# [AUS] Australia | road infrastructure



## laxor

This is Sydney's newest Motorway which links together the 3 existing motorways that sprawl out into Sydney's western suburbs.


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## Accura4Matalan

Not very busy eh?


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## Tuxa4evskiy

I guess it is very new... Where are the cars? :laugh: 
Kidding. Very cool road, nice pix and beautiful landscapes. Well just 5*


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## AG

I hope there's traffic  :


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## zach24

most of the pics were taken by the owners of the road before it was opened - hence why its not busy


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## laxor

^^^

Yes thats right. They are beautiful pictures and i wanted to share them


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## Æsahættr

Can I have it?


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## Bertez

It is very clean


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## Accura4Matalan

How come it only has 2 lanes each way? :?
I would have thought in a large city like Sydney, it would have at least 3 each way.


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## Saab

Good old NSW 2 lane freeways. I don't know why, but NSW insists on building 2 lane roads despite the fact that this is a city of 4 million+ people.

Freeways here in Victoria are bigger and there is more of them. Also our hard shoulders are wider!


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## laxor

Saab said:


> Good old NSW 2 lane freeways. I don't know why, but NSW insists on building 2 lane roads despite the fact that this is a city of 4 million+ people.
> 
> Freeways here in Victoria are bigger and there is more of them. Also our hard shoulders are wider!


You need all the lanes you can get to handle all the traffic trying to get the hell away from bleak city melbourne.


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## Saab

lol at least you can leave and drive into Melbourne without having to stop at toll booths and traffic lights.


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## zach24

yeah but the world knows melbourne is a bore!

and saab - like i have said on many occassions - if you had a brain - well then you would know that on the M7 there are no toll booths - its all e-tags


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## Saab

Melbourne is a bore my dick. You've never been outside Dydney so you wouldn't have a clue.

M7 has no toll booth oh no shit mate. It's the ED, WD, M2, SHB Warringah freeway that have booths. Melbourne has mastered electronic tolling in 1999.


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## DrJoe

Not only is it just 2 lanes but it looks like it would be near impossible to ever expand it.


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## laxor

Saab said:


> Melbourne is a bore my dick. You've never been outside Dydney so you wouldn't have a clue.
> 
> M7 has no toll booth oh no shit mate. It's the ED, WD, M2, SHB Warringah freeway that have booths. Melbourne has mastered electronic tolling in 1999.


Everyone this is an example the typical Melbournian with a massive inferiority complex. 

They are very jealous people.

The M7 is not a high volume road. Most users use it only for short distances. The M5 and M4 both have more than 2 lanes each way.


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## Macca-GC

Saab said:


> Melbourne is a bore my dick. You've never been outside Dydney so you wouldn't have a clue.
> 
> M7 has no toll booth oh no shit mate. It's the ED, WD, M2, SHB Warringah freeway that have booths. Melbourne has mastered electronic tolling in 1999.


First of all, the WD and Warringah aren't tolled! Get your facts right! SHB and ED are only tolled inbound! Bloody Hell. And besides, they're being changed over to electronic tolling and besides, it's a lot easier to start by building a fully tolled road


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## Saab

laxor said:


> Everyone this is an example the typical Melbournian with a massive inferiority complex.
> 
> They are very jealous people.
> 
> The M7 is not a high volume road. Most users use it only for short distances. The M5 and M4 both have more than 2 lanes each way.


why would I be jealous of a place where almost all the motorways are 2 lanes and are tolled wth toll booths.


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## Macca-GC

Saab said:


> why would I be jealous of a place where almost all the motorways are 2 lanes and are tolled wth toll booths.


It's better that the motorways are 2 lanes. It encourages fewer people onto the road network and forces more onto public transport. The toll booths are worse, but the smaller motorways are better.


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## Saab

yeah the chaotic traffic in Sydney is a real testament to the use of PT there.


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## Malt

Just cover ur number plates, and hit the gas... and make sure u have a better car than the cops


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## cartez

invincible said:


> But when there is traffic, you get vehicles like this:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Wouldn't want to have one of them coming at me in the opposite direction.


that is fuckn cool!

it has a total of 86 wheels and I'm pretty sure a 36-speed transmission :eek2:


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## aussiescraperman

*[AUS] Australian Freeways and Roads*

I might as well start this thread, for any cool photos or updates and statistics that are out there waiting to be in a thread on skyscrapercity.

i'll start by posting a picture of probably the best freeway in the country...pacific motorway from brisbane to the gold coast and beyond...










multiply!


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## Falc_hoon

Malt said:


> Just cover ur number plates, and hit the gas... and make sure u have a better car than the cops


the cops can just radio ahead, there's not many side roads


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## Jean Luc

aussiescraperman said:


> but overall, i think the speed limit is a good thing, at least till they have the highways duplicated, if that ever happens.


Outback highways will never be duplicated. There will never be sufficient traffic to justify the expense, as there will never be populations large enough to generate such traffic volumes. The exceptions are places like Alice Springs and Darwin, which already have dual carriageway sections of the Stuart Highway, so I believe.


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## EK413

aussiescraperman said:


> I might as well start this thread, for any cool photos or updates and statistics that are out there waiting to be in a thread on skyscrapercity.
> 
> i'll start by posting a picture of probably the best freeway in the country...pacific motorway from brisbane to the gold coast and beyond...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> multiply!


Sad, how very sad are the highways in Australia... Plenty of land and what do they build... 2-3 lane highways with a speed limit of 80-100...
What a fantastic job our government did with the NEW M5 east tunnel between Arncliffe and King Georges road, come 2 pm its a parking lot with traffic banked back to Qantas drive!
I wish our government would wake-up and smell the coffee!


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## >Milfhunter<

That road will be quashed by Melbourne's M1 once its completed.


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## SM247

EK413 said:


> Sad, how very sad are the highways in Australia... Plenty of land and what do they build... 2-3 lane highways with a speed limit of 80-100...
> What a fantastic job our government did with the NEW M5 east tunnel between Arncliffe and King Georges road, come 2 pm its a parking lot with traffic banked back to Qantas drive!
> I wish our government would wake-up and smell the coffee!


It should be pointed out that the M1 as pictured is a 4-lane road with 110km running, which goes for quite a way further south. Eventually it returns to three lanes and 100km between Parkwood and Nerang, then 2 lanes to Tugun. This last bit will be upograded to 3 lanes Nerang to Tugun and 2 lanes along the Tugun Bypass, then its NSW's problem!

I agree though, the NSBT in Brisbane is only 2 lanes and will probably be a carpark a few years after it opens. Fortunately it doesn't actually feed the CBD or it would be full on opening day like the Lane Cove tunnel.


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## EK413

SM247 said:


> It should be pointed out that the M1 as pictured is a 4-lane road with 110km running, which goes for quite a way further south. Eventually it returns to three lanes and 100km between Parkwood and Nerang, then 2 lanes to Tugun. This last bit will be upograded to 3 lanes Nerang to Tugun and 2 lanes along the Tugun Bypass, then its NSW's problem!
> 
> I agree though, the NSBT in Brisbane is only 2 lanes and will probably be a carpark a few years after it opens. Fortunately it doesn't actually feed the CBD or it would be full on opening day like the Lane Cove tunnel.


Its good to see a 4 lane highway in QLD, at least they have some brains and I believe Melbournes highways have 4 lanes too... 
Im not sure who designed the M5 extension, I believe it was Bob Carr? Reports say the tunnel was operating at its PEAK from day one which wasnt forcast until at another 20 years from now!!!


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## ChrisZwolle

What is the speed limit on Australian motorways?


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## LtBk

Chris1491 said:


> What is the speed limit on Australian motorways?


100-110km/h. And unlike most countries, Australia is very strict on enforcing their speed limits.


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## ChrisZwolle

LtBk said:


> 100-110km/h.


Boooring speeds... especially on freeways.



> And unlike most countries, Australia is very strict on enforcing their speed limits.


Don't worry, i live in The Netherlands. I am very used to speed traps, for instance, i travel 14km every day to work, and i pass about 8 speed traps on that small distance. hno:


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## Paddington

EK413 said:


> Sad, how very sad are the highways in Australia... Plenty of land and what do they build... 2-3 lane highways with a speed limit of 80-100...
> What a fantastic job our government did with the NEW M5 east tunnel between Arncliffe and King Georges road, come 2 pm its a parking lot with traffic banked back to Qantas drive!
> I wish our government would wake-up and smell the coffee!


Yeah, but how many people live in Australia? Australia may be the size of America, but it does not have America's population, and therefore will not have big American sized roads.


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## LtBk

Chris1491 said:


> Boooring speeds... especially on freeways.
> 
> 
> 
> Don't worry, i live in The Netherlands. I am very used to speed traps, for instance, i travel 14km every day to work, and i pass about 8 speed traps on that small distance. hno:


The Dutch government must be desperate for money.


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## Trent800

LtBk said:


> 100-110km/h. And unlike most countries, Australia is very strict on enforcing their speed limits.


The speed limit is also 100-110km/h on single lane back country roads, be it dirt or tarmac.
I remember going fishing on the western port bay and we had to take a crumbling 1 lane road with no space to pass other vehicles and the speed limit was 100km/h. Ironically this 3m wide strip of asphalt is directly off a brand new expressway which also has a 100km/h limit.


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## Alex Von Königsberg

LtBk said:


> Chris1491 said:
> 
> 
> 
> i travel 14km every day to work, and i pass about 8 speed traps on that small distance
> 
> 
> 
> The Dutch government must be desperate for money.
Click to expand...

I drove through Holland several times and did not notice a lot of speed traps. In American sense where a speed trap means a policeman hiding in the bush along the road I haven't seen any on my numerous trips through Europe. They do have many speed cameras though.


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## Trent800

In Australia they install speed cameras BEHIND overhead signs so you cant see them, cops/speed camera operators hide behind bushes in FAMILY SEDANS, (infact just yesterday I saw a cop in a family sedan pull over a driver) and the speed tolerance is 3km/h. Yes just 3km/h.

Speed camera operators have popped the hoods of their cars, removed tires or have a box of tools next to the car to fool drivers into believing that they are just civilians broken down on the side of the road.

The overhead speed cameras on freeways (hidden behind overhead signs) are
unreliable and errornous, as a 40-year old Datsun capable of just 130km/h when NEW was caught doing 156km/h, a truck was caught supposidly doing 500km/h on an UPHILL slope and get this, a BRICK WALL was allegedly doing 7km/h according to our speed cameras!


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## Trent800

In Melbourne:


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## ChrisZwolle

Alex Von Königsberg said:


> I drove through Holland several times and did not notice a lot of speed traps. In American sense where a speed trap means a policeman hiding in the bush along the road I haven't seen any on my numerous trips through Europe. They do have many speed cameras though.


There aren't so many on motorways, but we have a lot of sneaky speed camera's behind trees, signs, garbagecans etc on the National roads, roads with usually a speed limit, that doesn't agree with how the road looks like. (flat, wide, straight roads in the countryside with a speed limit of 60km/h for instance  )

But Austrailian motorways looks okay. Are there many traffic jams? 

I see the motorway systems of Melbourne and Sydney aren't connected to eachother, will that be so in the future?
And are there motorways near Brisbane?


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## Trent800

^^ do you mean the two cities not being joined by motorway or their motorway networks themselves?


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## aussiescraperman

nope, apparentely that was the original 1969 freeway network planned for melbourne, just laid on top of a recent Melway map.
cheers


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## Vic19

Melbourne tollway construction:


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## Citystyle

Perth's got a good road network, currently a little stressed due to rail construction but that will improve. Alot of Perth Highways are near Freeway levels and Perth will have a Freeway grade loop oneday.













































The Great Devide #2


















Scar's South Perth Forshore.


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## CrazyAboutCities

^^ Very nice! I am curious does Perth has dust or smog issues? I saw one of the pictures that shows dust or smog at Perth skyline.


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## Vic19

More MELBOURNE freeway construction


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## Coneslammer

CrazyAboutCities said:


> ^^ Very nice! I am curious does Perth has dust or smog issues? I saw one of the pictures that shows dust or smog at Perth skyline.


it's most likely smoke from bushfires in the surrounding areas.

Most Australian cities have a couple of days a year when the weather conditions are right that they will be blanketed in smoke from these fires.


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## CrazyAboutCities

Coneslammer said:


> it's most likely smoke from bushfires in the surrounding areas.
> 
> Most Australian cities have a couple of days a year when the weather conditions are right that they will be blanketed in smoke from these fires.


Oh gotcha! Thanks! I'm glad it is not smog though.


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## Cruise

Trent800 said:


> In Australia they install speed cameras BEHIND overhead signs so you cant see them, cops/speed camera operators hide behind bushes in FAMILY SEDANS, (infact just yesterday I saw a cop in a family sedan pull over a driver) and the speed tolerance is 3km/h. Yes just 3km/h.
> 
> Speed camera operators have popped the hoods of their cars, removed tires or have a box of tools next to the car to fool drivers into believing that they are just civilians broken down on the side of the road.
> 
> The overhead speed cameras on freeways (hidden behind overhead signs) are
> unreliable and errornous, as a 40-year old Datsun capable of just 130km/h when NEW was caught doing 156km/h, a truck was caught supposidly doing 500km/h on an UPHILL slope and get this, a BRICK WALL was allegedly doing 7km/h according to our speed cameras!


 
speaking of speed camera accaracy a motorist in a ford laser was done going 1010 k/mh on the sourthern expressway in Adelaide (and the police refused to believe it was a mistake :lol: )

Also the sourthern expressway is the worlds longest fully reverisble one way freeway. 

Some info:
The Southern Expressway is open approximately 22.5 hours per day - a one-way freeway operating for over 11 hours in each direction. The northbound direction occurs on weekday mornings and weekend evenings, the southbound direction occurs on weekday evenings and weekend mornings. It is closed between approximately 12:40am - 1:10am and 12:30pm - 1:30pm except for Saturday and Monday mornings when the direction remains unchanged. The official closing times given by Transport SA are between 12:30am - 2:00am and 12:30pm - 2:00pm. During each closure all road signs, lights and boom gates switch, and the road is inspected by an RAA van for debris or car breakdowns.

pics:


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## Cruise

In 1974 there was a bold plan for freeways in Adelaide. Only the south eastern freeway was built.


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## M3_SoutheastMelb

Cruise Control said:


> speaking of speed camera accaracy a motorist in a ford laser was done going 1010 k/mh on the sourthern expressway in Adelaide (and the police refused to believe it was a mistake :lol: )


no shit! :lol: I saw it on the news, i cant believe the cops actually refused to believe it was a mistake. they must be really desperate for revenue raising!

freeway viaduct in Melbourne


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## M3_SoutheastMelb

Melbourne


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## Angry Bob

*Australian Highways*

Starting with *VICTORIA* - Population 5,100,000

Victoria state has *22,320km of highway*, of which about *1050km is expressway grade*. Melbourne's freeway network totals approximately 330km if stretched end-to-end while the remaining 720km of freeway/expressway is rural and mostly serve as a direct connection from Melbourne to major regional towns.

Map of current network:


















Route 20 - Mildura-Renmark







[/QUOTE]

Melbourne




























































































































































































































































M8 Melbourne-Ballarat



























M79 Melbourne-Bendigo


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## CborG

Nice overview, i can see M-routes but also A, B and C-routes. Kind of confusing, the M is Motorway but you use the terms freeway/expressway. 
M stands for the 'autobahn' type of road we know in europe, i think. But those others can be all types of roads? 2x1, 2x2 with same level crossings etc..


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## Angry Bob

In VIc atleast, M stands for any dual carriageway highway. It can be freeway, or expressway/dual carriageway with at-grade intersections. 'A' is a primary route between cities and towns - usually single carriagway with shoulders and well maintianed markings. B routes are single carriageways which connect smaller centers and are secondary to A routes and carry less traffic. C routes are small local access roads serving local communities and connecting small towns.


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## Angry Bob

*Melbourne-Sydney M31, Victorian Section. Length of Victorian section from Melbourne to Albury is 300km and is 100% expressway grade. *























































*M31 terminus in Melbourne*


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## Angry Bob

*M1/M80 intersection*









*M80*









*M39 Seymour to Murchison - expressway grade for about 50km*









*A20 Renmark-Mildura*









*M79 Melbourne to Bendigo. Length 130km*




































*A79 near Mildura*


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## Angry Bob

New freeway construction in *Melbourne*




























*Interchange near downtown*


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## ChrisZwolle

Looks very good!


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## Blijdorp

Nice system, it looks very new and well maintained.


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## Angry Bob

Blijdorp said:


> Nice system, it looks very new and well maintained.


Alot of Melbourne's freeways are actually quote new, less than 15 years old. About half of the current network was completed after 1992.


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## CP Doom

^^ lol at your avatar. :lol: sorry people, completely unrelated.......


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## Avatar

Until recently the NT had no speed limits on some roads. What a pity they were brought into line with the typical 110km/h limits.


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## kibebaszot

It's actually 130. I still wouldnt obey it though


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## KIWIKAAS

Love this pic of the Western Distributor


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## aussiescraperman

start of Eastlink in Donvale, suburb 22kms out of melbourne.


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## Jeroen669

Great pictures, you're highways look definitely better than I would have expected. The only thing I miss are some pictures from the real outback with road trains, gravel roads and such things...


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## Deus Ex

KIWIKAAS said:


> Love this pic of the Western Distributor


 Those look very mordernized.


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## KIWIKAAS

*Queensland*

from www.expressway.paulrands.com and www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/qld

*Brisbane & South East QLD*

*Pacific Motorway M3 & M1. * Brisbane - Gold Coast - NSW border


















































































































































*Gateway Motorway M1*


























































_*Gateway upgrade*_


































*Bruce Highway M1* Northbound


































*Ipswich Motorway M5* Westbound


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## Nexis

interesting highway photos!


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## KIWIKAAS

*Western Australia*

*Perth*

from Chrisaus WA forum


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## KIWIKAAS

*Westgate Freeway, Melbourne VIC*


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## KIWIKAAS

*Eastern Freeway, Melbourne*


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## KIWIKAAS

*Monash frewway, Melbourne*


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## KIWIKAAS

*Light Horse Interchange, Sydney*

allready posted on prev page


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## KIWIKAAS

*South Australia*

*Adelaide*

images from http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos

*South Eastern Freeway M1*










































*Southern Expressway M2 (world's only fully reversable freeway)*


































Main South Road, heading north-east approaching the Southern Expressway junction with the expressway only open for southbound traffic.








A good comparison as this time the expressway is open for northbound traffic


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## Punishment466

The Port River Expressway in Adelaide. These photos come just as the expressway was nearing completion.


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## NZer

More Western Australia.

Mitchell Freeway




























Tonkin Highway











I will post some pics of Roe,Graham Farmer and Kwinana Freeways next week.


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## LtBk

Its too bad Australia has the biggest anti-speed nazis in the world.


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## B772

^^ That is so so true :bash:

Melbourne M3 Eastlink










Tunnel


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## KIWIKAAS

*Nature fights back*

Flickr by yewenyi 
(Darling Harbour, Sydney)


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## KIWIKAAS

*Perth, WA*

from Flickr

Mitchell Freeway
by urbanphotographer 








by Elana3 









Narrows Interchange with downtown backdrop
by luny 









Kwinana Freeway
by Trevor Morgan Photography


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## KIWIKAAS

*Westgate Freeway, Melbourne, VIC*

from Flickr

by s2art 








by Vermin Inc 








by bazpics


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## KIWIKAAS

*Here's a bute!*

Pacific Motorway M1 between Brisbane and Gold Coast

Flickr by monkeyc.net


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## KIWIKAAS

flickr By Karsoe


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## DanielFigFoz

Australian Highways are very nice.


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## Calvin W

LtBk said:


> Its too bad Australia has the biggest anti-speed nazis in the world.



