Transurban has confirmed there is no proposal to put HOT lanes on the Sydney network. The Premier and Roads Minister have also confirmed there are no current plans for HOT lanes in Sydney, however the Government says it will be following the success of HOT lanes in the US.
Media coverage of HOT lanes this month followed a presentation by Transurban’s COO, Brendan Bourke, during which he canvassed the range of road pricing models being explored around the world, including Transurban’s HOT lane project in Washington D.C.
Preliminary design and construction costing has been completed on the eastern section of the Hunter Expressway Project in NSW, with the contract finalised at $825 million.
The eastern section will be constructed by Thiess in alliance with Parsons Brinkerhoff (PB) and Hyder Consulting. At 13.3km long, the Alliance section will include a four-lane divided highway from the end of the Newcastle Link Road to Kurri Kurri in the Hunter Valley.
Thiess Managing Director, David Saxelby, said the main construction of the eastern section could now begin with the project expected to open for traffic prior to December 2013.
The Thiess team has successfully completed a number of recent major road projects for the Roads and Traffic Authority including the Five Islands Road Upgrade and Karuah Bypass. Thiess is in the final stages of completion of the $490 million Coopernook to Herons Creek Project, which includes an upgrade of a 32.7km section of the Pacific Highway on the NSW mid-north coast. The project is the longest stretch of the Pacific Highway to be constructed as one project.
Thiess’ General Manager NSW/ACT, Brendan Donohue, said the Hunter Expressway Project would be technically complex as the corridor includes a number of possible mine subsidence areas.
“The eastern section of the Hunter Expressway Project will include two million cubic metres of earthworks, three 840 metre long and 40 metre high viaduct bridges over the mine subsidence areas and 16 other bridges. This project requires an experienced team that will deliver,” Mr Donohue said.
“The Thiess/PB Alliance has already demonstrated its success on the Coopernook to Herons Creek Project. The Hunter Expressway team has the additional strength of Hyder, building on recent experiences on the $623 million Tulla Sydney Alliance in Victoria, which is the first contract of works for the Victorian and Australian governments’ $2.25 billion M80 Ring Road Upgrade Project to improve the Western and Metropolitan Ring Roads.”
Approximately 180 construction staff, 120 design staff and a workforce of more than 700 will work on the eastern section of the Hunter Expressway Project.
Tenders have been invited for construction of the Holbrook bypass on the Hume Highway, in southern NSW.
The closing date for tenders is September 29.
The Holbrook bypass is the final stage of a joint NSW and Federal initiative to upgrade the Hume Highway, completing a four lane divided highway between Sydney and Melbourne. The Tarcutta and Woomargama bypasses, fully funded by the Federal Government, are already being built and are expected to be finished late next year.
NSW Roads Minister, David Borger, says the Federal Government has committed $267.4 million to build the 9.5 kilometre bypass to the west of Holbrook, with any additional funds required to complete the project being provided by the NSW Government.
Construction is expected to start in early 2011 and be finished in 2013.
Despite the uncertain outcome of the Federal Election, whichever party forms government will continue to face a familiar set of policy issues over the medium-term, says BIS Shrapnel.
These issues will ultimately manifest into the re-emergence of serious inflationary pressures and high interest rates before the next election in late 2013.
BIS Shrapnel’s Long Term Forecasts, 2010 – 2025 report predicts economic growth will accelerate and average 3.8 per cent per annum over the next three years. The report also forecasts solid employment growth to push the unemployment rate down to below four per cent by early-to-mid 2013.
However, the company warns tightening labour markets and accelerating household spending will lead to higher consumer price inflation (CPI), forcing cash rates up towards 6.5 per cent and housing rates towards nine per cent.
“We still have a number of critical policy issues which need to be addressed, including a serious housing shortage, ongoing infrastructure deficiencies and bottlenecks and, of course, a skills shortage," says report author and BIS Shrapnel senior economist, Richard Robinson.
