanes in both directions, the outer edges of the bridge will be strengthened to allow the existing shoulders to carry traffic, and the lane width will be reconfigured from 3.5m to 3.1m with 0.5m shoulders.
Roads and Ports Minister, Tim Pallas, says this option is the most suitable for a piece of infrastructure that serves a broad range of industrial, commuter and recreational users.
“Reconfiguring the bridge to ten lanes was a more cost effective and safer option than running contra flow, which required substantial transition road works and a complicated road management system.
“It will also limit the amount of disruption to motorists and deliver more efficient travel well into the future.”
The West Gate Bridge Strengthening Project is part of the Brumby Government’s $1.39 billion upgrade to the M1 corridor.
Mr Pallas says that once complete, the M1 upgrade will reduce congestion, improve reliability along the freeway, increase traffic throughput by 50 per cent and reduce the incidence of casualty crashes by up to 20 per cent.
The West Gate Bridge strengthening project is jointly funded by the Victorian and Commonwealth Governments.
Stages one and two of the Geelong Ring Road opened at the weekend, delivering a new 15km link circumnavigating Geelong’s town centre.
To date, about $615 million has been committed to the project with the Victorian Government contributing $321.5 million and the Commonwealth Government providing $293 million through the AusLink program.
“The Geelong Ring Road is great news for all Victorians and the people of Geelong in particular as it will significantly help cut down travel times for motorists and the freight industry,” Roads and Ports Minister, Tim Pallas, said at the weekend.
The next stage of the Geelong Ring Road will complete the 23km stretch between the Corio and Waurn Ponds, avoiding 29 sets of traffic lights, and will open to traffic by the end of 2009.
The $110 million upgrade of Maroochydore Road from the Bruce Highway to Kunda Park was officially commissioned last week.
Stage one of the upgrade project – Martins Creek to Pike Street – was opened to traffic in December 2006. Recent works from Pike Street to the Bruce Highway marked the completion of the final stage of the project.
Completion of the final section has delivered a high-standard four-lane road from Maroochydore all the way through to the Bruce Highway.
Qld Main Roads Minister, Warren Pitt, said the road upgrade provided a more efficient, smoother and safer road network to support the Sunshine Coast’s rapidly growing population.
Earlier this month, Mr Pitt also commissioned the $104 million upgrade to the Sunshine Motorway between Maroochydore Road and David Low Way.
The bridge over the Maroochy River, the redesigned Maroochydore Road interchange and the duplication of the motorway are expected to be fully operational and open to traffic by 19 December 2008, weather permitting.
NSW Roads Minister, Michael Daley, has awarded an $84.7 million contract for the final stage of the F5 freeway upgrade near Campbelltown to NACE Civil Engineering.
The upgrade is scheduled to commence early next year and is jointly funded by the NSW and Federal governments.
“This is the next and final stage of the F5 upgrade from Brooks Road to Narellan Road, with roadworks designed to improve travel times, reduce congestion and improve road safety,” the Minister said.
Submitted by Mark Bowmer on Monday December 15th 2008 2:24pm
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