Not true! If you drive reasonable there are no problems! Speed limits are there for a reason. Obey them and you will not have a problem. Break them and you will.

Personally I hope WA goes farther and starts destroying cars of hoons and idiots caught on the highways and freeways. Maybe then people will learn how to drive.


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## ChrisZwolle

Calvin W said:


> Not true! If you drive reasonable there are no problems! Speed limits are there for a reason. Obey them and you will not have a problem. Break them and you will.


Yeah, they are for generating cash. Ofcourse, when a speed limit makes no sense at all, they put in a speed check.


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## Jeroen669

Calvin W said:


> Personally I hope WA goes farther and starts destroying cars of hoons and idiots caught on the highways and freeways. Maybe then people will learn how to drive.


People won't learn (better) how to drive, if the government takes off their responsibilities with low speed limits and heavy police enforcement.


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## KIWIKAAS

^^
The exact opposite also applies

People won't learn (better) how to drive, if the government gives them their responsibilities with high speed limits and minimal police enforcement.

Which of the 2 has beter results?


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## ChrisZwolle

It's right in between. A lot of people can't handle high speeds. But the government sets stupid low speed limits, that encourage "speeding".


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## Jeroen669

KIWIKAAS said:


> People won't learn (better) how to drive, if the government gives them their responsibilities with high speed limits and minimal police enforcement.


Then why is a country like germany NOT unsafer than for instance Holland? With your arguments it should be much unsafer, because: high limits (bigger responsibilities) en less police enforcement (and fines are lower, I thought)

Our policy to always blame people when overspeeding rather has negative side effects. People keep looking at the speed meter too much, especially in areas with permanent speed checkings. That causes more irritation, unsafety and traffic jams.

Why do you rarely see policemen on the real unsafe places? (singel-lane rural roads, roads with lots of slow traffic etc.) It's just what Chris says: it's mostly just for cashing here.


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## ChrisZwolle

^^ German fines are lower for minimal speeding like up to 20km/h or 12 MPH too fast, but higher over 20km/h too fast. And they are very strict near road constructions too, although i found the 60km/h (37MPH) limit near construction sites sometimes too slow. 

But generally there is no need in Germany to not obeying the speed limit, rural roads are always 100km/h or 60MPH, so you're not stuck on a straigh road with minimal traffic and a 60 or 80 km/h limit. But one that comforts how the road looks. 
And clearly not every Autobahn is limitless, in fact, a lot do have a limit, i don't mind if they set the limit to 160km/h or 100 MPH or so. Germans can handle high speed much better as in other countries obviously, but crashing with 220km/h can be disasterous for other traffic on the road.


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## -Corey-

Nice freeways.


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## annman

*Synopsis*

Basic rule: It's not speed that really kills, it's dumb and unfocussed drivers! That's it... travelled around the world, found it's idiots that cause accidents, not 140km/h...


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## Brisbaner21

Its just a shame that Australia has faced as many fatalities on its highways as it has. I know many other countries have had their fair share too, hopefully in the future fatalities will drop drastically.


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## Brisbaner21

Does anyone have any of Townsville, Cairns or Darwin? Townsville and Cairns have some extremely nice highways.


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## KIWIKAAS

Can't compare to the Struma but.....
A random assortment of Freeways In Australia from Flickr


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## NZer

LOL @ the Struma hype.


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## kajetanek

hmmm nice highway 5 circuit in one way awsome


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## Lisho

Darwin doesn't have any freeways but there should be a major upgrade of Tiger Brennan Drive within the next 12 - 24 months. Keep your eyes peeled


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## Robosteve

*Pictures: Cahill Expressway (part I)*

0. Sign coming off the Harbour Bridge indicating the beginning of the Cahill Expressway.











The Cahill Expressway was the innermost section of the proposed F7 Eastern Freeway, which has never been constructed to its original design. It was built in the late 1950s and early 1960s, with the first section (a viaduct over Circular Quay from the Harbour Bridge to Macquarie Street) being opened in 1958. This first section is often said to be Sydney's first freeway, although it really shouldn't be considered a freeway at all as it does not have a median. This first set of pictures covers the viaduct part of it only; from here it goes into a short tunnel under the Domain before emerging near Woolloomooloo, where it terminated until the opening of the Eastern Distributor in 2000.


1. The Cahill Expressway viaduct over Circular Quay, seen from the Sydney Harbour Bridge. This is actually a double decker viaduct, with a railway line running underneath the road.











2. This is the southern approach to the Harbour Bridge; the left lane is the exit lane for the Cahill Expressway. Before 1994, the left two lanes both went onto the expressway, but one now functions as a bus lane into the CBD.











3. Traffic from the Harbour Bridge driving onto the Cahill Expressway.











4. A view along the viaduct itself, which also carries the Cahill Walk (from which most of these pictures were taken).











5. Look at the speed limit. hno:











6. A famous Sydney landmark visible from the expressway. 











7. Approaching the end of the viaduct.











8. Looking back along the viaduct (I love this view). You can see the westbound carriageway going under the Harbour Bridge approach; on the other side there is a 270 degree loop to take traffic onto the bridge itself. I wish I'd taken a picture of the loop while I was there. :bash:











9. I found this sign amusing, because at first glance it appears to indicate the pedestrian pathway as being the detour. :lol:











10. The end of the viaduct, where traffic diverges to the Macquarie Street exit or the Domain Tunnel.











11. Traffic enters the viaduct westbound here.











12. The entrance to the Sydney Harbour Tunnel (opened 1994), which now carries most of the traffic that once would have used the viaduct. This is also part of the Sydney Orbital Motorway.











13. The on-ramp to the viaduct from Macquarie Street, with two different speed limits indicated.











14. Traffic entering the expressway from Macquarie Street.











15. Macquarie Street itself. This marked the end of the expressway from 1958 until 1962, when the Domain Tunnel was opened.











16. Another view of the Harbour Tunnel entrance, this time seen from Macquarie Street.











That's all for now, I'll be posting more sometime in the next few days.


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## deranged

Great set of pics, Robosteve!

Good video as well.

Surprising to see so little traffic in most of those photos on a Thursday...


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## Verso

Great pics. Sydney has some really urban freeways, almost like Tokio, just much more greenery; I especially like palms. And strong sun.. perfect.


----------



## mike7743

lol, everything looks so weird, seeing cars being driven on the opposite side.


----------



## Daguy

mike7743 said:


> lol, everything looks so weird, seeing cars being driven on the opposite side.


1/3 of the world's people live in countries that drive on the left. It's really not that strange. Many provinces in Canada, such as BC, drove on the left side of the road until the early to mid 1920's, likely to facilitate travel between Canada and the US.


----------



## ChrisZwolle

^^ That's true, but most mass-motorized countries drive on the right. If you leave out India only a small part of the world's population drives on the left.


----------



## Morsue

Daguy said:


> 1/3 of the world's people live in countries that drive on the left. It's really not that strange. Many provinces in Canada, such as BC, drove on the left side of the road until the early to mid 1920's, likely to facilitate travel between Canada and the US.


Just like Chris says, even with India included I don't think a third of the world's motorists drive on the left. As you can see on the map below, those countries roughly correspond the old British empire or the current commonwealth (and the old Dutch empire too for some reason). In Australia it's not such a big problem because I don't imagine there being a lot of foreign vehicles there.

Driving on the left is no big deal actually, I tried it on Malta last year and you get used to it quite quickly. The main problem is when you forget where you are and park to the right. 










Red = Drive to the right
Blue = Drive to the left


----------



## Verso

They drive on the right in Gibraltar?


----------



## KIWIKAAS

Yep


----------



## ea1969

*Driving on the left*

Actually if we calculate the population living to countries that drive on the left, it sums up to 1.9 billion vs. 3.8 billion living to countries that drive on the right. Therefore it is actually 33 vs. 67%

On the other hand the road network of countries that drive on the left is about 8 million km long vs. 21 million of that in countries that drive on the right. This makes 28% vs. 72%.

(Numbers have been rounded up a bit).


----------



## ChrisZwolle

If we count freeways that would even be worse. India barely has freeways yet has a huge amount of population.


----------



## mgk920

Even parts of the USA do drive on the left (see: United States Virgin Islands).

Mike


----------



## mike7743

mgk920 said:


> Even parts of the USA do drive on the left (see: United States Virgin Islands).
> 
> Mike



I don't consider the Virgin Islands part of the United States, even the citizens can't vote in our general election, same goes for Puerto Rico. calling them part of the United States is sort of a joke. anyways, I have no problem with cars being driven on the left side of the road. I'm sure I'll get used to it if I'm in a place where the rule applies. Its just looks so weird and funny.


----------



## ajch

Could somebody refer me to a site (official site) that have the total length of the Australia motorways.

i have searched in the australia bureau of statistic (www.abs.gov.au) site but can find data in it

the only site that i have is vicroad (www.vicroads.vic.gov.au) but only have the Victoria data (after all is a state agency)


----------



## Verso

I think it's some 1,000 km.


----------



## deranged

For information about Australian roads:
www.ozroads.com.au


----------



## deranged

EDIT: Deleted, updated and re-posted.


----------



## Robosteve

deranged said:


> SYDNEY, NSW
> 
> 46km – M4 Western Mwy
> 40km – M7 Westlink
> 31km – M2 Hills Mwy (21km) / Lane Cove Tunnel (4km) / Warringah Fwy (4km) / Gore Hill Fwy (2km)
> Sydney Harbour Tunnel
> Western Distributor
> 12km – Cahill Expy (2km) / Eastern Distributor (6km) / Southern Cross Dr (4km)
> 2km – Cross City Tunnel
> 26km – M5 South Western Mwy
> 
> James Ruse Dr
> Metroad 6 Alfords Point Rd
> Camden Bypass
> Metroad 3 Homebush
> 
> …and more…


If you're counting those last few (which I don't think are officially classified as freeways, even though they are almost completely grade separated), then Burnt Bridge Creek Deviation, Burns Bay Road, Captain Cook Bridge and Syd Einfeld Drive are all freeway standard portions of the abandoned F1, F3, F6 and F7 proposals, respectively.



deranged said:


> REGIONAL NEW SOUTH WALES
> 
> Pacific Hwy
> Newcastle Inner City Bypass
> 127km – Sydney-Newcastle Fwy
> 367km – Hume Fwy
> 
> … and more…


The Newcastle Inner City Bypass won't be all freeway when it is completed. Only two of the three sections which have already been built are freeway standard, and the other two may end up having some at grade junctions when they are finished.

Also, Peats Ridge Road is freeway standard (though not officially classified as such) for some of its length, as the Sydney-Newcastle Freeway was originally supposed to follow that alignment until an alternative one was decided upon running closer to Gosford.

Apart from that, the Federal Highway is a freeway for most of its length, and the Princes Highway/Southern Freeway/Mount Ousley Road/Southern Freeway between Heathcote and Yallah is now completely grade separated, except for two major intersections and maybe a few less important ones, and since there are no lights traffic can flow smoothly at 80 km/h or more along that route. Also, the highway past Kiama just south of there is now 2x2 with a concrete median and grade separated, but for some reason they aren't building the Albion Park Rail Bypass to connect the two. :bash:

Finally, there are a couple of freeway standard parts of the New England Highway northwest of Newcastle.

In list form:

SYDNEY, NSW

2 km - Burnt Bridge Creek Deviation
3 km - Burns Bay Road (freeway portion)
2 km - Captain Cook Bridge
1 km - Syd Einfeld Drive

REGIONAL NSW

11 km - Peats Ridge Road (freeway portion, never completed as full profile, only 1+1 or 2+1)
70 km - Federal Highway (including the portion within the ACT)
81 km - Princes Highway (in two sections of 61 km and 20 km)
8 km - New England Highway (in two sections of 6 km and 2 km)


----------



## deranged

^^

Thanks heaps for all the info, Robosteve! :cheers: kay:
I'll update the list soon.

I decided to include some freeways not officially classified as such, because IMO they were freeways in everything but name (fully grade-separated high-speed highways). Also, given some roads classified as "freeways" in Australia are not true freeways, in that they either have a number of rural at-grade intersections or are grade-separated 2x1 roads, I've deviated from the official designations.


----------



## Robosteve

No problem, and I also just remembered: the first 4 km of the Northern Distributor in Wollongong is freeway standard.

Edit @ your edit: Yeah, the various states should really agree on what is and isn't a freeway. Most of the rural freeways in Victoria would not be freeways if they were in NSW.

And as far as I know, Tiger Brennan Drive in Darwin will become the NT's first freeway when it is completed.


----------



## deranged

^^ Thanks again, I've added those two.



ajch said:


> Could somebody refer me to a site (official site) that have the total length of the Australia motorways.
> 
> i have searched in the australia bureau of statistic (www.abs.gov.au) site but can find data in it
> 
> the only site that i have is vicroad (www.vicroads.vic.gov.au) but only have the Victoria data (after all is a state agency)


Unfortunately, I can't help you there. Since classification is handled by each state, your best bet would be to check the website of the relevant department for each state (eg www.vicroads.vic.gov.au, www.mainroads.qld.gov.au, www.mainroads.wa.gov.au, etc). I had a brief look through the state sites and didn't find any such definitive lists, so unless you find them, you'll probably need to contact each department directly. You could calculate using Google Maps, though that would be slow and time-consuming, and Google Maps has a number of errors.

Also, my list is obviously not an official list; I compiled it for interest's sake.


----------



## deranged

EDIT: Deleted, updated and re-posted.


----------



## Robosteve

deranged said:


> 57 km – Southern Fwy / Mt Ousley Rd / Southern Fwy


My estimate was slightly longer because I included the section of the Princes Highway between Heathcote and Waterfall. This road is 2x2 with a wide median, has a speed limit of 100 km/h (except through Waterfall, where it is 80) and a grade separated intersection in Waterfall itself.



deranged said:


> +83 km – Pacific Hwy (Coopernook – Bulahdelah, excl Coolongolook, Karuah)
> +47 km – Pacific Hwy (Tweed Valley Way – McLeods Shoot)
> 10 km – Pacific Hwy (Karuah Bypass)


You don't seem to have included the Yelgun to Chinderah Freeway portion of the Pacific Highway upgrade. That part, plus the Chinderah Bypass, is 34 km long. I don't know if you included the Tugun Bypass under the Pacific Motorway in Queensland or not.



deranged said:


> 27 km – M11 Mornington Peninsula Fwy
> 25 km – M2 CityLink West (12 km) / M2 Tullamarine Fwy (13 km)
> 7 km – M11 Frankston Fwy


I thought they had renumbered the M2 back to Metropolitan Route 43, and never actually changed Metropolitan Route 11 to M11 at all? The reason for this eludes me completely; every other motorway in Melbourne now has an M number.

Thanks for the list, Deranged. I've thought about trying to do this several times, but always given up on the idea due to the varying definitions of what constitutes a freeway. It's nice to be able to see all the freeways in the country laid out in such an organised format.


----------



## deranged

Robosteve said:


> My estimate was slightly longer because I included the section of the Princes Highway between Heathcote and Waterfall. This road is 2x2 with a wide median, has a speed limit of 100 km/h (except through Waterfall, where it is 80) and a grade separated intersection in Waterfall itself.


I see. I'll edit that. :cheers:



Robosteve said:


> You don't seem to have included the Yelgun to Chinderah Freeway portion of the Pacific Highway upgrade. That part, plus the Chinderah Bypass, is 34 km long. I don't know if you included the Tugun Bypass under the Pacific Motorway in Queensland or not.


I included it as part of "Tweed Valley Way to McLeods Shoot". But I'm glad you reminded me about the state border issue – I had simply thrown everything north of Tweed Valley Way into QLD. I'll edit the state totals.



Robosteve said:


> I thought they had renumbered the M2 back to Metropolitan Route 43, and never actually changed Metropolitan Route 11 to M11 at all? The reason for this eludes me completely; every other motorway in Melbourne now has an M number.


You're right, I'll edit those as well. Thanks.



Robosteve said:


> Thanks for the list, Deranged. I've thought about trying to do this several times, but always given up on the idea due to the varying definitions of what constitutes a freeway. It's nice to be able to see all the freeways in the country laid out in such an organised format.


I'll re-organise it into separate lists of freeways and limited-access highways, and re-post the list later.

I also need to update the list of freeways under construction.


----------



## city_thing

The entire Northern Territory doesn't even have one single stretch of freeway-grade roadway? Wow. I thought there would at least be something in Darwin running through its suburbs.


----------



## KIWIKAAS

Darwin has a long divided arterial road running 40km from the CBD to Noonamah.
Not freeway standard but pretty good for a city of 120,000 with no cities for the next 1,500km.
There's a 2km long section of divided highway at the turnoff to Edith Falls. It's quite bizar as there is virtualy no traffic at all on that stretch.


----------



## Robosteve

city_thing said:


> The entire Northern Territory doesn't even have one single stretch of freeway-grade roadway? Wow. I thought there would at least be something in Darwin running through its suburbs.


There will be when Tiger Brennan Drive is finished. It's not freeway standard at its eastern end, but if I remember correctly it will have grade separated interchanges from a couple of kilometres out of Darwin's CBD to where it will eventually meet the Stuart Highway.


----------



## deranged

*=============================================================================*

*LIST OF FREEWAYS AND LIMITED-ACCESS HIGHWAYS IN AUSTRALIA*
as of February 2009

*=============================================================================*

*Total length of freeways – 1,802 km*
- including sections under construction – 1,900 km

*Total length of limited-access highways – 1,112 km*

*=============================================================================*

*Total length of freeways and limited-access highways – 2,914 km*
- including sections under construction – 3,012 km

*=============================================================================*



*@----- INCLUSION:*

*The freeway list includes:*
All fully grade-separated divided highways, with at least 2 lanes in each direction.

*The limited-access highway list includes (with associated symbols):* 
= fully grade-separated 2x1 highways (super-two highways);
+ rural 2x2 divided highways with grade-separated interchanges at major junctions and at-grade intersections with quiet country roads, with no roundabouts or traffic lights, and no stop or give-way signs on the mainline;
- predominantly grade-separated divided highways in urban areas with at least 2 lanes in each direction and a maximum of one at-grade intersection, with no roundabouts or traffic lights, and no stop or give-way signs on the mainline.

*Minimum length for inclusion:*
- 10 km in rural areas
- 3 km in urban areas
- 2 km for tunnel freeways

*@----- SYMBOLS:*

* under construction
^ partially complete, remainder under construction
See "_The limited-access highway list includes_" above for an explanation of =, + and -

*@----- NOTES:*

*All freeways and limited-access highways listed have unobstructed right-of-way for through traffic at all times.*
That is, none of them have any traffic lights or roundabouts, nor stop or give-way signs on the mainline, with the exception of:
- one traffic light on the Pacific Hwy (listed under Gold Coast, QLD) in the Tweed shire, NSW;
- one roundabout on the Sunshine Mwy (Sunshine Coast, QLD) at Coolum;
- one roundabout on the Centenary Hwy (Brisbane, QLD) at Richlands, currently being upgraded to a fully free-flowing interchange.

*Highway destination listings:*
The “start” destination of a rural highway is listed as the end nearest the state capital.
The “start” destination of a radial urban highway is listed as the end nearest the CBD.
Destinations on orbital urban highways are listed clockwise.

*General notes:*
This is NOT an official list. The states have different standards as to what constitutes a freeway, leading to inconsistencies. Some official freeways have at-grade intersections or are 2x1, while some fully grade-separated 2x2 highways are not classified as freeways. I created this list in order to record the lengths of “true” freeways as well as limited-access roads, by deviating from official classifications and instead applying a uniform definition. This is much more meaningful in my opinion.

*References:*
This list was compiled using OzRoads, Google Maps and Wikipedia.
If you see any mistakes or omissions, let me know.