“These capacity constraints will remain a problem for the economy while the mining investment boom continues,” says Robinson. “This boom, when it really ramps in one to two years, will leave little room for governments and businesses to address these chronic shortages, and the miners themselves will struggle to get through their projects.”
BIS Shrapnel says the pick up in population growth in the three years to 2008/09 played a key role in extending the economy’s long run of growth and dampening wage pressures. However, it also created additional demands on housing and infrastructure which were already stretched.
Weaker population growth will take the pressure off future growth in demand for housing. However the current undersupply of housing is not likely to be adequately addressed through the current cycle given that mortgage rates are already around neutral levels. The combination of significant pent-up demand, strong rents and yields, rising incomes and an easing in funding for property developers, is expected to sustain a recovery in activity over the next two to three years.
However, Robinson warns that the housing upswing won’t last.
“Minimal slack in labour markets, a recovery in consumer spending and, subsequently, business investment, will quickly see the re-emergence of capacity constraints from 2011/12,” he says. “Labour shortages and a synchronisation of construction cycles will lead to a build up of inflationary pressures over 2011/12 and 2012/13. The RBA will be forced to respond by raising interest rates to a maximum of 6.5 per cent, which will take mortgage rates back over nine per cent and send housing activity into a controlled downturn over 2013/14.”
VicRoads has joined Queensland Transport and Main Roads in responding positively to representations by Roads Australia for the inclusion of a non-price criteria addressing sustainability in expressions of interest for major contracts.
The push for the inclusion of sustainability clauses in major contracts is an initiative of RA’s Sustainability Chapter.
Chapter Chairman, Peter Walton, welcomed VicRoads response.
“This is another good example of industry working with the road authorities to deliver a ‘win-win’ outcome,” he said.
VicRoads commitment to include a clause in EOI documents is the latest step by the authority to address sustainability issues.
VicRoads recently released a sustainability rating tool for construction projects. Named “INVEST” (Integrated VicRoads Environmental Sustainability Tool), the purpose of the tool is to recognise good sustainability practices on road construction projects.
INVEST is similar to a number of schemes in the USA and distinguishes projects based on the extent to which they have incorporated sustainable choices - both in design and construction. Whilst the concept is not new, this is the first time Victorian road construction projects will be rated in such a way with the highest ratings going to designs and practices that clearly advance the state of sustainable transport solutions.
What differentiates this tool is that there are a number of prerequisite requirements that must be met before projects can be considered for a rating. In addition, it is not a self–certification program. While projects initially complete a self assessment questionnaire, this will be followed by independent verification where evidence of performance will need to be provided. The total credits of the project will be converted into a sustainability rating and whilst this is yet to be fully defined, Mr George Mavroyeni, Executive Director, Major Projects said that he anticipated that this would result in a star rating similar to that used for energy labelling for white goods and home energy ratings.
Although the tool is mainly applicable to large construction projects, work will progress to assess its applicability for smaller construction projects including maintenance activities.
The tool is expected to generate several outcomes including driving reductions in greenhouse gases associated with the embodied energy in road construction projects. A fully developed tool is expected to be rolled out in early 2011. VicRoads will work closely with the construction industry to achieve new benchmarks in sustainability performance.
Further information on this tool can be obtained by contacting Dr Helen Murphy, VicRoads’ Director – Environmental Sustainability, ph. 03 9811 8177 or email Helen.Murphy@roads.vic.gov.au
The first of the Next Generation High Productivity Freight Vehicles (HPFV) for the Green Triangle Region is on the road as part of a new trial to reduce the number of trucks on Victorian roads.
Chief Executive for VicRoads, Gary Liddle, said the upgrade of the Henty and Princes Highways between Hamilton and Portland had made a significant contribution to getting the trial up and running.
“Today we are realising the vision from the Green Triangle Freight Action Plan, which the Victorian and South Australian governments produced together last year,” said Mr Liddle.
“This plan sets out a package of road, rail and other freight priority projects so that this region can strongly support the significant growth in export trade.”
