Roads Australia
A debate on Sydney’s transport planning has played out across the front pages of the Sydney Morning Herald over the past fortnight.
In a letter to the Herald and front-page article, former RTA and State Rail Authority boss, Ron Christie, argued that the pressing public transport needs of Sydney’s north-west and south-west suburbs were being ignored at the expense of projects like the M4 East and CBD Metro rail line.
He said the extension of existing toll roads towards the CBD was locking Sydney into a ‘car-oriented future’.
Last week the SMH reported of a ‘secret plan’ by the Government to revive the M4 East project, with Roads Minister, Michael Daley, reportedly telling the paper that his Government would love to build the extension but required Federal funding support.
In his letter to the paper, Mr Christie lamented the lack of a long-term strategic plan for Sydney’s transport needs - a claim denied by Mr Daley, who defended the Government’s integrated plan for rail and buses.
In other news, both the AFR and the Age reported this week that Victorian Premier John Brumby would commit $8 billion to infrastructure in the next State Budget, with the bulk to go on public transport initiatives.
The full duplication of the Hume Highway is one step closer with the appointment of contractors to design and build two of the three remaining town bypasses.
Federal Infrastructure and Transport Minister, Anthony Albanese, and NSW Roads Minister, Michael Daley, this week announced the alliance teams that will construct the bypasses of Tarcutta and Woomargama.
The alliance team for the Tarcutta bypass comprises Leighton Contractors, Maunsell Australia, SMEC Australia and Coffey Geotechnics. They will design and construct approximately seven kilometres of dual carriageway to the west of Tarcutta.
Abigroup and Sinclair Knight Metz will join forces to form a second alliance team to deliver the nine kilometre bypass to the west of Woomargama village.
"Awarding these contracts now means that these two bypasses will be completed in late 2011 - some six months earlier than previously expected," Mr Albanese said.
All up, the Rudd Government is investing $950 million from its Nation Building Program to complete the duplication of the Hume Highway.
Mr Daley said planning for the bypasses is progressing and construction is expected to start later this year.
Planning for the remaining bypass - Holbrook - is continuing, with the environmental assessment expected to be approved by the end of 2009.
Meantime, construction of the $90 million Alstonville Bypass on the Pacific Highway in northern NSW is now underway, with Mr Albanese turning the first sod this week.
The project will involve construction of a new 6.2 kilometre stretch of highway to bypass Alstonville and Wollongbar and is scheduled for completion at the end of 2010.
Roads Australia’s Congestion Policy Chapter is promoting TravelSmart initiatives within its membership as part of a drive to reduce Australia’s urban congestion.
A recent meeting of the Congestion Chapter in Melbourne highlighted TravelSmart programs at VicRoads and the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads as leading initiatives in this space.
Roads Australia’s Policy Director, Christine Keyes, said one of the best ways to influence public policy in this area was to lead by example.
“We’re encouraging our members to consider implementing TravelSmart programs to reduce congestion,” she says.
“There’s an excellent opportunity for our members with offices in Brisbane to take part in a pilot program next month, run by Queensland Transport and Main Roads.”
The Flexible Workplace Program - Brisbane Central Pilot is being run to discourage travel to work during the peak periods of 7am to 9am and 4pm to 6pm. The pilot is being offered over four weeks, likely to be during May 2009.
The pilot will promote three initiatives - flexible hours, telecommuting, and a compressed work week.
Currently Queensland Transport and Main Roads has good participation from the public sector and is now seeking to increase private sector participation in the pilot. In particular, it is keen to include companies with a significant CBD or CBD Frame presence and some existing flexible working policies.
Participating companies will need to identify who within their company is eligible to participate, ask for volunteers, and promote the pilot internally with support from Queensland Transport and Main Roads. The Department will supply promotional material, pilot and manager guidance and a website will be launched shortly.
Ideally, companies will have at least 30 staff participating. Staff will be asked to complete two surveys - one before the pilot and one after the pilot - to record their travel patterns. They will be eligible to win a bicycle or gocard up to $200 value.
The pilot will be publicised with coverage from interested media outlets. Queensland Transport and Main Roads intends to recognise successful workplaces and share innovative practices that are working well. Other benefits of participation may include better staff retention and attraction, productivity gains and lower absenteeism.
For further information, contact Michael Byrne at Queensland Transport and Main Roads.
Roads Australia’s policy chapters highlighted the issues of predictability and the need for new funding streams in the roads sector at a boardroom dinner with NSW Treasurer, Eric Roozendaal, in Sydney this week.
Chairman of the Capacity Chapter, David Stuart-Watt, outlined the need for greater certainty for road programs in NSW to put the state on an equal footing with Queensland and Victoria.
“The Treasurer was keen to hear the voice of industry on the issue of predictability of programs in NSW,” he said.
Chairman of the recently established Road Funding and Financing Chapter, Tim Boyle, informed the Treasurer of the new chapter and its ability to provide government with fresh ideas and industry support for funding road projects in the changed financial climate.
“One of the aims of the Road Funding and Financing Chapter is to take our issues to government. We are already having success in this area,” he said.