*=============================================================================*
*NEW SOUTH WALES*
Freeways – 585 km (incl 13 km under “Gold Coast, QLD”)
Limited-Access Highways – 490 km
*=============================================================================*

*@----- SYDNEY*

*Freeways – 233 km*
59 km – Cahill Expy (2 km) / Eastern Dist (4 km) / Sthn Cross Dr (7 km) / M5 South Western Mwy (32 km) / M31 Hume Fwy (to Narellan Rd) (14 km)
47 km – M4 Western Mwy
40 km – M7 Westlink
31 km – Gore Hill Fwy (3 km) / Warringah Fwy (4 km) / Lane Cove Tunnel (4 km) / M2 Hills Mwy (20 km)
24 km – Sydney-Newcastle Fwy (Hornsby – Mooney Mooney)
7 km – Alfords Point Rd (Alma Rd – Old Illawarra Rd, Menai)
6 km – Western Distributor (4 km) / Sydney Harbour Bridge (2 km)
5 km – Bangor Bypass
4 km – James Ruse Dr (Kleins Rd – Thomas St)
3 km – Homebush Bay Dr (Concord Rd – Western Mwy)
3 km – Victoria Rd (Westbourne St – Burns Bay Rd) / Burns Bay Rd (to View St)
2 km – Cross City Tunnel
2 km – Sydney Harbour Tunnel

*Limited-Access Highways – 8 km*
-8 km – Camden Bypass

*@----- NEWCASTLE*

*Freeways – 16 km*
7 km – Newcastle Inner City Bypass (South)
6 km – Pacific Hwy (Raymond Terrace Bypass)
3 km – Newcastle Inner City Bypass (North)

*@----- CENTRAL COAST*

*Freeways – 51 km*
51 km – Sydney-Newcastle Fwy (Mooney Mooney – Motorway Link)

*Limited-Access Highways – 17 km*
=11 km – Peats Ridge Rd
=6 km – Motorway Link

*@----- WOLLONGONG*

*Freeways – 85 km*
61 km – Princes Hwy / Southern Fwy / Mt Ousley Rd / Southern Fwy
20 km – Princes Hwy (Riverside Dr – Gerringong)
4 km – Northern Distributor

*@----- REGIONAL NEW SOUTH WALES*

*Freeways – 187 km*
70 km – Hume Fwy (from Narellan Rd) / Hume Hwy (to Old Hume Hwy, south of Berrima)
51 km – Sydney-Newcastle Fwy (Motorway Link – New England Hwy)
34 km – Pacific Hwy (Chinderah – Yelgun)
22 km – Pacific Hwy (Bulahdelah – Coolongolook Fwy)
10 km – Pacific Hwy (Karuah Bypass)

*Limited-Access Highways – 465 km*
+224 km – Hume Hwy (Old Hume Hwy, south of Berrima – Coolac)
+70 km – Federal Hwy
+63 km – Pacific Hwy (Coolongolook – Coopernook)
+49 km – Hume Hwy (Mingay – Sturt Hwy)
+22 km – Hume Hwy (Humula Rd, Tarcutta – Tumbarumba Rd, Kyeamba)
+14 km – Hume Hwy (Table Top – NSW-VIC border)
+13 km – Pacific Hwy (McLeods Shoot – Yelgun)
+10 km – Hume Hwy (South of Kyeamba – north of Little Billabong)

*=============================================================================*
*VICTORIA*
Freeways – 491 km (^525 km)
Limited-Access Highways – 431 km
*=============================================================================*

*@----- MELBOURNE*

*Freeways – 333 km (^342 km)*
60 km – M1 West Gate Fwy (14 km) / M1 Princes Fwy (Western Ring Rd – Geelong Ring Rd) (46 km)
59 km – M1 CityLink South (10 km) / M1 Monash Fwy (34 km) / M1 Princes Fwy (Berwick – Nar Nar Goon) (15 km)
39 km – M3 Eastlink
38 km – M80 Western Ring Rd / M80 Metropolitan Ring Rd
27 km – Mornington Peninsula Fwy
25 km – CityLink West (12 km) / Tullamarine Fwy (13 km)
23 km – M79 Calder Fwy (Calder Park Raceway – Gap Rd, Sunbury)
18 km – M3 Eastern Fwy
^15 km – M8 Western Fwy (Deer Park Bypass) (*9 km) / M8 Western Fwy (to Troups Rd Nth, Rockbank) (6 km)
14 km – M31 Hume Fwy (Metropolitan Ring Rd – Old Hume Hwy, Craigieburn)
9 km – M79 Calder Fwy (Tullamarine Fwy – Highland Rd, Keilor North)
7 km – Frankston Fwy
6 km – M420 South Gippsland Fwy

*Limited-Access Highways – 31 km*
+24 km – M8 Western Fwy (Troups Rd Nth, Rockbank – Bacchus Marsh)
+5 km – M79 Calder Fwy (Highland Rd, Keilor North – Calder Park Raceway)

*@----- REGIONAL VICTORIA*

*Freeways – 158 km (^183 km)*
49 km – M8 Western Fwy (Bacchus Marsh – Leigh Creek)
45 km – M31 Hume Fwy (Beveridge – Divider Rd, Tallarook)
43 km – M79 Calder Fwy (Gap Rd, Sunbury – Kyneton Main Rd)
*25 km – M1 Princes Fwy (Geelong Ring Rd)
23 km – M1 Princes Fwy (Lloyd St, Moe – Morwell-Traralgon Rd, Morwell)

*Limited-Access Highways – 402 km*
+215 km – M31 Hume Fwy (Divider Rd, Tallarook – VIC-NSW border)
+97 km – M1 Princes Fwy (Nar Nar Goon – Lloyd St, Moe)
+45 km – M39 Goulburn Valley Fwy
+17 km – M8 Western Fwy (Leigh Creek – Sunraysia Hwy)
+17 km – M79 Calder Fwy (Kyneton Main Rd – Malmsbury East Rd)
+11 km – M31 Hume Fwy (Old Hume Hwy, Craigieburn – Beveridge)

*=============================================================================*
*QUEENSLAND*
Freeways – 387 km (^398 km)
Limited-Access Highways – 135 km
*=============================================================================*

*@----- BRISBANE*

*Freeways – 243 km (^250 km)*
49 km – M3/M1 Pacific Mwy (Coronation Dr – Pimpama)
48 km – M1 Gateway Mwy
37 km – A7 Ipswich Rd (2 km) (from Keats Rd) / M7/M2 Ipswich Mwy (21 km) / A2 Warrego Hwy (to Dorman La, Blacksoil) (14 km)
36 km – M3 Gympie Arterial Rd (6 km) / M1 Bruce Hwy (Gateway Mwy – Pumicestone Rd) (30 km)
30 km – M2 Logan Mwy
13 km – M5 Western Fwy (5 km) / M5 Centenary Mwy (to Ipswich Mwy) (8 km)
10 km – Cunningham Hwy (Ipswich Mwy – Ripley Rd)
8 km – D’Aguilar Hwy (Caboolture Bypass)
*7 km – CleM7 North South Bypass Tunnel
5 km – M3 Inner City Bypass
4 km – Deagon Deviation
3 km – Moreton Bay Rd (Old Cleveland Rd – Mount Cotton Rd)

*Limited-Access Highways – 32 km*
=14 km – M5 Centenary Mwy (Garden Rd – Sinnathamby Bvd)
-8 km – Beaudesert Rd (Nottingham Rd – Johnson Rd) (4 km) / Mount Lindesay Hwy (to Park Ridge Rd) (4 km)
=6 km – Cunningham Hwy (Ripley Rd – Middle Rd, Purga)
=4 km – Port of Brisbane Mwy

*@----- GOLD COAST*

*Freeways – 69 km*
64 km – M1 Pacific Mwy (Pimpama – QLD/NSW border) (51 km), Pacific Hwy (to Chinderah, excl Banora Point) (13 km)
5 km – Smith Street Mwy (Pacific Mwy – Parklands Bvd)

*@----- SUNSHINE COAST*

*Freeways – 88 km (^92km)*
77 km – M1 Bruce Hwy (Pumicestone Rd – Cooroy, excl Roys Rd – Bells Creek Rd)
11 km – Sunshine Mwy (Bruce Hwy – Maroochydore Rd)
*4 km – Caloundra Rd (Bruce Hwy – Maroochydore-Caloundra Rd)

*Limited-Access Highways – 22 km*
=22 km – Sunshine Mwy (Maroochydore Rd – Emu Mountain Rd)

*@----- TOWNSVILLE*

*Limited-Access Highways – 4 km*
=4 km – Douglas Arterial

*@----- REGIONAL QUEENSLAND*

*Limited-Access Highways – 77 km*
77 km – Warrego Hwy (Eleazar Dr, Blacksoil – East St, East Toowoomba)

*=============================================================================*
*WESTERN AUSTRALIA*
Freeways – 144 km (^174 km)
Limited-Access Highways – 0 km (*41 km)
*=============================================================================*

*@----- PERTH*

*Freeways – 144 km (^174 km)*
^76 km – Kwinana Fwy (46 km) / Perth-Bunbury Hwy (Safety Bay Rd – Pinjarra Rd) (*30 km)
33 km – Mitchell Fwy
18 km – Tonkin Hwy (Mills Rd East – Thomas Rd)
17 km – Roe Hwy (Tonkin Hwy – Kwinana Fwy)
8 km – Tonkin Hwy (Collier Rd – Leach Hwy)
7 km – Graham Farmer Fwy
4 km – Reid Hwy (Erindale Rd – Mirrabooka Av)
4 km – Roe Hwy (Kalamunda Rd – Berkshire Rd)
4 km – Tonkin Hwy (Kewdale Rd – Hale Rd)
3 km – Great Eastern Hwy Bypass (Kalamunda Rd – Stirling Cr)

*@----- REGIONAL WESTERN AUSTRALIA*

*Limited-Access Highways – 0 km (*41 km)*
*41 km – Perth-Bunbury Hwy (Pinjarra Rd – Old Coast Rd, Australind)

*=============================================================================*
*SOUTH AUSTRALIA*
Freeways – 94 km (^117 km)
Limited-Access Highways – 15 km
*=============================================================================*

*@----- ADELAIDE*

*Freeways – 50 km (^73 km)*
*23 km – Northern Expy
21 km – M2 Southern Expy
17 km – M1 Adelaide-Crafers Hwy (10 km) / M1 South Eastern Fwy (to Mt Barker) (7 km)
7 km – A20 Gawler Bypass
5 km – A9 Port River Expy

*@----- REGIONAL SOUTH AUSTRALIA*

*Freeways – 44 km*
44 km – South Eastern Fwy (Mt Barker – Swanport Rd, Murray Bridge)

*Limited-Access Highways – 15 km*
+15 km – South Eastern Fwy (Swanport Rd, Murray Bridge – Princes Hwy)

*=============================================================================*
*TASMANIA*
Freeways – 53 km
*=============================================================================*

*@----- HOBART*

*Freeways – 39 km*
16 km – A3 Tasman Hwy
13 km – A6 Southern Outlet
10 km – Brooker Hwy (Loyd Rd – Lyell Hwy)

*@----- REGIONAL TASMANIA*

*Freeways – 14 km*
11 km – Midland Hwy (Frankland St – Evandale Rd)
3 km – East Tamar Hwy (George Town Rd – George Town Rd)

*=============================================================================*
*AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY*
Freeways – 40 km
*=============================================================================*

*@----- CANBERRA*

*Freeways – 40 km*
12 km – Tuggeranong Pkwy
10 km – Gungahlin Dr (Sandford St – Tuggeranong Pkwy)
9 km – Monaro Hwy (Dairy Rd – Tharwa Rd)
5 km – Adelaide Av (3 km) / Yarra Glen (2 km)
4 km – Parkes Way

*=============================================================================*
*NORTHERN TERRITORY*
Freeways – 0 km (*8 km)
*=============================================================================*

*@----- DARWIN*

*Freeways – 0 km (*8 km)*
*8 km – Tiger Brennan Dr






*=============================================================================*
*INTERSTATE HIGHWAYS*
*=============================================================================*

This is a list of the freeway / limited-access highway percentages of major interstate routes.

Pacific Hwy (Brisbane – Sydney): 925 km. Fwy/LimAcc: 388 km (42%)
Hume Hwy (Sydney – Melbourne): 885 km. Fwy/LimAcc: 761 km (86%)
Princes Hwy (Sydney – Melbourne): 1,035 km. Fwy/LimAcc: 268 km (26%)
Western Hwy (Melbourne – Adelaide): 728 km. Fwy/LimAcc: 217 km (30%)


----------



## ChrisZwolle

Very good. 



> fully grade-separated 2x1 highways


Aren't those called a "Super Two" or something?


----------



## deranged

^^ Thanks. 

As for super-two highways, I didn't want to list them separately because there are not many in Australia, so I just marked them with a symbol.


----------



## ajch

thanks for your replies,

its a pity that no official site account the road network but you do a excellent work

my own account using google maps
total freeways 1785 km
total expressways 438 km (hume highway, federal highway and barton highway)
total = 2223 km

West Australia - 75 km (69+6)
South Australia - 108 km (78+18+4+8)
Tasmania - 22 km (14+8)
Queensland - 244 km (121+38+8+16+13+5+4+4+35) includes a few freeway km in NSW in the Pacific freeway
New South Wales (includes ATC) - 891 km (28+22+10+6+128+46+111+6+1+2+40+53+364+67+7) includes 438 km of expressways
Victoria - 883 km (310+16+108+9+106+51+127+38+14+5+20+24+55) (includes a few freeway km in NSW in the Hume freeway)


----------



## deranged

^^ Nice work. 
That would be close to the official freeway length (Google Maps has some errors).

As I said, my list isn't official. But since the states have different standards as to what constitues a freeway (NSW relatively strict, VIC very lenient, etc), I wanted to work out what length of road could be considered "real" freeways.


.


----------



## Robosteve

*Driving video: Warringah Freeway / Gore Hill Freeway / Lane Cove Tunnel*

Length: 10.3 km / 8:48 (average speed 70 km/h)
Date: Saturday, 31st January, 2009
Time: 23:40 (approx.)

Route:


----------



## Verso

^^ Cool video, many interchanges there. How long is that tunnel? Are there many 6-lane freeways in Sydney? AFAIK the beltway is 4-laned.


----------



## Robosteve

Verso said:


> How long is that tunnel?


3.6 kilometres, according to http://www.lanecovetunnelproject.com.au/overview/project_overview.html



Verso said:


> Are there many 6-lane freeways in Sydney? AFAIK the beltway is 4-laned.


Most of Sydney's freeways were built as 2x2 with no reserve for future widening, a move which I do not understand at all, as many of them come to a complete halt more than 20 kilometres away from the CBD during peak hour. There are a few 2x3 freeways though; the M4 is 2x3 for most of its length I think, and parts of the M2, F3 and F5 are in the process of being widened to 2x3 or 2x4, or have planned future widening.

The orbital motorway is 2x2 for most of its length, but there are exceptional sections; the motorways in that video are actually part of the orbital. Apart from those, part of the M2 is 3+2, parts of the Cahill Expressway and Eastern Distributor are 2x3, Southern Cross Drive is 2x3 and the short section of General Holmes Drive that is part of the orbital is 2x4. Also, due to the interchange design between the M5 and the M7, there is only one through lane in each direction for traffic wishing to remain on the orbital.


----------



## Verso

^^ Thanks for the answer, yes, I meant the western part of the orbital, the eastern part is of course too 'central' to be just 2×2.


----------



## deranged

Great video, Robosteve! kay:


----------



## Robosteve

*Driving video: M4 Western Motorway eastbound*
*Part I: Great Western Highway, Lapstone to Roper Road, Colyton*

Length: 17.9 km / 9:22 (average speed 115 km/h)
Date: Saturday, 28th February, 2009
Time: 15:30 (approx.)

Route:
















This video should feature the song "Willie The Pimp", but it was muted by YouTube. Also, the first section of road is not part of the motorway, but the Great Western Highway coming down from the mountains. You can see a "Start Freeway" sign shortly after the speed limit changes to 90 km/h, at about 0:46.


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## Verso

^^ Right-lane hogger.  Nice vid; how come this motorway is so short? Or even worse, how come no part of the Hume Hwy (Sydney - Melbourne) is motorway in NSW, while in Victoria it's motorway in its entire length?


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## Robosteve

Verso said:


> Nice vid; how come this motorway is so short?


It was always planned to end where it does in the west, but its eastern terminus was the best highway engineers could do after the anti-freeway government in the 1970s sold all the reserved land between Concord and the CBD. :bash: The government's solution to a highway through the mountains west of here, by the way, is not to extend the Western Motorway further, but to upgrade the Great Western Highway to 2x2 going straight through the middle of towns, so you still have 60 km/h sections with signalised intersections. I assume this is because of NIMBYs, greenies and/or the government not wanting to spend its precious money that pays politicians' salaries.

A while back they were thinking of finally connecting the M4 all the way to the CBD via a tunnel. Here is what became of those plans, which I take to be political bullshit for "we don't want to build it".



Verso said:


> Or even worse, how come no part of the Hume Hwy (Sydney - Melbourne) is motorway in NSW, while in Victoria it's motorway in its entire length?


The main reason for that is simply a difference in definition. Victorians are more lenient in their definition of what makes a freeway, so they call the entire highway in their state a freeway. Here in NSW the definition is much stricter, so the highway doesn't qualify, even though most of it is of similar standard. There are a few sections in NSW which would not be considered freeway even in Victoria, though; the Federal Government wants to bypass or upgrade all of them by 2012, and at least one (the Sheahan Bridge duplication in Gundagai) is already under construction.


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## Robosteve

*Driving video: Sydney Harbour Tunnel / Eastern Distributor / Southern Cross Drive*
_Military Road, Neutral Bay to The Grand Parade, Brighton-Le-Sands_

Length: 19.3 km / 10:00 @ 1.744x (average actual speed 66 km/h, average apparent speed 116 km/h)
Date: Sunday, 8th March 2009
Time: 14:00 (approx.)

Route:















Notes:

* - The entire video was filmed on route MR1, except for 0:00 to 0:25 which was filmed on MR10.

0:05 - This road gets extremely congested in the AM peak, since the freeway north from the CBD never got completed.

0:20 - Left to harbour crossings, right onto the Warringah Freeway northbound, or straight for local access to North Sydney and St Leonards.

0:25 - We make a left turn towards the Sydney Harbour Tunnel.

0:30 - We take the right fork; the left goes to the Harbour Bridge.

0:50 - 60 km/h speed limit through the (fully electronic) toll collection point. :nuts:

1:00 - But, back up to 80 km/h through the tunnel. There's only one road tunnel in Sydney with a speed limit higher than 80 km/h.

1:30 - The Sydney Harbour Tunnel was opened in 1994. Unlike the Sydney Harbour Bridge, its function is not to carry traffic directly into the CBD, but rather to help bypass it.

2:30 - Now we are on the Cahill Expressway, Sydney's first freeway. The section we are driving on was opened in 1962. It now forms a seamless link with the Harbour Tunnel to the north and the Eastern Distributor to the south, as part of the orbital motorway.

3:00 - The Eastern Distributor. It was originally planned as a surface motorway in the 1950s, but now most of it is in tunnel.

3:20 - We are on the lower deck of a double decker tunnel.

3:35 - Traffic from the Cross City Tunnel enters here on the right.

4:10 - This part of the Eastern Distributor was constructed as a cutting in the middle of South Dowling Street. It was not part of the original plans, which would have turned east to end up in Bondi as what is now Syd Einfeld Drive. The plans were modified in the 1980s to accommodate the orbital.