Larger B Double trucks can carry 30 per cent more freight, which will reduce the number of trucks needed on roads to perform the same task. HPFVs aim to reduce traffic congestion, reduce emissions and keep the cost of our goods down.
“In preparation for carrying these larger trucks on our road, VicRoads has completed bridge strengthening and culvert replacements on the Henty and Princes Highways,” said Mr Liddle.
VicRoads will also finish two more bridge strengthening and replacement projects this financial year to assist with ongoing increased loadings.
The first truck from Kalari will be transporting mineral sands from Illuka's mining operations in the south west region where there is expected to be a four-fold increase in production.
The HPFV trial supports the ongoing investments being made in the Green Triangle region, the hub for the timber and mineral sands industries as well as an extensive seafood and dairy industry. Hamilton, Warrnambool, Horsham, Mount Gambier, Portland, Naracoorte, Millicent and Penola make up the Green Triangle Region.
Vehicles taking part in the trial need to pass rigorous road safety standards, including ABS brakes requirements and front, side and rear under-run protection, as part of the national Performance-Based Standards process.
Queensland motorists believe more of the fuel tax collected by the Federal Government should be spent on roads. In a pre-election RACQ poll, three-quarters of its members surveyed said the current percentage of fuel excise actually spent on roads was “much too low”.
“The Federal Government collects 38 cents tax from every litre of fuel sold but to date less than a third of that money – 12 cents – is spent on building, improving and maintaining the nation’s roads,” said RACQ spokesman, Gary Fites.
“Seventy-five percent of the members surveyed thought this amount was too low and, of these, 24 percent believed all fuel excise revenue should only be used to fund roads.
“Only six percent actually thought the current arrangement was ‘about right’.”
Mr Fites said 57 percent of the members surveyed believed insufficient funds were made available for national highway maintenance and upgrades.
“The safety and efficiency of the national highway network across Queensland is in poor shape because of underfunding – and the Commonwealth is best positioned to improve that situation through a greater return of fuel excise revenue to the state’s roads.”
The contract to build the final stage of the $56.9 million Cox’s Bridge flood protection project on the South Gippsland Highway between Sale and Longford was announced this month.
Cut & Fill had been awarded the contract to build the two new bridges as part of the project, as well as the new section of the South Gippsland Highway up to 1.5 metres above the existing height of the road.
When complete, the new road will be resistant to a 1-in-20 year size flood. The two new bridges will be resistant to a 1-in-100 year flood and will provide adequate floodway flow to the Sale Common Wetlands.
Preconstruction works are already underway, including tree removal works, with more to come over the next month. Full construction is expected to start around late October and should take about two years to complete.
Work on the $812 million South Road Superway is stepping up a notch following the request for tenders for preliminary service relocation works.
SA Infrastructure Minister, Patrick Conlon, said this month works to relocate essential services needed to be done before major construction could begin on the Superway – a joint Federal and State funded project.
The tender for service relocations (water, sewerage, gas and communications) will close 14 September with a contract expected to be awarded in October.
Work on Brisbane’s $465 million Eastern Busway (stage 2) is now three months ahead of schedule with the project due for completion late next year instead of early 2012.
When completed the 1.05 kilometre Eastern Busway project will connect the existing South East Busway at Buranda with Coorparoo via Stones Corner and new busway stations will be built at Stones Corner and Langlands Park.
Premier Anna Bligh says the first stage of the Eastern Busway project which opened in August last year has already been used by 2.8 million commuters.
Meantime, in other Queensland road news a crucial upgrade to the busy City Gates intersection in Mackay is underway by BMD Constructions.
The project marks the second stage of a $50 million upgrade of the Bruce Highway’s southern entrance to Mackay. Works will include the upgrade of traffic lanes at the City Gates intersection, as well as the signalisation of the Bruce Highway/Boundary Road intersection.
Submitted by Mark Bowmer on Monday August 30th 2010 2:52pm
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