Today’s Sydney Morning Herald has led with a report on a new survey of Sydneysiders that indicates an ‘overwhelming preference’ for public transport as a solution to the city’s congestion woes.
The report was illustrated with a pie chart indicating 21 per cent support for a higher investment in roads, compared to 62 per cent for public transport.
Meantime, last weekend’s Herald led with an exclusive report based on economic modelling produced for the paper by PricewaterhouseCoopers that underscores the planning challenges for policy makers.
Among other things the report said that if Australia’s reliance on the car continued, we would require 173,000 kilometres of new roads over the next 40 years, with the most likely source of funding being from overseas.
In other news, the Courier Mail, quoting Brisbane Lord Mayor Campbell Newman, reported this week that the Clem7 tunnel was set to open to the public early next month.
Roads Australia is setting itself up to play a more prominent role in the public debate on roads as it continues to focus on policy development in 2010.
The RA Board met in Hobart last week for a two-day workshop aimed at reviewing the organisation's 2009 performance and setting new goals for the coming year.
RA President, Ray Fisher, says the organisation remains focussed on developing beyond its traditional strengths in networking to playing a bigger role in the road policy arena.
“We’ve been very successful in building a broad membership base, in creating significant industry networking opportunities, and in building strong relationships with state roads ministers in particular,” he says.
“We’ll continue to develop those strengths, but at the same time we want to build on the early achievements of our policy chapters and take our viewpoints to a broader audience.”
Mr Fisher says RA’s policy development model is working well because ‘it’s not about lobbying governments in the traditional sense, but partnering with them’.
“Rather than going cap in hand to governments, we invite them into our circle. The state road authorities actively participate in our chapters, enabling us to facilitate a strong, on-going dialogue between industry and government.”
Mr Fisher says the next 18 months will present significant opportunities for policy input.
“We have the imminent release of the Henry tax review findings, as well as state and Federal elections on the horizon,” he says.
“The debate on road funding and pricing is heating up, and we will shortly be releasing a policy paper prepared by respected industry figure, Dr Max Lay, to ensure we have a strong, clear position in that debate.”
Arising from last week’s Board workshop, Roads Australia will also develop a broad-ranging strategy that looks at how it can use the general media and other communication tools to further its reach to key stakeholders, from government to the general public.
“RA has a long-term vision to see roads priced, funded, managed and maintained as a utility. We believe this model offers the best opportunity for ensuring our network meets the social and economic needs of Australia in the years ahead,” Mr Fisher says.
“Our challenge is to convince all the stakeholders - from road users through to policy makers - that this is the right approach.”
While in Hobart last week the Board members attended a very successful RA industry dinner sponsored by our member, Pitt & Sherry, and attended by key Tasmanian government and industry figures, including Norm Mcilfatrick, Secretary of the Department of Industry, Energy and Resources.
A contract for construction of the $41.5 million Kingston Bypass in Tasmania has been awarded to VEC Civil Engineering, it was announced this week.
The project is being jointly funded, with the Tasmanian Government contributing $26.5 million and the Australian Government $15 million.
Tasmanian Minister for Infrastructure, Graeme Sturges, said he was delighted that a Tasmanian company had been awarded the contract for such an important project.
“The bypass will improve traffic flow as well as address the safety issues that have been raised both by the Kingborough Council and broader community,” he said.
The 2.8 kilometre Kingston Bypass will leave the existing Channel Highway near the Kingston High School before passing under Summerleas Road and rejoining the highway in the vicinity of the existing Algona Main Road roundabout. A major new roundabout will be built at the Algona Main Rd/Huntingfield Ave junction.
Work on the final stage of the Great Western Highway upgrade between Woodford and Hazelbrook is set to get underway in March following the selection of a preferred builder.
Reed Constructions Australia will partner with the RTA to widen the Highway to four lanes between Station Street, Woodford and Winbourne Road, Hazelbrook.
The upgrade is being jointly funded, with the Federal Government contributing $70 million and NSW Government a further $12 million.
Stage One of the upgrade was completed in September 2009 and included widening the Great Western Highway between Ferguson Avenue and Winbourne Road, Hazelbrook from two to four lanes.
Motorists on Sydney's M4 motorway will no longer pay a toll when the road is handed back to the NSW government at midnight on February 15.