5:05 - Now, the Eastern Distributor becomes Southern Cross Drive. There's really no reason for the name change, except that Southern Cross Drive was around first - it used to simply dump all its traffic onto South Dowling Street.

6:30 - Southern Cross Drive used to end here, but it was always planned to continue further.

7:10 - Traffic wanting the Domestic terminal at the airport must exit to the right here.

7:40 - We are now on General Holmes Drive, still part of the orbital.

8:15 - Inside the Airport Tunnel, where General Holmes Drive passes under the north-south runway.

8:30 - The M5 motorway diverges to the left here. The M5 represents the continuation of the orbital from here, but we continue straight along General Holmes Drive (MR1).

8:40 - These viaducts carry the M5 over us and into a tunnel.

9:15 - 60 km/h speed limit as we enter Brighton-Le-Sands.

9:40 - General Holmes Drive has now become The Grand Parade.

9:55 - Brighton-Le-Sands. Some genius in the 1970s decided it was a good idea not to build the F6 freeway in Sydney, and to make this the main highway between Sydney and its southern suburbs instead. :bash:


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## Verso

Another great videos, especially the second one looks like a very interesting drive with all the tunnels and urban feeling. Excellent notes too, gives you sth to read meanwhile.


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## Robosteve

The plans for the upgrade of the M2 in Sydney:










Source: http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/constructionmaintenance/majorconstructionprojectssydney/m2/index.html


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## Robosteve

Ugh. It looks like there's going to be the same difference in definition between states as to what constitutes an "M" road with the new alphanumeric route numbering system as there currently is with the definition of a freeway. I found this picture on OzRoads:










Source: http://www.ozroads.com.au/NSW/Special/MAB/evidence.htm

This part of the Hume Highway (currently NH31) near Marulan is dual carriageway 2x2 with all important junctions grade-separated and a speed limit of 110 km/h, with some at-grade local access roads. So why number it A31 and not M31?

In Victoria, this road is numbered M1 (although not for much longer; the Geelong Ring Road should be finished soon), yet in NSW they won't even give an "M" designation to a high speed limited access dual carriageway. This means that there will be no M31 connecting Sydney and Melbourne; it's going to be M31 from the outer limits of Sydney's metro area to about Berrima, then A31 through rural NSW, and then M31 again from Albury to where it hits the M80 (Melbourne's ring road).

Also, here is a sign approaching the eastern entrance to the Cross City Tunnel. Notice it says "To A4 Western Suburbs", implying that the Western Distributor isn't going to be an "M" road either, despite having always been legally a freeway.










Source: http://www.ozroads.com.au/NSW/Special/MAB/evidence.htm


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## crazyknightsfan

Robosteve said:


> So why number it A31 and not M31?


AFAIK, RTA intended to only sign declared freeways as 'M' standard routes - the freeway of course ends at Mereworth Road near Berrima. 

That said, a new sign that went in 2007 as part of the Bowning Bypass project has an M31 shield so maybe they have changed their mind?












> Also, here is a sign approaching the eastern entrance to the Cross City Tunnel. Notice it says "To A4 Western Suburbs", implying that the Western Distributor isn't going to be an "M" road either, despite having always been legally a freeway.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Source: http://www.ozroads.com.au/NSW/Special/MAB/evidence.htm


Western Distributor is not a declared freeway. Although the viaducts over Darling Harbour were referred to as Stage 1 of the F3 when they were built, I'm not sure that it was ever declared a freeway.


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## essendon bombers

The Australian states are making a mess of new route numbering systems; its inconsistencies astounding.

I've said this before on another forum and got some slack for it, but I don't think Australia needs alphanumeric numbering on its roads. The shield system that we used to have is much better.


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## sky6one

Hi, I would like to share some photos of Sydney M4 and M7 (Motorway)

I toke them in my way to Katoomba


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## sky6one

Few more in South Sydney


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## timmy- brissy

Looks very good not hugely busy though which is good.


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## sky6one

Few photos I toke them in my way to Lithgow


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## crazyknightsfan

^^

Nice shots, especially those of Victoria Pass. Love the lighting. 

It's a shame you didn't travel to Bathurst - the trip from Lithgow to Bathurst is one of my favourite in Australia.


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## rick1016

Nice pictures. It seems to me that they don't have the speed limits marked on the road as much in Victoria as they do in New South Wales.

Like this:


----------



## -Pino-

essendon bombers said:


> I've said this before on another forum and got some slack for it, but I don't think Australia needs alphanumeric numbering on its roads. The shield system that we used to have is much better.


I like the idea of making a distinction between M, A, B and C (even D if you're from South Australia). For the driver, it is much more interesting to know the standard of a road than what was done previously, namely showing who operates the road. What's the added value of knowing that the Buntine Highway is a national road if you're not told that it's actually a dirt road you might want to avoid, but that the Kakadu Highway may be a state road, but smooth bitumen? Australia's old numbering does not show that State Route 72 in Perth is a freeway, while State Route 5 is not. That's not what I like to see in my road numbering.

The problem in the new numbering is not in the change to alphanumeric, but the way individual states have completely gone their own way in deciding which road bears which number. The former national grid has been completely messed up. You have Queensland where former national numbers were changed into single-digit routes that won't cross the state border. You have SA that retained the former national grid but placed local road numbers in between that have nothing to do with that former grid. And you've got Victoria that may have retained the old numbers and has only used three-digit numbers for state routes, but where there has been no system whatsoever in linking the two-digit numbers and the three-digit numbers in a comprehensible way. 

Australia would have been much better off if the alphanumeric routes would have been imposed from the federal level, with states, if anything, only being entitled to name single-digit metroads and which state routes they would like to see as three-digit alphanumeric routes. Doing so would have lead to a sensible system, as opposed to the mess created now by the individual states and territories.


----------



## vissiman_m31

-Pino- said:


> And you've got Victoria that may have retained the old numbers and has only used three-digit numbers for state routes, but where there has been no system whatsoever in linking the two-digit numbers and the three-digit numbers in a comprehensible way.


I'm not sure if I follow 100%, the first bit I'm assuming you are talking about how Melbourne has retained the Metropolitan Route Numbering Scheme (blue shields) while the rest of the state has been converted? How the system was be installed in metropolitan Melbourne hasn't been decided yet. As there are only a handful of 3 digit alphanumerics at the fringe of the metropolitan area, it isn't a major problem in terms of transition.

The 'linking' of three digit alphanumeric routes to two digit alphanumeric routes does have guidelines. For example the 'loop route' numbering rule, whereby a route which starts and ends at the same parent route contains digits of the parent route. A good example is C312 along NH-M31, it's the second loop route north along the M31 from Melbourne. C313 is the third loop route, and so on.

And please don't use the term "State Route" when talking solely about the alphanumeric system, as State Routes themselves are a type of route numbering (the 'old' system).



> Australia would have been much better off if the alphanumeric routes would have been imposed from the federal level, with states, if anything, only being entitled to name single-digit metroads and which state routes they would like to see as three-digit alphanumeric routes. Doing so would have lead to a sensible system, as opposed to the mess created now by the individual states and territories.


Agreed, it's slowly turning into a dog's breakfast in relevance to interstate routes.


----------



## crazyknightsfan

crazyknightsfan said:


> Western Distributor is not a declared freeway. Although the viaducts over Darling Harbour were referred to as Stage 1 of the F3 when they were built, I'm not sure that it was ever declared a freeway.


Apologies, this is incorrect. Western Distributor is indeed a declared freeway, however is not marked with the end/start freeway signs like it needs to be to have freeway road rules enforced.


----------



## -Pino-

vissiman_m31 said:


> I'm not sure if I follow 100%, the first bit I'm assuming you are talking about how Melbourne has retained the Metropolitan Route Numbering Scheme (blue shields) while the rest of the state has been converted?


No, my point was that the national highways/routes in Victoria have been converted into alphanumeric routes with the same number, i.e. NH 8 becoming A8, NR 23 becoming B23, NR 12 becoming B12 etc.

The loop numbering from the M31 seems to have its logic, but what I never really comprehended is how the two-digit numbers (i.e. former national routes and highways) ascend from east to west (B23 in the east, A79 in the west, the three-digit numbers seem to do the opposite with the B200 in the west and the B612 in the east. How can those ever tie in?

I know that state route is an obsolete term, but I couldn't find a better way to describe routes that were not in the former national grid.


----------



## vissiman_m31

-Pino- said:


> No, my point was that the national highways/routes in Victoria have been converted into alphanumeric routes with the same number, i.e. NH 8 becoming A8, NR 23 becoming B23, NR 12 becoming B12 etc.
> 
> The loop numbering from the M31 seems to have its logic, but what I never really comprehended is how the two-digit numbers (i.e. former national routes and highways) ascend from east to west (B23 in the east, A79 in the west, the three-digit numbers seem to do the opposite with the B200 in the west and the B612 in the east. How can those ever tie in?


That's because they don't. Those former National Highways/Routes kept their number as they were interstate routes. Since the National Routes already had an established grid system of numbers, it was decided it would be easier to maintain those numbers, as outlined under Australian Standards 1742 (the national guidelines for alphanumeric routes - note it's a 'guideline'), rather than start with something new. 

Intrastate routes in Victoria are numbered by zone, as shown here:
http://mrv.ozroads.com.au/SRNS/class/class.htm#NR

There are 7 zones, increasing clockwise from the South Western Region to Eastern Region of the state, with outer Melbourne as Zone 7.

Whether they tie in or not is irrelevant when compared to how some interstate route will/are not carrying the same number across the border - such as B23, its has been reported it will be B80 in NSW :bash:

Of course you could have started with a new national grid of numbers, giving states certain zones and numbering rules, but you run the risk of running out of numbers, Victoria alone has about 380 C routes. Anything with more than 3 digits is a no-no in my books.



> I know that state route is an obsolete term, but I couldn't find a better way to describe routes that were not in the former national grid.


Just called them alphanumeric routes, or M, A, B, C routes - something that doesn't involve another route number entity . The formal name for alphanumerics in Victoria is the 'Statewide Route Numbering Scheme'.


----------



## -Pino-

vissiman_m31 said:


> Whether they tie in or not is irrelevant when compared to how some interstate route will/are not carrying the same number across the border - such as B23, its has been reported it will be B80 in NSW :bash:


Agree that the numbering changes in interstate routes are the most problematic part of it all. Can't understand someone has permitted that to happen. But still, I believe there are good reasons to align the interstate grid and the statewide numbering scheme rather than the two just co-existing without any integration. If you take the A/M31 for instance, wouldn't it be helpful if the three-digit routes somehow reflected that you're close to this national axis? It could be done by using numbers like B311 or C319 for routes in the vicinity and also numbering like C33[0-9] for routes slightly to the east and B29[0-9] for routes slightly to the west.

A numbering system like that would enable the driver to position himself relative to the routes that are in the national grid and thereby to find the way to the through roads. Anyway, it doesn't make any sense to change it all back now. Makes a nice what-if though to work out an alphanumeric system for Australia that would have made more sense.



vissiman_m31 said:


> Of course you could have started with a new national grid of numbers, giving states certain zones and numbering rules, but you run the risk of running out of numbers, Victoria alone has about 380 C routes. Anything with more than 3 digits is a no-no in my books.


Well, maybe 380 numbered roads for a state like Victoria is a bit over the top? I'm not as much into Victorian roads as you are, but you would expect that a lot of them are roads with a very local function only. Unless you really want every minor road numbered, you'd have to consider not numbering those. Just as was the case prior to the alphanumeric days. And if you do want to number, 4 digits may not be all that bad, since a 4-digit number will generally reflect the limited importance of the road.


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## sky6one

Few photos I toke them in my way to Canberra on 01/May/2009 

Photos start in Liverpool area






















More photos coming soon


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## sky6one




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## sky6one

Photos in Canberra City












and few more photos coming back home (Sydney) 





:cheers:


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## timmy- brissy

^^ None of the pictures are showing for me???


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## timmy- brissy

Lol , stupid PC! But the photo's were great and Canberra has a good network it looks like.


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## sky6one

timmy- brissy said:


> ^^ None of the pictures are showing for me???


Maybe you hiding behind the trees :lol:


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## essendon bombers

Great pictures of Canberra!

I never want to see any other type of tree around Parliament house then gum trees.


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## spacetweek

Hi guys

Used to live in Oz and am wondering what the status is with the Melb-Syd and Syd-Brissy freeway/duplication projects. I can't find much info on the latest developments on the web.

My impression is that things are currently:

- Melb-Syd VIC section: Freeway complete
- Melb-Syd NSW section: Some recent duplication projects completed. A handful remain. However no plan to ever make the full route a motorway.
- Brissy-Syd QLD setion: Freeway complete.
- Brissy-Syd NSW section: Little progress between Newcastle and the border. Unclear whether this will just be duplication or a full freeway, on a new alignment.

Will there ever be an Adelaide-Melbourne freeway?


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## Bofter

Both Melbourne-Sydney and Sydney-Brisbane duplications are still under construction. The RTA website (www.rta.nsw.gov.au) is probably the best place to go for information as NSW is where the remaining single carriageway sections are.

With respect to other city pairs becoming duplicated, I can't see it happening. Some further parts of the corridor may be duplicated, as is happening for Melbourne-Adelaide, but not the lot. If you look at http://www.bitre.gov.au/publications/00/Files/BITRE_WP75.pdf you can find intercity traffic forecasts through to 2030. Given it's a 360 page document, I thought I would summarise here for you. Looking at the section with the *lowest *volumes between the two capitals tells the story as to why. Volumes are 2-way AADT forecasts for 2030.

Corridor Lowest Section Volume for all vehicles (heavy vehicles)

Melbourne-Sydney (Hume / Rte 31) 6248 (2170)
Sydney-Brisbane (New England / Rte 15) 2746 (557)
Sydney-Brisbane (Pacific / Rte 1) 13430 (1965)
Sydney-Adelaide 1289 (466)
Melbourne-Brisbane (Newell / Rte 39) 1696 (462)
Melbourne-Adelaide (Western / Rte 8) 3258 (1240)
Brisbane-Darwin 357 (63)
Adelaide-Perth 401 (145)
Adelaide-Darwin 444 (43)
Perth-Darwin 224 (81)


If anyone is wondering why Sydney-Brisbane has heavier traffic than Sydney-Melbourne this is due to significant local traffic on this corridor.

As you can see from these volumes, duplication Melbourne-Sydney is around road safety and nation building rather than capacity. Duplication Sydney-Brisbane is around safety, a capacity to an extent. Elsewhere, look to see more overtaking lanes and wire-rope safety barrier along with duplication only of the busiest sections.


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## essendon bombers

Hi spacetweek,

Current plans for Melbourne-Adelaide is to duplicate Ballarat-Stawell section in Victoria by 2014-15.

The goal for Hume Hwy is to have all duplicated complete by 2012 bar a couple of sections which require further investigation and planning. I recently drove on the southern NSW section o fthe Hume and was quite impressed with the pace of construction works.

The goal for Pacific Hwy is to have majority duplicated by 2016. Ballina-Coffs Harbour section probably only remaining section unduplicated in 2016.

Recent budget initiative include the Hunter Exwy (on New England Hwy / Rte 15) and Cooroy-Curra duplication (Bruce Hwy north of Brisbane / Rte 1)

The Northern Exwy in Adelaide is soon to be built and will provide a northern outlet in Adelaide for Sydney-Adelaide corridor.


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## KIWIKAAS

Nice pic of the rush hour in Perth, WA



matt.perth said:


> inner city perth at rush hour
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/cameronp/2887458220/


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## ChrisZwolle

They drive... chaotic... Typically merging as fast as possible, even before it's actually allowed. These people increase congestion.. just keep the same pace as traffic and then merge. This way, it takes a lot of time before traffic will flow again.


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## KIWIKAAS

Yes, it is a bit messy isn't it


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## Bofter

The ministerial ribbon cutting scissors have had quite a work out in Victoria over the last few months.

*M8 Western Freeway - Deer Park Bypass*
9.3km, opened 5 April 2009
While there are still some sections lacking access control, this means no traffic signals between Melbourne and somewhere west of Ballarat









*M79 Calder Freeway - Elphinstone to Harcourt North*
19km, opened 20 April 2009
The opening of this section completed the duplication to Bendigo

*M1 Princes Freeway - Geelong Ring Road Section 3*
7.5km, opened 14 June 2009
This essentially completes the bypass of Geelong, although further work is continuing (on the imaginatively named Section 4A, 4B and ultimately 4C) to improve links at the southern end.









The back half of 2009 will see completion of constructions of more sections of the M1 Upgrade in Melbourne, including a section of fully managed freeway (ramp signals, variable speed limits, lane control, etc).









2008 was also a big year for completing road projects, with the EastLink tollway, parts of the Calder Freeway, the first sections of the Geelong Ring Road and even a section of the Goulburn Valley Highway/Freeway. Maybe also a section of the Bass Highway on the way down to the penguins at Phillip Island, I never quite keep track of all the stages of construction down that way.

2010 on the other hand looks a little quieter for openings, with most projects that will be underway somewhat earlier in their life.

For those hoping for more photos or maps, I am afraid that google maps hasn't really kept up with all the excitement and while I have driven on a number of the sections my girlfriend would be rather unimpressed if I stopped to get out a camera.


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## rohjoe

*Eastlink*

A few recent Eastlink pics...

Springvale Road Interchange









Ringwood Bypass Interchange









Tom Wills Interchange (Monash Fwy)









Princes Hwy Interchange


----------



## ChrisZwolle

Nice SPUI on that second pic.

Great area to live in by the way... lots of trees, quiet neighborhoods.


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## aussiescraperman

in the second pic, i live near the top left, near all those white buildings. nunawading is kinda crap, but the area isnt' that bad overall.


----------



## KIWIKAAS

Here's a cool one of the newly completed Dear Park Bypass.

www.panoramio.com/photo/20811584


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## Jardoga

The skyline dominates that pic, its great


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## city_thing

Some photos from an enormous new motorway tunnel being built in Brisbane, named the North South Bypass Tunnel.




















TOCC said:


> Clem Jones Tunnel and the artwork at the entrances, they are designed to help with transition lighting to allow your eyes to adjust to the tunnel.





exocet said:


> Aerial shots of Clem7:




Another huge tunnel being built in Brisbane, which will connect to the NSBT and then carry on to the airport.


























Not sure if this third tunnel has started construction or what. Someone else will have to verify it.

The interchange between the NSBT and Airport Link...











And here's a nice picture of an interchange in Perth










And here's a link to the Freeways thread in the Australian forums...

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=483614

Blah blah blah...


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## ChrisZwolle

Very impressive 

What are the specs of this tunnel? (length, cost etc.)


----------



## city_thing

ChrisZwolle said:


> Very impressive
> 
> What are the specs of this tunnel? (length, cost etc.)


According to Wiki, the NSBT is $3.2B AUD. The motorway itself is 6.8km, and the tunnel is 4.3km

The Airport Link is to cost $3.4B AUD, and I can't see it's length anywhere, though I guess it's 7 or 8km's of tunnel.

The third tunnel (the picture didn't work in my previous post) seems just as long and expensive.










From what I can gather, that third tunnel (the Northern Link) will connect up to the inner city bypass (another already built freeway tunnel) which then connects up to the NSBT and Airport Link.

One of the Queensland guys will be much better at explaining this than me :lol:

I know that Brisbane's also been doing some heavy investment in their existing motorways too, with major upgrades on one in particular (Ipswich Motorway)


----------



## city_thing

^^ Excellent posts. NearMap really is a blessing, especially with its monthly updates and super-clear images. 

Anyway, here's some photos from the open day at the Clem7 Tunnel is Brisbane, taken by the fantastic Ozscrapers forumer Aussie Bhoy. The tunnel is to open soon, and today Brisbanites were allowed to walk through it.