Victorian Premier, John Brumby, last week cut the ribbon on the much anticipated Deer Park Bypass, eight months ahead of schedule.
The 9.5 km bypass provides a new, direct link between the Western Ring Road at Sunshine West and the Western Freeway at Caroline Springs. The Federal Government provided 80 per cent of the construction cost, with the Brumby Government contributing the rest.
Victorian Roads and Ports Minister, Tim Pallas, said the Deer Park Bypass was among major improvements planned for the state’s road network through the Victorian Government’s $38 billion transport plan.
“The opening of the bypass is a great day for the community. I would also like to acknowledge the assistance from local communities, councils, landowners and the efforts of VicRoads, Leighton Contractors and Akron Roads,” Mr Pallas said.
New road and rail freight links are key elements of the $340 million Green Triangle Freight Action Plan to enhance south-west Victoria’s position as one of Australia’s most important export regions.
Visiting Portland this week, Victorian Roads and Ports Minister, Tim Pallas, was joined with South Australian Transport Minister, Pat Conlon, to announce the plan which will secure trade and investment in the region and develop major growth in exports.
“The Brumby Government is taking action to boost regional economies and our export potential and this plan sets a framework for a number of rail and road upgrades to move goods efficiently,” Mr Pallas said.
“The Green Triangle Region has always been important to Australia’s economy and with massive development of Blue Gum woodchips in the region over the next five years, and increased exports through the Port of Portland, the economic significance of the region will only grow.
“The Freight Action Plan was developed in recognition of the fact we will need to invest in key infrastructure projects in order to manage that growth.
“It sets out our priorities for road and rail upgrades to ensure our transport network is able to carry the increased freight volumes efficiently and safely.”
The Green Triangle Freight Action Plan outlines actions in six areas: road network enhancements, rail network enhancements, regulatory reform, job opportunities skills and training, socio economic and community development.
The Victorian and South Australian governments have nominated the Green Triangle projects for priority funding from the Building Australia Fund, administered by Infrastructure Australia.
“When we held a freight summit last year in Portland, we made it clear we would not let growth in this region be stifled by a lack of infrastructure,” Mr Pallas said.
“We will be trialling the use of High Productivity Freight Vehicles to help move greater volumes of freight with fewer truck movements and leading to less impact on communities, the environment and better safety outcomes.”
The plan also outlines action to expand rail freight with wood chip production expected to reach 4.5 million tonnes annually between 2012 and 2015.
The RACQ has called for a whole-of-government approach to make Queensland’s road safer and reduce road trauma.
Addressing a Roads Australia industry lunch in Brisbane last week, RACQ chief executive Ian Gillespie said road crashes were costing the Queensland economy $4 billion every year, with medical care of those injured accounting for $650 million of this figure.
Mr Gillespie said the “health” of the state’s road network could no longer be pigeon-holed as a responsibility of the recently amalgamated state transport and main roads department and the Queensland Police Service.
“Last year in addition to 328 road deaths, 6000 people were hospitalised with serious injuries from road crashes in Queensland and the total medical bill was in the order of $650 million,” Mr Gillespie said.
“If this is not a major public health issue for Queensland, the RACQ would like to know what is.
”While we’ve some evidence in recent years of greater interest and involvement by the health and emergency services departments in helping make our roads safer, RACQ is not yet convinced that George Street really does see the need for a genuinely proactive whole-of-government approach to the problem.”
Mr Gillespie told the gathering of roads industry and government representatives a far more “forgiving” road system needed to be developed, saying that designing and maintaining roads to help keep users out of trouble in the first place could demonstrably save more lives than safer road users and safer vehicles combined.
Mr Gillespie said the club would continue to press for road upgrades and the introduction of initiatives designed to reduce accident trauma, such as protective barriers around roadside poles and the use of wire barriers to separate traffic on single-carriageway roads.
RA member Thiess this week celebrated the success of its flagship civil infrastructure project in South Australia, with the new Gallipoli Underpass opening to traffic ahead of time and on budget.
The first stage of the South Road Upgrade, work began on the Gallipoli Underpass two years ago to build a grade separation of South Road and the ANZAC Highway.
The project features an underpass, a 31-metre span bridge and five memorials to the ANZAC tradition, including a memorial plaza.
Its success drew praise from SA Premier, Mike Rann, at a recent community celebration attended by more than 5000 people who took the opportunity to admire Adelaide’s newest piece of infrastructure.
Additional work will now continue through to the end of the year, including pavement realignment on South Road and some surrounding landscaping.
The Gallipoli Underpass was one of the first infrastructure projects in South Australia to be delivered through the Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) procurement model. Client, designers and contractors worked collaboratively to come up with a design that provided innovations, cost savings and positive outcomes for the project and the community.
The SA Department of Transport, Energy and Infrastructure has now adopted ECI on a number of additional projects, including the Coast to Coast Light Rail Extension recently awarded to the Thiess Downer EDI Rail joint venture.
Submitted by Mark Bowmer on Thursday April 9th 2009 1:51pm
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