The State Government announced this week that roadworks would take place over the next three weeks as work begins to remove toll booths on the motorway.
Statewide Roads has operated a 12.5 kilometre section of the 40-kilometre long M4 as a toll road for a concession period of 20 years.
The announcement this week of financial close of the $759 million toll-free Peninsula Link project in Victoria has marked another milestone for law firm Clayton Utz.
A Clayton Utz team led by Melbourne-based Major Projects partners Marko Misko, Naomi Kelly and Dan Fitts has been providing strategic legal and commercial advice to the Linking Melbourne Authority on all aspects of the project.
This has included the Environmental Effects Statement (EES) and project definition phase, procurement issues and risk allocation associated with the selection of the first availability charge-based road PPP project model, the development and review of the full suite of project documentation, advice and project management of the Expression of Interest and Request for Proposal phase, approvals, the selection of the successful bidder, finalisation and execution of the project documentation and Financial Close.
Although availability charge model PPPs are well-established in the social infrastructure sector, the use of this model with the Peninsula Link project is a first for road PPP projects in Australia, which have traditionally required the private sector to assume patronage risk.
Mr Misko said the firm was proud to be working alongside the Victorian Government and the Linking Melbourne Authority (who ran the Peninsula Link tender) to assist it in delivering an innovative project that represents the next generation of road sector PPPs and incorporates the valuable lessons learnt from previous similar projects over the last decade.
"The Peninsula Link project was delivered in record time - 9 months from Expression of Interest phase to Contract Close. This was achieved by utilizing innovative tendering processes, sophisticated risk allocation and highly streamlined project documentation developed by Clayton Utz. As a result, significant time efficiencies were gained and project bid costs for both the State and private sector bidders were minimized. The pragmatic, can-do attitude and strong leadership of the Linking Melbourne Authority was a key contributor to achieving the project's ambitious deal-closure timelines," Mr Misko said.
Peninsula Link will involve a major construction effort, with 27 kilometres of freeway standard road, 11 local road connections and more than 35 bridges and will cut travel times between Mt Martha and Carrum Downs to just 17 minutes. The Victorian government has awarded the contract to build and deliver the project to the Southern Way consortium.
"On the right projects and despite the changed financial market conditions, Public Private Partnerships are able to help governments deliver much needed infrastructure quickly to the community and achieve better quality infrastructure assets. They are better able to harness private sector technological and cost innovation over the long-term." said Mr Misko.
The Roads Australia Policy Chapters have set ambitious targets for 2010, with the aim of achieving identifiable policy outcomes by the end of the year.
A key area of work across the Capacity, Sustainability and Congestion Chapters is Roads Australia's review of Procurement and Contracts, led by Clayton Utz. The aim of the review is to work towards greater harmonisation of contracts across the eastern states.
A core group of members from the Sustainability Chapter recently met with new Chair, Peter Walton, and Deputy Chair, Jay Stricker, to set the agenda for the year.
One of the key outcomes for the Chapter is encouraging road agencies to adopt sustainability Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in contracts, as part of the review. The KPIs will be developed at the next Sustainability Chapter event in Brisbane, to be held from 10am - 12.30pm on Monday 15 March.
The Congestion Chapter will also develop KPIs for contracts, with the aim of reducing congestion both during construction of road projects and once they open to traffic.
The Congestion Chapter will meet in Brisbane on 15 March, from 2.30 - 5pm to develop these KPIs.
The Capacity Chapter will meet in late March to launch Roads Australia's published program of works for Eastern Australia. The date will be announced shortly.
Policy Chapters are also encouraged to book a place at the Roads Australia Summit, to be held in Sydney on 22-23 April. Policy issues will take centre stage at the summit, which always sells out quickly. Book now to reserve your place.
For more information on policy issues, please contact RA Policy Director, Christine Keyes, on 0405 249425 or email christine@roads.org.au.
A detailed investigation of integrated transport options to improve the operation of Melbourne’s Hoddle Street is now underway as part of the State Government’s $38 billion Victorian Transport Plan.
Roads and Ports Minister, Tim Pallas, today announced the official start of the $5 million two-year Hoddle Street Study, with the contract awarded to URS Australia.