Aussie Bhoy said:


> The Clem 7 had it's open to the public day today. I started off at Shafston Av, walked to Bowen Hills, and then back through the full tunnel length to Buranda. Damn long tunnel, I can safely say from experience (longest road tunnel in Australia?).
> 
> Huge stuff up at the Ipswich Rd end, very poor planning, a lot of people wanted to walk out at that exit, but there was a gate barrier and 2 security guards telling everyone they had to get a bus back to Bowen Hills, and the bus line was huge, at least 300 metres and growing constantly. As you could see the exit, myself and a number of people just climbed over it and out. How could they have stuffed it so badly, there were plenty of people bitching in that bus line, and I bet a few others followed us fence jumpers. All the advertising material said walk through the new tunnel, nothing about walk 95% of the way and line up for an hour to get a bus back to where you started.


----------



## city_thing

annman said:


> ^^ Really impressive. VICRoads has been outdone... never thought that would happen soon. :cheers:
> 
> Even though it has taken ages for the Australian cities to catch on the proper high-speed road networks within their city-proper's, it has been a blessing in disguise. If one looks at US cities, often their CBD's are held hostage to unsightly and divisive freeways that criss-cross their urban fabric, splitting it into small, pedestrian unfriendly bits.
> 
> Australian cities, due to the late development of inner-city freeways, has meant built areas cannot be expropriated effectively and expenses to build them are high, as they're often tunneled or cut-and-covered. This however, leaves the urban fabric intact above and keeps unsightly lanes-and-lanes of traffic below ground. Although costly, the benefits to your cities' aesthetics and human-functioning are very high!
> 
> Plus, having a late development of these freeways has allowed for public transit options to be better developed and urban densification to occur. This is always a good thing for effective transport and mitigation of urban sprawl.


You're very correct. It's great that Australia didn't really build too many freeways through our city centres (the Kwinana Freeyway in Perth and Western Distributor in Sydney tore through though) and now we have the knowledge and tastes to stick them underground, where they belong.


----------



## city_thing

I quite like this picture of Brisbane, showing the Riverside Expressway hanging onto the edge of the peninsular the CBD is located on.










You can see the expressway on this aerial picture, on the Western edge of the City Centre.










And here's a picture from Perth, the capital city of Western Australia. You can see the Kwinana Freeway passing by the city's CBD where it interchanges with the Northbridge Tunnel and continues on towards the Northern suburbs. This freeway was one of the few in the country to have been built through an old part of the city with many buildings lost to the wreckers' ball. There's plans to cover the freeway in order to reconnect the CBD to West Perth.


----------



## rohjoe

city_thing said:


> Anyway, here's some photos from the open day at the Clem7 Tunnel is Brisbane, taken by the fantastic Ozscrapers forumer Aussie Bhoy. The tunnel is to open soon, and today Brisbanites were allowed to walk through it.


I love the cool designs at the tunnel portals - like driving into the alien mother ship. :lol:


----------



## Dimethyltryptamine

^^


> Steel and aluminium sculptures at the tunnel entrances act as a transitional light filter. They were designed by architect, John Ilett who also designed the colourful exhaust fume stacks. The red and purple stacks were inspired by the colours of the jacaranda and poinciana trees. Included in the project's design are a series of urban enhancements such as parklands and road widening in adjacent suburbs.


----------



## matty89

Pacific Motorway at Pimpama, North




Looking South


----------



## enkay

Is that little yellow retro-golfcart-ish thing in the last pic permitted on motorways?


----------



## mubd

enkay said:


> Is that little yellow retro-golfcart-ish thing in the last pic permitted on motorways?


If it goes 110km/h, I can't see why not.


----------



## Morjo

enkay said:


> Is that little yellow retro-golfcart-ish thing in the last pic permitted on motorways?


lol, it shouldn't be really, I haven't seen one of those cars in years. I would imagine it would do over 100k's though. The authorities aren't really that strict on the types of vehicles that can be used on our motorways, just as long as it's not a push bike :lol:


----------



## Dimethyltryptamine

Well they are in the slow lane :lol:


Here's another one of the Pacific Motorway at Beenleigh heading toward the Gold Coast.









http://www.flickr.com/photos/monkeyc/129114389/sizes/l/



And here is a video of people driving though Brisbane's new Clem7 Tunnel

(opening night)





and a time lapse (not from opening night)


----------



## TaterTot

Dimethyltryptamine said:


> Well they are in the slow lane :lol:
> 
> thanks for answering a question I was going to ask... where the slow lane is when you're driving on the left.


----------



## nerdly_dood

TaterTot said:


> Dimethyltryptamine said:
> 
> 
> 
> Well they are in the slow lane :lol:
> 
> thanks for answering a question I was going to ask... where the slow lane is when you're driving on the left.
> 
> 
> 
> Yeah, I never have precisely known whether the slow lanes are always on the right, regardless of left-hand or right-hand traffic, or always on the outer edge. I think I understand now.
Click to expand...


----------



## I-275westcoastfl

That time lapse video was pretty cool.


----------



## CairnsTony

city_thing said:


> You're very correct. It's great that Australia didn't really build too many freeways through our city centres (the Kwinana Freeyway in Perth and Western Distributor in Sydney tore through though) and now we have the knowledge and tastes to stick them underground, where they belong.


I have to agree with that! 

The planned Cairns southern freeway will all be above ground though, but I guess a tunnel isn't considered necessary for this project. It won't provide a duplicate route through the southern suburbs however, but merely be an upgrade of the existing Bruce Highway. This road is a nightmare at rush hour and there are many accidents. With the plans for a major new settlement in the Mount Peter area between Edmonton and Gordonvale, only having one highway route option into the city seems folly to me.


----------



## Morjo

Dimethyltryptamine said:


> Well they are in the slow lane :lol:
> 
> 
> Here's another one of the Pacific Motorway at Beenleigh heading toward the Gold Coast.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/monkeyc/129114389/sizes/l/
> 
> 
> 
> And here is a video of people driving though Brisbane's new Clem7 Tunnel
> 
> (opening night)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> and a time lapse (not from opening night)


Pitty the tunnel is only two lanes each way, I know it costs a lot more, but it should be three lanes, to accomidate for future population growth.


----------



## ChrisZwolle

:cheers:


----------



## Dimethyltryptamine

Love dust storms


----------



## city_thing

ChrisZwolle said:


> :cheers:


Jesus! 

Why would you drive into it? I'd start crying and drive in the other direction.

I wonder if that was the same dust storm that ate Sydney?


----------



## Dimethyltryptamine

The $2.12 billion Gateway Upgrade is well under way with the second bridge completed just the other week.









http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/4610984304/sizes/l/

I think that soon all 12 lanes will be working


----------



## Revenant

Intersection in Melbourne:


----------



## Revenant

*Some pics from my trip Melbourne to Renmark*

*Mildura, Victoria*

More or less a desert in the northwestern most corner of Victoria




























Typical scene in Mildura from the highway...basically just Wineries and citrus plantations as far as the eye can see










South Australian Border - You can't bring certain food products into the state so they check your car












*Melbourne*


----------



## Lijman

..


----------



## CairnsTony

The Sydney-Newcastle Freeway is an amazing bit of engineering and travels through some spectacular scenery! Hard to believe sometimes that a city of nearly five million souls has such extensive dense and rugged bushland right on its doorstep.


----------



## Lijman

..


----------



## Dimethyltryptamine

*Clem7, Inner City Bypass, & Bowen Bridge Road interchange* (Brisbane)









http://www.flickr.com/photos/matyiii/4687659077/sizes/o/in/photostream/


----------



## Dimethyltryptamine

*Bradfield Highway* (Brisbane)









http://www.flickr.com/photos/obliterated/5077363759/sizes/l/in/photostream/


----------



## ChrisZwolle

Burke Developmental Road, QLD


----------



## Nuclear Winter

^^^ Does that mean no fuel for 540km... in other words the nearest village is 540 kms away   Wow that's pretty much the entire distance across most European countries!


----------



## sotonsi

Australia is a very big place, with lots of empty space in parts of the interior.


----------



## ChrisZwolle

Not only the interior, even 100 km away from the major metropolises are sparsely populated compared to Europe. For example in New South Wales, the most populous Australian state, the biggest non-coastal city is Wagga Wagga with only 56,000 inhabitants!


----------



## CairnsTony

Nuclear Winter said:


> ^^^ Does that mean no fuel for 540km... in other words the nearest village is 540 kms away   Wow that's pretty much the entire distance across most European countries!


Cape York, which more or less starts immediately north of my town Cairns is bigger than the UK. It's largest settlement is Thursday Island with 2700 people. There are no more than about 20K people in the entire area and it isn't even the outback.


----------



## Haljackey

Some of the most remote areas in the world within the interior of Australia. 

Great pictures everyone! I like the contrast from a high capacity urban freeway to an "unsealed" dirt road in the middle of nowhere.


----------



## ChrisZwolle

They have Opal fuel in remote areas of Australia to prevent petrol sniffing by indigenous Australians. (they sniff petrol to get high). Diesel or Opal doesn't have this problem.


----------



## Verso

Hope to drive here soon (but only until this sign ):









_http://www.panoramio.com/photo/39566389 by Aleksandra Srsa_


----------



## CairnsTony

I was in Mt. Molloy on Saturday. It's about one and a half hour's drive from Cairns.

The road to Lakeland is sealed, as is the road to Cooktown. Going north from Lakeland is mostly unsealed. The road can be closed after heavy rain due to flooding. This is somewhat unlikely in the dry season, and even coming into the wet as we are now, it's generally OK to drive. Large trucks from Weipa, a mining town, use it all the time.

I thoroughly recommend it for anyone on holiday here, especially if you can get to the spectacular Iron Ranges down the Portland Road (not marked on this sign); it's a great adventure through one of Australia's largest remaining wildernesses.


----------



## ChrisZwolle

Australia is known for its remote roads. A particularly remote road is the Carpentaria Highway section of the Highway 1, which encircles the Australian continent. It has 33 AADT! 

Well, most through traffic uses the Barkly Highway, but that road also does not get more than 250 vehicles per day. 

It's always funny how they denote places on a map, for example Barkly Homestead, which looks like quite an important place along the Barkly Highway. In reality, it's not more than a gas station and 3 buildings. And it's the only populated place on the 450 kilometre section of the Barkly Highway in the Northern Territory.

If you enter the Eyre Highway at Norseman, the first 100+ population town is no less than 1,200 kilometers away!

Such loneliness is just not understandable for a Dutchman like me where the most remote backroads still receive more than 500 vehicles per day in the Netherlands.


----------



## Shifty2k5

ChrisZwolle said:


> Australia is known for its remote roads. A particularly remote road is the Carpentaria Highway section of the Highway 1, which encircles the Australian continent. It has 33 AADT!
> 
> Well, most through traffic uses the Barkly Highway, but that road also does not get more than 250 vehicles per day.
> 
> It's always funny how they denote places on a map, for example Barkly Homestead, which looks like quite an important place along the Barkly Highway. In reality, it's not more than a gas station and 3 buildings. And it's the only populated place on the 450 kilometre section of the Barkly Highway in the Northern Territory.
> 
> If you enter the Eyre Highway at Norseman, the first 100+ population town is no less than 1,200 kilometers away!
> 
> Such loneliness is just not understandable for a Dutchman like me where the most remote backroads still receive more than 500 vehicles per day in the Netherlands.



Good post Chris.

I suddenly got the urge to do a roadtrip on highway 1 all the way around australia. I'll just have to remember to bring lots of gas


----------



## -Pino-

Not sure about the part close to the Gulf of Carpentaria, but no need to worry about fuel on any other part of Highway 1. It would be exceptional to have intervals between fuel stations in excess of 100 kilometers.

For the rest, Chris' story about towns like Barkly Homestead are telling. From my drive down Stuart Highway, I remember all too well how you would count down to the next town on the basis of roadside markers indicating the distance to the nearest town (they appear every 10 km), signs indicating the distance to a hospital (first posted at 75 km) and the odd distance signs, only to arrive in a time which you will leave before you know it.


----------



## Shifty2k5

-Pino- said:


> Not sure about the part close to the Gulf of Carpentaria, but no need to worry about fuel on any other part of Highway 1. It would be exceptional to have intervals between fuel stations in excess of 100 kilometers.
> 
> For the rest, Chris' story about towns like Barkly Homestead are telling. From my drive down Stuart Highway, I remember all too well how you would count down to the next town on the basis of roadside markers indicating the distance to the nearest town (they appear every 10 km), signs indicating the distance to a hospital (first posted at 75 km) and the odd distance signs, only to arrive in a time which you will leave before you know it.



Really? That sounds too good to be true. This would truly be the ultimate roadtrip if you're interested in seeing something other than just big cities. I've tried google but I cant really seem to find any good blogs or diaries by people who drove this stretch. 

14500 km, I guess that's doable in round 2 months or something. Maybe you'll grow tired. And rental will be expensive. I should probably start saving now


----------



## ChrisZwolle

Not all of Highway 1 seems to be paved, especially in Queensland.


----------



## tall_dreams

Great wish we had such highways in India.


----------



## Master of Disguise

We do have few better highways than those.....just few though...Australian highways are good though....


----------



## Master of Disguise

That Lawrence Hargrave Drive , Sea Cliff Bridge is amazing....wow


----------



## Dimethyltryptamine

Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges (Brisbane, Queensland)


Summer Nights by itsgottabered, on Flickr

mjc-2010-12-15-7358 by wiccked, on Flickr


----------



## AtD

Not nearly enough variable speed limit signs. I only count 24. How are we expected to know the speed limit when there's only 12 signs?


----------



## Verso

That bridge is worth the money you have to give to drive over it.


----------



## essendon bombers

Shit I broke the links of photos on post #661; I'll repost them.


----------



## essendon bombers

Three photos from the Dandenong Ranges just outside Melbourne. These were taken a few months ago the weather today is not quite as nice.

The train in the first photo is 'Puffing Billy".


----------



## natfat madd

Dimethyltryptamine said:


> Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges (Brisbane, Queensland)
> 
> 
> Summer Nights by itsgottabered, on Flickr
> 
> mjc-2010-12-15-7358 by wiccked, on Flickr


Awesome bridge!! although i gotta admit i think it was abit of a waste widening it coz they really didnt need too! they focus too much on roads around brisbane and the gold coast. they need to focus more on regional Qld roads especially around north Qld. e.g the bruce hwy that could definately use with a bit of a fix!!


----------



## CairnsTony

natfat madd fucker said:


> Awesome bridge!! although i gotta admit i think it was abit of a waste widening it coz they really didnt need too! they focus too much on roads around brisbane and the gold coast. they need to focus more on regional Qld roads especially around north Qld. e.g the bruce hwy that could definately use with a bit of a fix!!


The roads up here are terrible. One smash on the Southern Access Road into Cairns in morning rush hour and commuters have absolutely no alternative for getting in to town. Any heavy rain and we're cut off from the rest of the country! Modest upgrades are underway or recently completed but are a far cry from what is needed.


----------



## natfat madd

CairnsTony said:


> The roads up here are terrible. One smash on the Southern Access Road into Cairns in morning rush hour and commuters have absolutely no alternative for getting in to town. Any heavy rain and we're cut off from the rest of the country! Modest upgrades are underway or recently completed but are a far cry from what is needed.


exactly what i mean!! even though i live in Nsw and i know the roads here arent that great either, i do hope queensland gets a few billion dollars worth of money for road/rail infrastructure like Nsw recently did in may. nsw won a $2.2 billion dollar for roads and rail and more than half of that money is going to regional roads!!  queenslands roads(apart from brissy and the gold coast) are all a disgrace!! hno: so i hope that when Qld gets its next share of road money, most of it will go to regional roads


----------



## essendon bombers

These 3 pictures are of Calder Fwy/Hwy (M79) between Melbourne and Bendigo in Victoria. It is only recently that the Calder has become fully duplicated between Melbourne and the suburbs of Bendigo with the completion of Malmsbury, Harcourt and Ravenswood sections. Bendigo is the third or fourth largest city in Victoria founded during the goldrush of the 1850s.


----------



## Road_UK

What's the lane discipline like in Australia?


----------



## essendon bombers

These 3 pictures are of the Geelong Ring Road, part of the Princes Hwy West (M1) between Melbourne, Geelong, Warnambool and to Adelaide via the coast. The Geelong Ring Road stages I, II, III opened a few years ago and the city of Geelong is now effectively bypassed. However they are extending the Geelong Bypass (stage IV) that takes the freeway south of Geelong, around the outlying suburb of Waurn Ponds and curve to the west to meet the Princes Hwy and continue onto Colac and Warnambool. Stage IV is currently under construction and also includes a link between Ring Road and the Surfcoast Hwy (B100 to Torquay). Project information can be found here: 
http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/Home/RoadProjects/RegionalVictoriaRoadProjects/GeelongRingRoad.htm and http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/Home...ects/PrincesHighwayWaurnPondsToWinchelsea.htm

Geelong is the second largest city in Victoria and is only 75km from Melbourne. It sits on the western side of Port Phillip Bay.


----------



## essendon bombers

sorry for choosing a wet day to go driving and taking pictures....hno:


----------



## essendon bombers

Maps

Winchelsea
http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/NR/r...0B-B7E9DBB5489D/0/A3PrincesHighwayWestacc.pdf

Geelong Ring Road
http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/NR/r...2-E63614C2594D/0/A4GRROverallMap_May11ACC.pdf


----------



## scurt/2

essendon bombers said:


> These 3 pictures are of Calder Fwy/Hwy (M79) between Melbourne and Bendigo in Victoria. It is only recently that the Calder has become fully duplicated between Melbourne and the suburbs of Bendigo with the completion of Malmsbury, Harcourt and *Ravenswood* sections. Bendigo is the third or fourth largest city in Victoria founded during the goldrush of the 1850s.


Is it Ravenswood or Ravenswood South?


----------



## LG_

What a huge dividing line on that picture! It looks approximately 17-20 m broad. Is it foreseen for future extencions?



essendon bombers said:


>


----------



## Verso

^^ I doubt. There wasn't much traffic between Melbourne and Bendigo when I drove there.


----------



## CairnsTony

LG_ said:


> What a huge dividing line on that picture! It looks approximately 17-20 m broad. Is it foreseen for future extencions?


This is not particularly unusual in Australia and is commonly found on country freeways. 

We're fortunate enough to have the space to do it I suppose...


----------



## LG_

CairnsTony said:


> We're fortunate enough to have the space to do it I suppose...


Actually that was the first thing that came to my mind when a first saw the picture - Australia is huge and there is a lot of land! But there must be another reasons. Safety? Such a broad dividing line requires higher expropriation costs for the land and the brighes must be also broader. (higher price)


----------



## Dimethyltryptamine

I love this photo of the Clem 7 entry


----------



## mgk920

LG_ said:


> Actually that was the first think that came to my minde when a first saw the picture - Australia is huge and there is a lot of land! But there must be another reasons. Safety? Such a broad dividing line requires higher expropriation costs for the land and the brighes must be also broader. (higher price)


Most rural motorways in North America (ie, USA interstates) are the same way, too.

Mike


----------



## CairnsTony

Dimethyltryptamine said:


> I love this photo of the Clem 7 entry


Interesting photo!

Do you know where the ramps that currently go nowhere but appear to be heading to the bottom right of the pic will eventually be heading?


----------



## Morjo

Road_UK said:


> What's the lane discipline like in Australia?


Not very good at all, Aussies are shocking motorway drivers. In regards to lane discipline, in rural area's is a lot better than in urban area's. Motorists often hog the overtaking lane or cause traffic havoc by going too slow in the centre lane causing people to overtake them from all over the place. A reason why this is a big problem is due to a large amount of foreign nationals from Asia who don't know our road rules, also the driver education system in Australia doesn't teach good motorway etiquette, so even a majority of locals are awful. I believe they must start teaching better motorway etiquette for safety and better traffic flow.

Motorists in the UK are better than Aussies.

Here is an article I found from a few years ago: http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/ArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=36860


----------



## RDSA

Morjo said:


> Not very good at all, Aussies are shocking motorway drivers. In regards to lane discipline, in rural area's is a lot better than in urban area's. Motorists often hog the overtaking lane or cause traffic havoc by going too slow in the centre lane causing people to overtake them from all over the place. A reason why this is a big problem is due to a large amount of foreign nationals from Asia who don't know our road rules, also the driver education system in Australia doesn't teach good motorway etiquette, so even a majority of locals are awful. I believe they must start teaching better motorway etiquette for safety and better traffic flow.
> 
> Motorists in the UK are better than Aussies.
> 
> Here is an article I found from a few years ago: http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/ArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=36860


very true although i personally believe its the bad habits of the locals(i Victoria atleast) that cause most of the problems. Its something that seams to be passed down from generation to generation. And when foreigners get here its "when in rome".

intrestingly i have to laugh when i was driving down to geelong recently, doing 102 km/h (105 on the speedo but its wrong) which is as fast as you can go before getting a fine and people were still overtaking me and weaving around to get past


----------



## roofromoz

I am amazed at the number of vehicles who do not observe roadworks speed limits... the M5 between Camden Valley Way and Narellan Road has been pretty much in a perpetual state of roadworks for about 4 years, and although there are a number of signs saying that the limits are enforceable, there are always drivers who still travel close to or greater than the regular 110km/h limit.


----------



## natfat madd

roofromoz said:


> I am amazed at the number of vehicles who do not observe roadworks speed limits... the M5 between Camden Valley Way and Narellan Road has been pretty much in a perpetual state of roadworks for about 4 years, and although there are a number of signs saying that the limits are enforceable, there are always drivers who still travel close to or greater than the regular 110km/h limit.


i had 2 trucks pass me and i was doing over the roadwork speed limit (90)!


----------



## roofromoz

M7 (Westlink), a ~40km motorway in Sydney that connects the M5 in the south western suburbs with the M2 in the north western suburbs. It opened in late 2005 and is part of the 'national highway' network, which in effect acts as a greater Sydney bypass (although this is not complete due to the missing F3 - M2 link, but that's another story...)









M5 at Casula, looking north towards the Sir Roden Cutler Interchange which is the southern terminus of the M7. This is a PDF from the M7 website showing a map of this interchange, which incorporates Camden Valley Way (the bridge which has the AD sign), and also a local road (Beech Road), but is not entirely self directional - southbound access to the M5 is made via Campbelltown Road which is further to the east.









Looking north west at Prestons, approaching the Bernera Road interchange. This is ~1km further to the north, disecting through an 'employment' area that has existed for a number of decades, but has undoubtedly been boosted with the opening of the M7, which has led to rural land to the west being re-zoned industrial.









Looking north at Horsley Park, at the Chandos Road overpass. On the right is a cycleway which runs parallel to the M7 for its entire length.









Looking south at Eastern Creek, approaching the Lighthorse Interchange, from Ozroads. This is a fully directional interchange with the M4 (Western Motorway), but also includes Wallgrove Road, a north-south arterial road in the mix. This is the PDF from the M7 website, and below is some other photos:









An aerial shot.









Looking west on the M4.









Southbound on ramp from Woodstock Avenue at Glendenning. The M7 is fully cashless and charges are made via overhead gantries, such the one seen here.









Looking north approaching the Richmond Road interchange at Oakhurst. At this interchange, it changes dramatically from north-south to east-west. Photo from Ozroads.









Looking west at Kings Park. This section was built on a road reserve that has had residential developments constructed on each side, hence the high noise walls on both sides.









M2, looking west approaching the start of the M7. The end of the M7 is officially at the Abbott Road interchange, which is just to the east of this photo, hence the signage on the right here. Photo from Ozroads.


----------



## Verso

^^ Nice pics, thanks for posting. How much is AADT on the M7? I'm wondering, if 4 lanes are enough (I know it's tolled though).


----------



## ChrisZwolle

Most motorways / freeways in Sydney are not as wide as you'd expect based on population and urban setting. Surface streets have therefor very high traffic volumes, 50,000+ vehicles per day on streets through residential areas are not uncommon.


----------



## natfat madd

ChrisZwolle said:


> Most motorways / freeways in Sydney are not as wide as you'd expect based on population and urban setting. Surface streets have therefor very high traffic volumes, 50,000+ vehicles per day on streets through residential areas are not uncommon.[/QUOTE
> though sydneys freeways are getting better! their about to widen the M5 and the hume hwy near campbelltown has been widened to 8 lanes and south from there construction is underway to widen the hume to 6 lanes to the narellan exit. plus some widening roadworks going on on the M2 near the pennant hills road exit i havent heard how many lanes it will be widened to though.


----------



## roofromoz

Verso said:


> ^^ Nice pics, thanks for posting. How much is AADT on the M7? I'm wondering, if 4 lanes are enough (I know it's tolled though).


Not too sure what it is, but it wouldn't be as great as the citybound motorways I don't think.

At this stage, 4 lanes is enough most of the time, however I have noticed that the left hand shoulders on the bridges are wide enough to be widened to another lane if it occurs (and also cuts down on construction costs with having to augment the bridges).


----------



## timmy- brissy

Any updates on the roads in Brisbane?


----------



## CairnsTony

timmy- brissy said:


> Any updates on the roads in Brisbane?


Which ones?

The Clem tunnel has been open for several months now. The Airport link is still under constriction, due for completion in 2012. Is that what you were referring to?


----------



## ChrisZwolle

CairnsTony said:


> The Clem tunnel has been open for several months now.


16 months is more exact  It opened on March 15th, 2010.


----------



## Penn's Woods

^^18 (and a half) months is more exact yet. 
:cheers:


----------



## ChrisZwolle

:nuts: You're right. It is Friday afternoon, you know. :lol:


----------



## CairnsTony

ChrisZwolle said:


> 16 months is more exact  It opened on March 15th, 2010.


How time flies...

Maybe I should pay more attention to a city that doesn't give a toss about Cairns. Or maybe not...


----------



## Suburbanist

Question: is there any credible plans to pave some decent extension of outback roads or those north or Cairns?


----------



## CairnsTony

-Pino- said:


> ^^ Tony seems to refer to the part of Australia that is actually capable of being inhabited by larger groups of people. So not mere surface, but the the coastal strip from Port Augusta to Cairns plus a few other areas. When you take those, Tony's equivalent "a few larger European countries" then appears correct.


Indeed. It's still a very dry continent, so whilst there is an incredible feeling of space, resources can be stretched as we still find ourselves supporting a very high energy/water/land guzzling nation. In drought years, farmers can really struggle and there are severe water restrictions in the cities. In 'La Niña' years such as 2010-2011, you have the opposite with severe flooding. Having said that, so much of the countryside earlier this year that is so often dry and parched looked green and lush.

So some areas may look productive but would be less likely to support big cities due to extreme wet and dry, nor would many Aussies want it to. We like our space even if three quarters of the people still cram themselves into five small corners of the country.:lol:


----------



## Substructure

I posted this a couple weeks ago, if that can help :










So big and so little crowded. I just love Australia.


----------



## CairnsTony

Substructure said:


> I posted this a couple weeks ago, if that can help :
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> So big and so little crowded. I just love Australia.


I'm often reminded that it is a shorter distance from London to Barcelona than from Cairns to Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland and by some distance, and Qld isn't even the biggest state!


----------



## Substructure

Little digression, but another thing I love with Australia is its beautiful, symmetric shape. I find it's the country that looks the best on a map  (maybe I could add France as well)


----------



## NZer

The emptiness pisses me off.
Where is our New York, Bankgok, Seoul, Tokyo?
Hell, I would even settle for a Kuala Lumpur.


----------



## Suburbanist

Open spaces are not excuses for not building top-notch long-route highways or at least vastly improved roads. Take the example of US: I-10, I-70 and especially I-80 crosses hundreds of miles of sparsely populated areas. 

Sure, Australia is far less populated than US was in the 50s, but Perth and Adelaide, for instance, need a better road link than the current one. At least, a 1+1 highway with partial junctions all the way. The Perth-Darwin links ought to be improved. I'll cut some slack to Alice Springs.


----------



## natfat madd

as the 'big dipper'.
[img said:


> http://roofromoz.webs.com/sydney_hornsby01.JPG[/img]
> Looking north west at Cowan - note the rather large cuttings.
> 
> this was obviously taken awhile ago since then its been upgraded to 3 lanes each way from wahroonga to north of gosford.


----------



## ChrisZwolle

Suburbanist said:


> Sure, Australia is far less populated than US was in the 50s, but Perth and Adelaide, for instance, need a better road link than the current one. At least, a 1+1 highway with partial junctions all the way. The Perth-Darwin links ought to be improved. I'll cut some slack to Alice Springs.


The traffic volumes on the Eyre Highway are less than 500 vehicles per day, plus you can drive 110 - 120 km/h without a problem. A major intercity highway outside the eastern coastal zone with 4 000 vehicles per day is already quite something.


----------



## timmy- brissy

Substructure said:


> I posted this a couple weeks ago, if that can help :
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> So big and so little crowded. I just love Australia.


Brilliant picture.


----------



## roofromoz

natfat madd fucker said:


> this was obviously taken awhile ago since then its been upgraded to 3 lanes each way from wahroonga to north of gosford.


Yeah, I took it in May 2006.


----------



## roofromoz

ChrisZwolle said:


> The traffic volumes on the Eyre Highway are less than 500 vehicles per day, plus you can drive 110 - 120 km/h without a problem. A major intercity highway outside the eastern coastal zone with 4 000 vehicles per day is already quite something.


The Perth street directory shows a proposed road going east known as the "New Perth-Adelaide Highway" (or something like that, can't be arsed looking for it) - this is likely to be a new alignment heading out of Perth only, probably just to nearby Northam.


----------



## -Pino-

ChrisZwolle said:


> The traffic volumes on the Eyre Highway are less than 500 vehicles per day, plus you can drive 110 - 120 km/h without a problem. A major intercity highway outside the eastern coastal zone with 4 000 vehicles per day is already quite something.


On the main routes of the Outback (say, Auslink corridors), you usually look at one vehicle every couple of minutes during daytime. Grade separation, duplication or even the odd overtaking lane is just a waste of money.

What is worth some further thought in my view are bypasses of towns along those Auslink routes through the Outback, e.g. Katherine, Alice Springs, Port Augusta. Those towns would be relieved from road trains, for the road trains themselves it saves the hassle of having to drive through a (kind-of) crowded area for which the road trains were not designed anyway. And for normal vehicles it just gains a few minutes; even though that gain is not the largest advantage of a bypass route like this. One argument against bypasses like these is probably that fuel stations and supermarkets would probably immediately move to a bypass location, so that the bypass is no longer a proper bypass. But maybe still worth the thought.


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## roofromoz

-Pino- said:


> What is worth some further thought in my view are bypasses of towns along those Auslink routes through the Outback, e.g. Katherine, Alice Springs, Port Augusta. Those towns would be relieved from road trains, for the road trains themselves it saves the hassle of having to drive through a (kind-of) crowded area for which the road trains were not designed anyway. And for normal vehicles it just gains a few minutes; even though that gain is not the largest advantage of a bypass route like this. One argument against bypasses like these is probably that fuel stations and supermarkets would probably immediately move to a bypass location, so that the bypass is no longer a proper bypass. But maybe still worth the thought.


Whilst that may be the case in terms of vital services being shifted to the bypass, it also provides opportunities for main street revitalisation. 

There are a number of towns along the Hume Highway (the inland route between Sydney and Melbourne) that have been now been bypassed as part of the upgrade to a dual carriageway for the entire 900km+ length, but their main streets have been done up and look really good now, with an array of outdoor furniture, narrowing the width of the street with blisters, and the like.


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## -Pino-

Your main street indeed looks nicer if it is not a highway. But, while I'm not very familiar with the Hume Highway corridor, many towns bypassed by the Pacific Highway (or still to be bypassed by the Pacific Highway) did not have the highway in their main streets. The Pacific Highway tended to be a bit outside of the city centre, not in it. That of course still leaves a good room for improvement in those areas of town that used to be highway, but it is not necessarily about main street revitalisation.

In the Outback, the situation is comparable. The city centres of towns like Port Augusta, Alice Springs and Mount Isa are off-highway too. But the highway still runs through town, and bypassing would form a good relief.


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## ed110220

Suburbanist said:


> Open spaces are not excuses for not building top-notch long-route highways or at least vastly improved roads. Take the example of US: I-10, I-70 and especially I-80 crosses hundreds of miles of sparsely populated areas.
> 
> Sure, Australia is far less populated than US was in the 50s, but Perth and Adelaide, for instance, need a better road link than the current one. At least, a 1+1 highway with partial junctions all the way. The Perth-Darwin links ought to be improved. I'll cut some slack to Alice Springs.


But Australia is _far_ less densely populated than the USA, more than an order of magnitude less, and the distances are much greater. Adelaide to Perth is 2700 km while say Phoenix to Los Angeles is 600 km.

If the terrain is not difficult and the road reasonably engineered and the traffic volume low, there is little advantage to extravagant improvements as it is already perfectly easy to do 120 km/h even on a two lane single carriageway road. Typically cross-traffic is much less still, and so a simple stop sign and possibly a right turning lane (where relatively busier) is all that is really needed at intersections. 

This is my experience in South Africa, and Australia is even larger and less populated. The A1 highway between Adelaide and Perth looks practically identical in construction to the less-used South African national roads, such as say the N10 between Upington and Nakop (the only difference is the colour of the lines).

A1 Eyre Highway
N10 Upington-Nakop

This type of road is perfectly adequate for its function.


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## roofromoz

-Pino- said:


> Your main street indeed looks nicer if it is not a highway. But, while I'm not very familiar with the Hume Highway corridor, many towns bypassed by the Pacific Highway (or still to be bypassed by the Pacific Highway) did not have the highway in their main streets. The Pacific Highway tended to be a bit outside of the city centre, not in it. That of course still leaves a good room for improvement in those areas of town that used to be highway, but it is not necessarily about main street revitalisation.
> 
> In the Outback, the situation is comparable. The city centres of towns like Port Augusta, Alice Springs and Mount Isa are off-highway too. But the highway still runs through town, and bypassing would form a good relief.


I am more familiar with the Hume Highway rather than the Pacific Highway as it closer to where I live, but historically, the Hume Highway has been also the main street through town - for Camden (where I live), and further to the south for Mittagong, Goulburn, Yass, Gundagai and Albury. Not too sure about the Victorian section though.

The "former" path of the Pacific Highway (it still exists as various state routes but the freeway now carries the national highway number) went through the Gosford town centre, on the western outskirts of the Newcastle city centre, through Raymond Terrace and Taree, about 5km to the west of Port Macquarie, through Macksville, through Nambucca Heads, on the western outskirts of Coffs Harbour town centre, on the southern side of the river in Grafton (the town centre is on the northern side), and through Ballina and Tweed Heads. So a bit more of a mix compared to the Hume Highway. The Princes Highway to the south (the coastal route to Melbourne) is also more like the Hume as it goes primarily through the towns, but there is not much planning for bypasses any further south of Nowra at this time, probably because the traffic levels don't warrant it (with the exception of summer maybe), and the Hume is a lot more direct in terms of getting to Melbourne. However, the Princes is considered a more scenic route, but ~200km longer.


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## natfat madd

roofromoz said:


> I am more familiar with the Hume Highway rather than the Pacific Highway as it closer to where I live, but historically, the Hume Highway has been also the main street through town - for Camden (where I live), and further to the south for Mittagong, Goulburn, Yass, Gundagai and Albury. Not too sure about the Victorian section though.
> 
> The "former" path of the Pacific Highway (it still exists as various state routes but the freeway now carries the national highway number) went through the Gosford town centre, on the western outskirts of the Newcastle city centre, through Raymond Terrace and Taree, about 5km to the west of Port Macquarie, through Macksville, through Nambucca Heads, on the western outskirts of Coffs Harbour town centre, on the southern side of the river in Grafton (the town centre is on the northern side), and through Ballina and Tweed Heads. So a bit more of a mix compared to the Hume Highway. The Princes Highway to the south (the coastal route to Melbourne) is also more like the Hume as it goes primarily through the towns, but there is not much planning for bypasses any further south of Nowra at this time, probably because the traffic levels don't warrant it (with the exception of summer maybe), and the Hume is a lot more direct in terms of getting to Melbourne. However, the Princes is considered a more scenic route, but ~200km longer.


the old hume hwy that went through albury was exactly the same as the current pacific hwy through coffs harbour. the old hume hwy bypassed the town centre 1 km east. it skirted around and under the town centre. most of the other towns that are now bypassed had the old hume run right thru their town centres even the victorian ones like Barnawatha, wangaratta, chiltern, wodonga etc.(you'll notice that with the current hume hwy that runs right through the town centres of holbrook and tarcutta which are both underconstruction for bypassing)


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## -Pino-

roofromoz said:


> The "former" path of the Pacific Highway (it still exists as various state routes but the freeway now carries the national highway number) went through the Gosford town centre, on the western outskirts of the Newcastle city centre, through Raymond Terrace and Taree, about 5km to the west of Port Macquarie, through Macksville, through Nambucca Heads, on the western outskirts of Coffs Harbour town centre, on the southern side of the river in Grafton (the town centre is on the northern side), and through Ballina and Tweed Heads. So a bit more of a mix compared to the Hume Highway.


Indeed. It being understood that, in some of those cases, the "through town" means "edge of city centre". On the Hume Highway, and some other highways too, it was / is indeed much more like Main Street.


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## ed110220

If traffic volumes are low, doesn't bypassing small towns cause them to die off? This type of town often relies a lot on passing trade. Or are you talking of highways that are much busier and cause problems for the town?


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## -Pino-

^^ When I raised my original point about bypassing towns along the major Outback highways, I was definitely talking about routes with very low traffic volumes. Routes like the Hume Highway and the Pacific Highway have traffic volumes that are much higher, so that bypasses were pretty much inevitable.

With respect to the "dying off" of towns to be bypassed, my quick thought is that it will not be that bad. These towns remain regional centres and its supermarket, banks and local government functions will not go away if the town gets bypassed. But as I also mentioned, some functions are likely to move to the bypass area. Fuel stations, fast food restaurants and motels are all after the through traveller and need visibility from the highway. But I don't think that these functions will die altogether; the demand for a certain level of services in the area remains.


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## ChrisZwolle

Verso said:


> ^^ Why are there so many trucks on the Newell Highway? It's not a densely-populated area, is it?


It's the inland freight route from Victoria to Queensland. Queensland-bound traffic can bypass coastal NSW that way.


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## RDSA

essendon bombers said:


> [
> The Goulburn Valley is being progressively upgraded from 1x1 highway to 2x2 freeway but this is taking a very long time. Without a high throughput of traffic it doesn’t need to be upgraded quickly. It is being done in five sections:
> 1.	Hume Fwy to south of Nagambie (upgrade to freeway completed about 1998)
> 2.	Nagambie Bypass (under construction to be completed mid 2012)
> 3.	Murchison East Deviation (completed about 2008)
> 4.	Arcadia duplication (completed about 2008)
> 5.	Shepparton Bypass (bypass route selected to the west of the town, but no funding yet for construction)
> 6.	Strathmerton deviation (proposed, route selected, no funding yet for construction)
> 
> 
> **would post a map but having trouble copying from Google maps


slight correction(unless its a typo) Murchison East Deviation was actually completed in 2002.