Mr Pallas said the contract involved detailed investigation of a number of different integrated transport options, including grade separating key junctions to improve the operation of Hoddle Street from north of CityLink up to and including the Eastern Freeway.
“The extensive investigations will consider all the complex social, environmental and economic issues to understand the feasibility of various transport solutions, “ he said.
“The role of Hoddle Street will be also be examined within the context of the wider transport network, with the study to identify key issues relating to public transport efficiency and reliability, land use and transport planning, and safety.
“This will include consideration of local amenity and urban design issues, pedestrian networks and crossings, as well as bicycle routes, to ensure safety and accessibility.
“We eagerly await the outcome of the study to see how best to ease congestion, improve public transport and pedestrian access on this vital arterial road.”
For further information visit www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/HoddleStudy or call 1300 130 176.
Queensland Main Roads Minister, Craig Wallace, has today announced the start of a planning study for a proposed realignment of the Cunningham Highway and a new interchange at the Amberley–Ipswich/Rosewood Road intersection.
Aurecon Australia has won the $2.8 million contract for the project’s planning and design over the next 12 months.
“This study will provide a detailed planning design to upgrade the Cunningham Highway between Middle Road and Coopers Road,” Mr Wallace said.
“The Cunningham Highway will be realigned and a new interchange and road link will be constructed between this new alignment and the existing Amberley–Ipswich/Rosewood Road.
“This new deviation and interchange will improve safety, ease congestion and cater for increased travel demand as south-east Queensland’s Western Corridor population continues to grow.
“It will also service the additional traffic generated by the proposed Amberley Aerospace and Defence Support Centre and the ongoing expansion of the RAAF Airbase Amberley.
“Aurecon Australia will work with the Department of Transport and Main Roads to investigate the best way to upgrade this section of the Cunningham Highway.
“The investigations will involve road and traffic engineering, detailed flora and fauna studies, geotechnical surveys and noise investigations.”
In other Queensland road news, the $150.7 million Gold Coast Highway upgrade through Labrador has reached another milestone with the section from Robert Street to Broad Street recently completed.
And the Government has announced the release of three alignment options for the future upgrade of the Bruce Highway between Ingham and the Cardwell Range.
The Alliancing Association of Australasia has produced a paper that underscores the benefits of working collaboratively to procure, deliver and maintain public infrastructure.
About babies and bathwater provides a "state of alliancing"-style review of achievements to date and challenges lying ahead with collaborative procurement.
It highlights many significant direct and indirect benefits of using collaborative methods in infrastructure development, and urges practitioners, including owners, to look at the challenges reported in the recent Victoria Department of Treasury and Finance commissioned survey to improve alliancing practices and ensure continuing benefits from the powerful synergies that come with properly defined and set up collaborative engagements.
Click here to download the paper.
The following stories appears courtesy of World Highways.
Amsterdam to trial road user charging
The city of Amsterdam in the Netherlands will feature the first trial of the country’s proposed road user scheme. The plan is to start charging drivers for each km driven in the spring of this year. Motorists will be allowed a maximum monthly budget of €160 and will be charged a basic tariff of €0.065/km, although this will be supplemented by between €0.02-0.08 during peak periods. The trial will be used on primary routes in the region including the A1, A2, A4 and A9 highways. The Netherlands has a high density of vehicles/km of road and carries heavy traffic. Many road users drive through the country on their way to Denmark, Belgium and Germany in particular, with the Netherlands also seeing a high percentage of truck traffic. The country has long pioneered new road technology in construction and is now looking to evaluate road user charging to see if this will benefit its road planning and transport on a wider scale.
Higher Friday tolls reduce traffic and increase revenue in the Czech Republic
The introduction of higher motorway tolls on Fridays in the Czech Republic reduced traffic by 13 per cent on the first Friday when the new pricing came into force. Tolls for heavy goods vehicles have been increased by 50 per cent on Fridays from this month. The number of lorries driving through the Czech motorways between 3pm and 9pm reached 15,418, down from 17,675 in the previous week. However, toll revenue increased by 8.4 per cent to US$280,000.
For the latest road news from around the world, visit the World Highways website.
Submitted by Mark Bowmer on Friday February 12th 2010 1:54pm
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