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## matty89

Sunday 6th Nov 2011 - Brisbane

Pacific Motorway (M1) - Looking North towards Pacific/Gateway Interchange



And again



Watland St Overpass, Springwood - Looking South



Watland St Overpass, Springwood - Looking North



Approaching Pacific/Logan Interchange - South Bound



Approaching Pacific/Logan Interchange - North Bound



Logan Motorway Exit


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## natfat madd

Verso said:


> ^^ Why are there so many trucks on the Newell Highway? It's not a densely-populated area, is it?


no but there are quite a few large towns e.g wagga wagga(which is not on the hwy but is close by) temora(also close by) forbes, dubbo west wyalong plus all the major towns in victoria where all the trucks travel to like shepparton which is the food bowl of australias fruit and the same as griffth in Nsw so you can see why there are lots of trucks


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## Morjo

matty89 said:


> Sunday 6th Nov 2011 - Brisbane
> 
> Pacific Motorway (M1) - Looking North towards Pacific/Gateway Interchange
> 
> 
> 
> And again
> 
> 
> 
> Watland St Overpass, Springwood - Looking South
> 
> 
> 
> Watland St Overpass, Springwood - Looking North
> 
> 
> 
> Approaching Pacific/Logan Interchange - South Bound
> 
> 
> 
> Approaching Pacific/Logan Interchange - North Bound
> 
> 
> 
> Logan Motorway Exit


Fair bit of tailgating in those pics, thought Victorians were bad :lol: :nuts:


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## Dimethyltryptamine

everyone in qld tailgates. just how they drive. especially if you're going only 110 in the fast lane, you're guaranteed to have someone right up behind you wanting to go faster. drivers from vic and nsw in qld seem to just drive bad, but are best in their own cities.


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## natfat madd

Dimethyltryptamine said:


> everyone in qld tailgates. just how they drive. especially if you're going only 110 in the fast lane, you're guaranteed to have someone right up behind you wanting to go faster. drivers from vic and nsw in qld seem to just drive bad, but are best in their own cities.


i think you'll find that in all states! its just how australians roll when it comes to driving. you'll notice if u drive an american freeway that theres not as much tailgating and probably not as much speeders but the trucks there are terrible!their always going over the limit!


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## Verso

natfat madd fucker said:


> you'll notice if u drive an american freeway that theres not as much tailgating and probably not as much speeders but the trucks there are terrible!their always going over the limit!


That's also typical for Australia. 









(my photo)


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## natfat madd

Verso said:


> That's also typical for Australia.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> (my photo)


hmmm true you'll notice it alot on the pacific and hume hwys too


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## Lijman

..


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## I-275westcoastfl

natfat madd fucker said:


> i think you'll find that in all states! its just how australians roll when it comes to driving. you'll notice if u drive an american freeway that theres not as much tailgating and probably not as much speeders but the trucks there are terrible!their always going over the limit!


I don't know where you've been in the states but in the places I've been in most people speed and tailgate all the time! The truck drivers arent bad here, in the city they have to drive aggressive because idiot passenger cars give them no room and cut them off. If you are traveling in between cities on the interstate truck drivers are the most courteous drivers you'll find.


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## Suburbanist

I-275westcoastfl said:


> I don't know where you've been in the states but in the places I've been in most people speed and tailgate all the time! The truck drivers arent bad here, in the city they have to drive aggressive because idiot passenger cars give them no room and cut them off. If you are traveling in between cities on the interstate truck drivers are the most courteous drivers you'll find.


Which brings out a second problem: both Australia and US are too lenient with huge trucks travelling within crowded urban roads (not talking of expressways, but local streets). In many countries, they have to unload in logistics centers outside major cities, and cargo then goes via smaller trucks.


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## Morjo

Suburbanist said:


> Which brings out a second problem: both Australia and US are too lenient with huge trucks travelling within crowded urban roads (not talking of expressways, but local streets). In many countries, they have to unload in logistics centers outside major cities, and cargo then goes via smaller trucks.


In another 15 years this will have to be done in Melbourne, the amount of trucks on major Melbourne roads is getting ridiculously dangerous. Over 30 percent of traffic on the M1 in Melbourne is trucks (most are large) and is growing rapidly.


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## Lijman

..


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## Verso

Nice shots. I drove on the old highway through Ballina.


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## ChrisZwolle

Nice video of the Tullamarine Freeway in Melbourne.


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## Verso

^^ But way too many annotations for my taste, which you can't turn off either.


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## Morjo

^^ The Airport end of the Tullamarine Freeway will be upgraded to 3x3 lanes. Strangely the Tullmarine Freeway hasn't been given an 'M' route status, but it will one day be given the M2 status, maybe once the upgrades are complete. The Tullamarine Freeway at the moment bizarrely just has a 'route 43' status hno:


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## rosulje

Ballina kay:


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## Jardoga

interesting footage of bad australian drivers in Melbourne


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## Lijman

..


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## Lijman

..


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## geogregor

Are there any freeway/motorway constructions between Sydney and Brisbane at the moment?
Is there plan for continuous freeway between those cities?
And the last question, what is the daily vehicle count on the quietest stretches?


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## RDSA

time lapse of the Hume from Albury to the western western ringroad

http://g.co/maps/32eqe


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## Lijman

..


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## Botev1912

Is the road from Melbourne to Sydney and Brisbane a freeway? Because when I click on google street view it looks like a 2-way road.

http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=M...PZcBFqRazHAhN7zWqMCBQ&oq=brisb&mra=ls&t=m&z=6


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## crazyknightsfan

Good to see Google Maps have finally fixed their **** up which meant the Pacific Highway was closed in 2 places...


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## natfat madd

Botev1912 said:


> Is the road from Melbourne to Sydney and Brisbane a freeway? Because when I click on google street view it looks like a 2-way road.
> 
> http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=M...PZcBFqRazHAhN7zWqMCBQ&oq=brisb&mra=ls&t=m&z=6


The road from Sydney to Melbourne is freeway all the way except at Holbrook where it is a 2 lane road way. the Sydney to brisbane road has a fair bit of freeway now but there are still heaps of 2 lane roadway remaining


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## city_thing

Some nice pictures from Ozscrapers.



nagelixin said:


> M3-M7 Interchange in Brisbane
> Source: Brisconnections


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## Dimethyltryptamine

^^they're great pics. I always prefer PT to roads, but that's an impressive piece of infrastructure (by Australian standards) right there!


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## Verso

^ Yes, it looks very picturesque. Great shots.


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## ChrisZwolle

The Sydney Harbour Bridge turns 80 today.


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## khoojyh

city_thing said:


> Some nice pictures from Ozscrapers.


Like race track


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## essendon bombers

An update on the Melbourne Ring Road upgrade project (M80):

The 38km freeway around Melbourne’s western and northern suburbs is progressing well if slowly. The freeway is not being extended but widened to 3x3 and in the busier sections 4x4. Interchanges such as the Tullamarine Fwy and Sydney Rd are being redesigned and rebuilt. 
Works on the first section (Calder Fwy M79 to Sydney Rd state route 55) commenced 2009 and two thirds complete.
The Western section (around Ballarat Rd route 8) is half way complete and the Northern section (between Edgars Rd and Plenty Rd) is just starting now, due completion 2014.

Website: http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/Home/M80Upgrade/

Map: http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/Home/M80Upgrade/AboutTheM80Upgrade/M80InteractiveMap.htm


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## essendon bombers

M80 Greensborough bound (looking clockwise) with Edgars Rd turnoff in the background (commencement of northern section works) lies beyond the bridge.









M80 Altona bound (looking anti-clockwise) Sydney Rd bridge rebuild 









Road widening of the freeway in the suburb of Glenroy


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## essendon bombers

Ring Rd between Tulla Fwy and Pascoe Vale Rd with new bridge over Moonee Ponds Creek valley and new temporary off ramp to Pascoe Vale Rd and on the approach to the Tulla Fwy interchange


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## essendon bombers

Ring Rd from Calder Fwy interchange looking clockwise









Ring Rd near Sunshine Avenue









Who thought of this name for a street at the city council deserves a whack in the head!!









Enjoy photos!!


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## xrtn2

^^ terror street :lol:


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## essendon bombers

Some more photos – this time of freeway approaches to Melbourne and its inner city


blue crosses mark vantage points



NORTHWEST - Citylink (Tullamarine Fwy) [m2 / state route 43] serves the north-western suburbs and the airport; taken from Ormond Rd 









SOUTHWEST - West Gate Fwy [m1] taken just west of Williamstown Rd; the West Gate Bridge is in the background









SOUTHWEST - West Gate Fwy, near the south-western edge of the city, taken with the recently rebuilt interchange with Montague St; and looking outbound with the West Gate Bridge in the background

















SOUTHEAST - Citylink (Monash Fwy) [m1] taken from the MacRobertsons Bridge in the suburb of Toorak; the freeway snakes its way through well to do inner south eastern suburbs alongside the Yarra River. Probably not the best location for my theme though as the city skyline is to the right of the picture and blocked by an old factory from my standpoint; the building in the background is the recently completed Vogue in South Yarra









NORTHEAST - Eastern Freeway [m3, formerly state route 83] serves the eastern and north eastern suburbs; taken from Yarra Bend Bridge in Fairfield. This section was built in the 1970s with a big cutting into the hillside; wide enough for a 14 lane freeway, the central median has been kept aside for a possible future (but never been built) Doncaster railway


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## ChrisZwolle

UFO's have landed on the second photo 

Nice photos!


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## essendon bombers

*Dims Sims for Road Rage!!!!*

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Two hurt in highway 'dim sim fight' 
The Age, 12 April 2012

POLICE will charge a passenger and driver over a Good Friday confrontation on a busy Geelong highway in which dim sims were allegedly hurled.

A man, 26, was thrown from a four-wheel-drive Mitsubishi Pajero as the vehicle somersaulted after the fiery argument on the ring road near Hamlyn Heights.

The driver of the Pajero, a 27-year-old woman, was seriously injured in the rollover, and two children, an 11-month-old girl and a boy, 2, we are also taken to hospital for treatment.

Advertisement: Story continues below Police have spoken to several witnesses and confirmed that the passenger in the Pajero and the driver would be formally interviewed and then charged when they had recovered.

The man is in The Alfred hospital, while the woman is in the Geelong Hospital.

It is believed there had been a verbal exchange between those in the Pajero and another family of holidaymakers in a white Ford sedan.

It apparently went on for several kilometres before the Pajero overturned.

Police were told that dim sims had been thrown at the Ford while the cars travelled along a highway packed with holidaymakers going down the coast.

Police have contacted and interviewed the driver and occupants of the Ford, which continued on after the Pajero flipped several times.

Two children were passengers in the sedan.

The Pajero had been following the Ford when it swerved on and off the highway before it flipped.

The driver and male passenger of the Pajero will be charged with dangerous conduct and driving offences.


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## rohjoe

*Peninsula Link*

Some recent construction photos of ‘Peninsula Link’ in the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne.

This is a 27 kilometre un-tolled freeway connecting the EastLink tollway with the southern section of the Mornington Peninsula Freeway, bypassing Frankston. It is scheduled for completion early 2013.


















































































Photos courtesy State Government of Victoria


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## Lijman

..


----------



## Lijman

..


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## essendon bombers

Here are some photos, taken during spring, of a tall skinny skyscraper being built less than five metres away from M1 Westgate Fwy in Central Melbourne. The 106m tall building named Habitat is a basic build consists of 147 apartments on 33 levels. Construction started last February; this has shot up very quickly. Three photos courtesy of GlennWilson, redbaron12 and erecktion in the Melbourne SSC forums.


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## essendon bombers

Here are some photos I took of Bowden Spur Road, north east of Melbourne. It is a dirt road that zig- zags underneath power lines in a clearing on a mountainside about 50km from the city. From the top of the mountain the views are suburb; from the bottom it gives way to rolling hills of Nillumbik Shire before the suburbs start. You can just make out the city skyline and the bay on a clear day; unfortunately it did not come out in my photo. This is a great spot to do mountain biking or 4WDriving! But I am not so keen on taking my car up this steep mountainside. I remember this spot because I cycled down it on a school camp.

The mountains are the Kinglake Ranges; the mountains/hills north of Melbourne help form the start of the Great Dividing Range, mountains that follow the east coast of Australia up to Cairns. These ranges and the township of Kinglake were badly affected during the Black Saturday bushfires of February 2009.


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## Robosteve

Brisbane has recently built an interchange that could give Birmingham's famous Spaghetti Junction a run for its money:









(Google Maps link)

Sadly, the satellite view hasn't been updated recently and only shows the interchange in a very early stage of construction:










I may just have to drive up the coast one weekend to see it for myself (and bring back pictures, of course). Brisbane is too far from Sydney for a day trip.


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## Agusia

Thanks for picts. I'm watching your topic from time to time but I haven't written yet.
Good job Guys! :applause:



essendon bombers said:


> NORTHEAST - Eastern Freeway [m3, formerly state route 83] serves the eastern and north eastern suburbs; taken from Yarra Bend Bridge in Fairfield. This section was built in the 1970s with a big cutting into the hillside; wide enough for a 14 lane freeway, the central median has been kept aside for a possible future (but never been built) Doncaster railway


I love this kind of view. Brilliant. 
Maybe someday I will see 5-lane highway in my country - PL.


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## essendon bombers

During April I took some photos of the Melbourne Metropolitan Ring Road (see posts #794-7). Today I went to the same spots to take some more photos so can give a construction update.

From the footbridge near Gowanbrae

























The grass in Melbourne turns brown really quickly in the summer.


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## essendon bombers

Near Sunshine Avenue.


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## essendon bombers

From Pascoe Vale Rd; the higher bridge on the right over the valley was fully open to clockwise bound traffic during July. Now works are on the lower bridge to make this bridge fully dedicated to anticlockwise bound traffic.










A new vantage point from Jacana railway station facing clockwise


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## essendon bombers

From the footbridge near Glenroy; this footbridge was knocked down and replaced since April. Facing clockwise they erected a large new variable message sign few months ago.


















I wish that I could take more photos of different parts of the ring road under reconstruction. Unfortunately there aren't overhead footbridges available so that I can take snaps safely.


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## essendon bombers

The Western Freeway / Highway (M8 / A8)

The Western Highway is the main interstate inland highway out of Melbourne to Adelaide in South Australia. From Melbourne it treks out west and slightly north to the regional town of Ballarat, then onto Stawell, Horsham through the Wimmera to the State Border; then becomes the Dukes Highway (A8) through Bordertown, Keith to Murray Bridge; it meets the Princes Hwy at Murray Bridge then it become M1 South Eastern Fwy to Adelaide. Once the Hume Hwy and Pacific Hwy projects are completed, it is likely that this highway will be next to receive a major focus by the Federal Government. 
Currently divided highway only reaches as far as the Sunraysia Hwy intersection (B220) on the Ballarat Bypass. Over the next ten years this should be extended to Stawell and will be done in stages. Budget funding has meant that currently the works for creating dual standard highway to the town of Beaufort is underway and should be completed within next few years.
The Vicroads Western Hwy project website can be found here: www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/Home/RoadPr...RoadProjects/WesternHighwayBallaratToStawell/

This picture is of Western Fwy through the satellite suburb of Melton 35km from Melbourne. The grass is so brown that it looks like dirt in the photo.


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## essendon bombers

The Western Fwy between Melton and Bacchus Marsh (short 10km section) was recently upgraded. Originally the freeway existed but went into a valley in an area known as Anthony’s Cutting. The freeway had sharp turns and steep gradients in the cutting; it was considered unsafe for future traffic requirements so a new deviation was built to the south. The new deviation ensured a safer, smoother, and quicker journey over the valley.


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## essendon bombers

Here is picture of the old Western Hwy at the end of Anthony’s Cutting now used as local road, and now redundant sign showing how the freeway bypasses Bacchus Marsh.


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## essendon bombers

This section of the highway with services and a motor inn available is just outside Ballarat; it is officially not freeway conditions in this area but still signposted as M8.


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## essendon bombers

M8 Ballarat Bypass near Nerrina.


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## essendon bombers

Earthworks of section between Sunraysia Hwy and Burrumbeet undergoing duplication; and the beautiful Burrumbeet Lake.


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## essendon bombers

Ballarat itself was founded during the Victorian goldrush era of the 1850s. Today it is the third most populated city in the state of nearly 100,000 people and one of the country’s most populated inland cities. The main street in the city is Sturt Street; it’s quite a nice street with some lovely buildings.


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## essendon bombers

It’s common for many country towns to have an ‘Avenue of Honour’ usually it is the main road leading into town. It’s a historic thing; the town honours its fallen soldiers (‘diggers’ nicknamed in oz), mostly from the world wars, with a tree lined avenue and a small monument in the town. This one is of Bacchus Marsh, a nice long avenue. The Freeway runs parallel a couple hundred metres away.


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## roofromoz

Even though there has been evidence of it since the early 2000s on road signage, NSW is this year finally rolling out the alphanumeric road network, with M, A and B class roads.










http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/roadprojects/projects/alpha_numeric/index.html


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## roofromoz

natfat madd fucker said:


> No, the south western freeway coming out of Sydney is i think, but the Bass hwy between Devtown and Sulphur creek just east of Burnie would come close. it does have an at grade intersection at Leith.
> Tasmania doesn't really need anymore freeways. its already got the Tasman highway from the Hobart CBD to the the airport roundabout exit, which most of it is actual freeway with speed limits of 110km/h, then its got the Midland hwy south of Launie that is basically freeway with almost no at grades, the southern outlet in Hobart and then some others around Launie(i cant really think the names)


The East and West Tamar Highways heading north are probably the ones you're thinking of, but they're more limited access rather than featuring grade seperated intersections within the urban areas.


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## natfat madd

roofromoz said:


> The East and West Tamar Highways heading north are probably the ones you're thinking of, but they're more limited access rather than featuring grade seperated intersections within the urban areas.


Yes! they were the highways i was thinking of. i have driven on both(i think) and they have a few grade seperated interchanges but they also have quite a few roundabouts too i think.


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## rov09

essendon bombers said:


> Some pictures of the Western Hwy.


Drive on this freeway everyday from Melton to Ballarat and then back to Melton..
Seriously need some maintenance in some parts.
But overall, amazing views and superb road with not much traffic :cheers:


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## twentyfivetacos

http://t.co/gCjshSV5








http://t.co/aouNRCfwcP








http://t.co/DDEBH8RsjF








http://t.co/DiVuwVpBtM









^^
This is what happens when a city decides to spend billions of dollars on its road network instead of investing in public transport. These pictures are taken around 30km from the city. With traffic like this it would be around a 90min drive to the city and around a 2 hour drive from the outer suburbs (there is another 20km of sprawl north from here). Certainly not normal for a city the size of Brisbane. Even worse is that this particular road was only widened less than 10 years ago.


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## rohjoe

*M80 Ring Road Flyover*

Here is a cool flyover simulation of the entire length of the M80 ring road upgrade in Melbourne 

http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/Home/M80Upgrade/#prettyPhoto/0/


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## ChrisZwolle

http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/sou...tom-koutsantonis/story-e6frg12c-1226633429435

$ 1 billion for a 900 meter road project? It sounds like that money could be put to better use in the region. The road to be replaced - South Road - is already an 8-lane arterial.


----------



## essendon bombers

ChrisZwolle said:


> http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/sou...tom-koutsantonis/story-e6frg12c-1226633429435
> 
> $ 1 billion for a 900 meter road project? It sounds like that money could be put to better use in the region. The road to be replaced - South Road - is already an 8-lane arterial.



Despite Chris quoting from Perth media, South Road is the major north-south arterial road through suburban western Adelaide. $1b for <1km does sound like a lot of money. Judging by the picture it looks to include an additional four lanes and digging invloved for the freeway. If engineering studies have not yet been done than $1bn can be conservative figures that account for potential cost blowouts. The current SA Government and the Federal Coaltion are of opposite sides of politics, so the SA Government will overstate the cost of the project that they aren't prepared to do themselves and their federal opposites are.

$1bn could be better put to extending the southern end of the M2 Southern Expressway to A13 McLaren Vale and duplication to the nice seaside town of Victor Harbour, popular with locals and interstate visitors - probably with money left over.

Or maybe $1bn could be better spent on upgrading South Rd in the suburbs of Edwardstown, Thebarton or Croydon Park; likely to have better traffic easing benefits but are more complex infrastructure projects and probably more controversial.

The SA and Federal Governments need to sit down and work out a long term plan for upgrading South Road to freeway between the M2 Expressway in the south and the Port River Expressway and the Northen Expressway in the northern suburbs. At least the superway project currently under construction is a start.


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## Blackraven

Anyways:
This looks cool










=)


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## SydneyCity

^^

It's a safety mechanism activated either when a truck or bus that is too high attempts to enter the tunnel, or there is some sort of hazard (eg accident, fire) in the tunnel.


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## Burden

Somewhere between Melbourne and Sydney..


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## Burden

Typical Highway Patrol car on the outback highway (pretty sure not Bruce Highway) in western Queensland.


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## AtD

Blackraven said:


> Anyways:
> This looks cool
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> =)


Where is that?


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## crazyknightsfan

Sydney Harbour Tunnel


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## natfat madd

Burden said:


> Somewhere between Melbourne and Sydney..


That my friend is the Coolac bypass. can't count the amount of times i've driven that road same with the old road too. lots of memories there.


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## essendon bombers

Last Monday 10 June, the Premier of the State of Victoria, Dennis Napthine announced a new format and slogan for the Victorian number plates. Currently Victoria uses the format ABC123 which commenced in 1953. We are approaching the ZZZ999 which is only weeks away. The new format, which is expected to last more than a half century, is number-letter-letter number-letter-letter, the first one being 1AA 1AA. Vicroads estimates this new format has 37 million possible combinations. The format is unique in Australia; maybe the world (I’m not aware of 1AA 1AA format anyone else in the world).

The plate slogan will also change as the state adopts a road safety based message; apparently we are the first to do so. Currently it is ‘_Victoria-The Place To Be’_; it will become ‘*Vic-Stay Alert Stay Alive’*.


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## crazyknightsfan

It was always amusing to see cars bearing the "Victoria-The Place to Be" slogan speeding in the opposite direction towards QLD :lol:


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## Verso

^^ So many people go to QLD that you left out NSW entirely? Anyway, I've been to Cairns with a "Victoria-The Place to Be" plate. :lol:


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## Burden

Some newbies from Cairns and Townsville in Northern Australia.




























Douglas arterial duplication:










































































































































Jesse24 said:


> Today


----------



## CairnsTony

I've just got back from Edmonton and drove on the new flyover near Woree for the first time. It only opened a couple of weeks ago.

As you can tell by the pics, there's still a way to go before all the upgrades are finished.


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## ChrisZwolle

Australia has to pay a very high price for transportation decisions in the past, especially the decision to sell off right-of-ways to developers for a few million dollars in revenue. This happened in various cities in the country. The only option today is to construct multi-billion dollar tunnels, i.e. WestConnex, NorthConnex, Clem Jones Tunnel, Airport Link, etc. This could've been avoided if they preserved a right-of-way that was available the 1960s and 1970s.


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## KIWIKAAS

Yes, only Melbourne and Perth did a good job preserving their corridors. Brisbane has managed very well though albiet with much tunneling involved.
Although I can understand Sydney cancelling the F3 via Gladesville, it's a shame they didnt reserve a corridor running north south from the F3 to the F6 which would have strategically been very valuable to Sydney linking with all 3 east-west motorways. 
I think Adelaide has some very interesting road infrastructure in store though with the South Rd Expressway project.


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## mubd

http://www.photosau.com.au/CoSMaps/maps/pdf/PSM/Planning Scheme - 15 December 1958.pdf
http://www.photosau.com.au/CoSMaps/maps/pdf/PSM/Planning Scheme - 16 July 1971.pdf

I personally don't think that this level of obliteration would have been appropriate...


----------



## mw123

mubd said:


> http://www.photosau.com.au/CoSMaps/maps/pdf/PSM/Planning Scheme - 15 December 1958.pdf
> http://www.photosau.com.au/CoSMaps/maps/pdf/PSM/Planning Scheme - 16 July 1971.pdf
> 
> I personally don't think that this level of obliteration would have been appropriate...


Woah... I'd have to agree with you there. Thank goodness those plans didn't eventuate in their entirety. Still, I wish there was some sort of north-south motorway further west yet east of the M7 as KIWIKAAS mentioned.


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## KIWIKAAS

Yes, I agree too. The original plans were very CBD focussed and in this case it was a blessing these didn't come to fruition in orginal form.


----------



## ChrisZwolle

I think you have to see such plans in the context of their time. Back in the 1950s and 1960s most travel was to and from the CBD. Today, road traffic patterns are much more decentralized and less focused on the CBD, as opposed to public transport which is generally still focused on the CBD, and gets a high modal share on such routes.


----------



## KIWIKAAS

Good point Chris, but with the completion of the F3 to Hornsby and Alford Point Bridge in the early 70's, you would think a route connecting the 2 (and at the same time all east-west links) would have been a no brainer. It would have been relatively easy to secure the route 40 years ago. Such a route would have probably meant the west connex project would not have been needed except for the M5 east duplication and maybe an M4 extension to City west link.


----------



## Suburbanist

An interesting video


----------



## marki

New thread on the Ozscrapers forum, for Canberra: 
Canberra Road and Infrastructure Projects

Posted some pictures of the Majura Parkway, part of a ring road around Canberra.

Images from the northern part of the project, progress as at 28 May 2014
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=114700678&postcount=2

The southern section of the new road, mostly around the Junction of Fairbairn Avenue and Morshead Dr
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=114700831&postcount=3

Heading south along Morshead Drive
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=114700948&postcount=4

The southern section of the road project viewed from Mount Ainslie
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=114701163&postcount=5

Overview of the project from the EIS.
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=114701340&postcount=6

a few of the images here:

From Mount Ainslie









The new carriageway on the northern part of the project:









New alignment to the west of Majura Road









Site of overpass









Morshead Drive


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## mw123

Extension to Westconnex project in Sydney - northern connection to Anzac Bridge and a Southern extension towards Sutherland.


----------



## ChrisZwolle

*Newcastle Inner City Bypass*

The missing link of the Newcastle Inner City Bypass is funded in the amount of $ 280 million and construction will likely begin in 2017.

For more information and a lot of political bla bla see; http://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/news/mps/news2014/140613-delivering-the-newcastle-inner-city-bypass.html

I'm surprised by the amount of political babble in RMS press releases. A governmental agency should be impartial to politics. That's what parliament is for.

Although called an "Inner City" bypass, it is actually quite far from the Newcastle CBD, approximately 8 km.


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## ChrisZwolle

*New South Wales*

*Biggest roads, maritime and freight budget in NSW history: a record $5.5 billion*

The NSW Liberals & Nationals Government will invest a record $5.5 billion to build and maintain critical road, maritime and freight infrastructure as part of the 2014-15 NSW Budget.

(...)

The historic roads, maritime and freight budget – up $400 million from the previous financial year – includes:

*$1.2 billion* (including $393.6 million from NSW) to continue the upgrade of the Pacific Highway to a four lane, divided road between Hexham and the Queensland border (due for completion by the end of the decade) plus maintenance funding for the Pacific Highway of $44 million.
$266 million to fast-track planning, land acquisition and preconstruction for Australia’s largest urban motorway project, WestConnex (construction to commence in early 2015).

A further $132 million will be invested by the Sydney Motorway Corporation in WestConnex construction and delivery costs, including $109 million to commence widening of the M4 (total commitment of $398 million to the WestConnex project in 2014-15).

*$283.7 million* (includes Federal funding of $34.3 million) for the NSW Road Safety Strategy, including $240 million from the NSW Community Road Safety Fund.

*$185 million* to continue upgrading the Princes Highway to a four lane, divided road, including $80 million for the Foxground and Berry Bypass and $76.5 million for the Gerringong Upgrade, plus maintenance funding for the Princes Highway of $52 million.

*$209 million* for road upgrades to support population and economic growth in Western Sydney (includes Federal funding of $16.5 million), including completing sections of Schofields Road, Richmond Road and Camden Valley Way, and commence construction of the Old Wallgrove Road upgrade. There is also maintenance funding for roads in Western Sydney of $131 million.

*$113 million* to continue upgrading the Great Western Highway (includes Federal funding of $40 million), including completing the Woodford to Hazelbrook and Bullaburra to Wentworth Falls upgrades, and commencing road works at Kelso, plus maintenance funding for the Great Western Highway of $21 million.

*$109 million* for road upgrades to support Sydney’s second airport at Badgery’s Creek (includes Federal funding of $89 million), including commencing construction of Bringelly Road between Camden Valley Way and King Street, and planning for a new motorway between the M7 and The Northern Road.

*$70 million* for upgrades to Central Coast roads (includes Federal funding of $6 million), including the intersection of the Central Coast Highway with Brisbane Water Drive and Manns Road, and intersection upgrades along Wyong Road and Terrigal Drive, plus maintenance funding for Central Coast roads of $39 million.

*$69 million* for major road upgrades in country NSW, including constructing the second stage of the Moree Bypass, additional overtaking lanes on the Newell Highway, further safety works on the Barton Highway, replacing the Tangaratta Bridge and its approaches on the Oxley Highway, further upgrades to Gocup Road, and planning the upgrade at Bolivia Hill on the New England Highway. There is also maintenance funding for rural and regional roads of $827 million (includes maintenance funding described above for Pacific, Princes and Great Western highways and Central Coast roads).

Full press release: http://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/news/ministerial/news2014/140617-budget.html


Are they really going to spend $ 1.2 billion on a single project in just one Fiscal Year? :nuts: That's like $ 3.2 million per day. Usually only very large mega projects spend that kind of money per day. Even in Dallas, USA they don't spend that much per day on the LBJ Express.


----------



## ChrisZwolle

*Great Northern Highway, Port Hedland, WA*

*Great Northern Highway realignment opens in Port Hedland*

*An eight-kilometre realignment of the Great Northern Highway in Port Hedland will open to the public today.*

The $274 million project was designed to make heavy vehicles bypass built-up areas in town.

The highway includes new access points to Wedgefield and Utah Point, as well as a new freeway-style interchange at the Broome turn-off.​
Full report: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-06-17/great-northern-highway-realignment-opens-in-port/5529430


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## roofromoz

ChrisZwolle said:


> Although called an "Inner City" bypass, it is actually quite far from the Newcastle CBD, approximately 8 km.


I think the name is to distinguish it from the "outer" bypass on the rural fringes of Newcastle, which is the Pacific Motorway (M1). The word city in this context is more about the urban area, rather than the inner city / suburbs itself (like Wickham). However, it is a bypass of the CBD though, between Windale in the southern suburbs and Sandgate in the north western suburbs.


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## Vaud

ChrisZwolle said:


> *Great Northern Highway realignment opens in Port Hedland*​




Driving to Port Hedland, crossing just truck trains on the way filled up with iron ore, is a scary experience. Those things would basically wipe out anything they crashed into.​


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## mw123

Foxground and Berry Bypass | Princes Highway

The Foxground and Berry bypass will provide a four-lane divided highway (two lanes in each direction) with median separation for 11.6 kilometres of the Princes Highway between Toolijooa Road and Schofields Lane. The upgrade will include a bypass of the existing winding highway at Foxground and a bypass of Berry with access ramps at the north and south of the town.

On 10 June 2014 Roads and Maritime Services awarded the contract for the design and construction of the Foxground and Berry bypass to Fulton Hogan.

http://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/roadprojects/projects/princes_hway/foxground_berry_bypass/


----------



## rohjoe

*Gateway WA*

Some nice aerials taken recently of the Gateway WA Perth Airport and Freight access project: 
http://aerialphotographywa.com/2014/05/

Project info:
http://gatewaywa.com.au/

Cheers,
Rohan


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## mw123

Jacob's Ladder | Tasmania


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## mw123

Pacific Highway Upgrade



shabangabang said:


> *Aerial view of highway shows an impressive engineering feat*
> 
> Twenty-five kilometres of uninterrupted dual carriageway is due to open in coming weeks.
> 
> Set to be completed on time, the Leighton Fulton Hogan project, jointly funded by the State and Federal governments stands as the newest highway section in New South Wales.
> 
> Originally projected to cost $700 million, the project will be completed with a price tag of $850 million.
> 
> Started in August 2010 almost four years on and the road has been built by 215 workers and 105 pieces of machinery.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Gaudrons Rd interchange
> 
> http://www.coffscoastadvocate.com.au/news/aerial-view-of-highway-shows-an-impressive-enginee/2298452/


----------



## Fargo Wolf

mw123 said:


> Jacob's Ladder | Tasmania


Where in Tasmania is that? Looks like a fun road to drive/ride/cycle.


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## rohjoe

Fargo Wolf said:


> Where in Tasmania is that? Looks like a fun road to drive/ride/cycle.


It's on the road up to the Ben Lomond plateau in the North East of the state. Definitely a fun drive.


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## KIWIKAAS

Found it on maps
https://www.google.com/maps/place/4...752,5710m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x0


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## ChrisZwolle

*Great Western Highway, NSW*

*$225 million next stage of Great Western Highway to open to traffic*

Final preparations are under way to open the $225 million, 3.2km upgraded section of the Great Western Highway from Woodford to Hazelbrook on Thursday 10 July.

"Highway widening between Hazelbrook and Woodford has been under way since 2010 with a centre median and dedicated turning lanes built to reduce crash risk, upgrade key intersections, and a pedestrian bridge and safer crossings installed.

"The $85 million stage from 400m west of Genevieve Road at Bullaburra to Tableland Road at Wentworth Falls will open this year and the $75 million section from Ridge Street at Lawson to 400m west of Genevieve Road at Bullaburra East will open late 2015," Mrs Sage said.

The NSW Government is continuing planning and early work for the $250 million Great Western Highway upgrade west between Katoomba and Lithgow.​
Expensive project for a non-freeway. But necessary, the AADT on this stretch is near 25,000 vehicles per day.


----------



## mubd

Well, it does have to go through the Blue Mountains so it's understandable.


----------



## roofromoz

The GWH through the mountains is a mixture of at-grade and grade separated intersections, as well as limited access and direct property access. But in the main, it is a 2x2 dual carriageway, and a lot of these upgrades over the past decade or so has been either the duplication or re-alignment of 1x1 (with overtaking lanes) sections. Re-alignment has taken place where the terrain has allowed it, but there have been other constraints such as the urban area being a small ribbon enveloped by a world heritage national park. And then there is the Lawson village - the commercial centre was more or less redeveloped as the strip of shops were demolished for the duplication that occurred a few years ago.


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## essendon bombers

*BRISBANE 2014*

During May, went to Brisbane for a week. Got some photos of Storey Bridge and did the bridge climb which was great fun! Was told during the tour that the Storey Bridge was one of only three public bridge climbs in the world; the other two are Sydney Harbour Bridge and Auckland Harbour Bridge.


----------



## essendon bombers

Also drove up and around Mt Coot-tha and got a snap of the Legacy Way western tunnel opening. (distance about 5km away)


----------



## essendon bombers

The Port of Brisbane Motorway (M4) is a short road from the Gateway Mwy to the Port of Brisbane. It serves mainly freight transport but also the suburbs of Wynnum and Manly.


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## essendon bombers

Bruce Highway (M1) is the highway from Brisbane to Cairns but I only went as far as Maryborough turnoff. Continuous dual carriageway currently extends as far as Cooroy from Brisbane.






Bruce Highway (Cooroy to Curra) – the next stage of Bruce Hwy duplication is between Cooroy and Curra. The project is split into four parts – A, B, C, D. B is finished and A is under construction. My photo is from part B, south of Gympie.


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## essendon bombers

Sunshine Motorway (Qld state route. 70) branches off the Bruce Hwy near Sippy Downs towards the coast, then north along the Sunshine Coast. It is 2x2 as far as Maroochydore, then 1x1 motorway to Noosa.


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## essendon bombers

Caloundra Road (Qld state route 6) is a semi-motorway (in parts) arterial road that branches of the Bruce Hwy near Landsborough and rejoins with the Sunshine Mwy near Maroochydore. It serves Caloundra and the southern Sunshine Coast.


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## essendon bombers

Gateway Motorway North is the northern half of the Brisbane Bypass and will receive a major upgrade over the next few years.


----------



## city_thing

essendon bombers said:


> Also drove up and around Mt Coot-tha and got a snap of the Legacy Way western tunnel opening. (distance about 5km away)


Brisbane seems to be constantly building motorway tunnels. Really pretty amazing.


----------



## mw123

20 year vision for Sydney's motorway network. Excluding the planned 14km Western Sydney Airport Motorway.

Screen Shot 2014-09-12 at 7.19.01 am by MDRX1, on Flickr


----------



## ChrisZwolle

I presume all new links will be tolled. That is a downside of this type of road financing, it will relieve local roads less than if it were to be an untolled link.


----------



## essendon bombers

ChrisZwolle said:


> I presume all new links will be tolled. That is a downside of this type of road financing, it will relieve local roads less than if it were to be an untolled link.


I'm not sure if all this would ever be built; some of it will.
The most expensive projects will be tolled, as the state budget could not afford them. NSW can continue to get assistance from the Feds for projects in the plan that also part of the national highway network; so not all projects may get the toll.

I remember a few months ago seeing something about planning the M9 Motorway from Campbelltown to Penrith, the _Outer Orbital_ labelled in the map; however the purple line follows an alternate parallel route, so I'm a little confused.

The Casterleigh Fwy / or Bells line of Freeway - not sure if / when this would be built.


----------



## essendon bombers

VICTORIAN EAST WEST LINK

Meanwhile, some news out of Melbourne regarding the East west Link this week: with a state election about ten weeks away, the Victorian Labor Party have come out and said that they would scrap the project if they got in. They think they can get away with it based on their own legal advice - I don't know how good that advice is. Two inner suburban councils are taking the project's proponents to court soon over an issue of process and this court case would coincide over the signing of contracts expected in October. I think that the legal advice would state that the contracts could be deemed invalid if the court finds that the government has not followed its process in project planning and any potential new state government could walk away from this contract without payout to companies financing and building the project.

For Labor, only needing to win two seats from the government without losing any of their own; it is a big gamble on their part – they are betting that Victorians don’t want the tunnel project. It’s true that most inner northern residents are against the project they are so noisy about it. Six months ago they said they would honour the contracts if they were signed – now they have changed their tune. However, if their legal advice is faulty and they are now locking themselves and the state in to scrapping the project if they win; they will appear very reckless financially and give a poor image of the state to future investors.

For the government, this week they have begun geotechnical drilling of the western section of East-West and announced their preferred bidder of the eastern section to enter into final negotiations before contract signing. The East West Connect Consortium comprises of Lend Lease, Acciona and Bouygues.


----------



## essendon bombers

Recently, I did a trip up the Hume to Sydney for a week. It was my first drive on the Hume as a completed dual highway as from the middle of last year. My photos are mostly from the return trip to Melbourne.


Sydney outskirts – Canberra turn off (Federal Hwy)


Narallen Road (A9) in ten years time might become the M9 Mwy when the western Sydney roads package is complete.




Down the road around Moss Vale, the Hume Fwy from the Sydney end finished here in the 1980s with two lanes all the way into Victoria back then.


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## essendon bombers

Canberra turnoff – Adelaide turnoff (Sturt Hwy)


The highway north of Canberra is miles along plains and rolling hills, and a wind farm. A beautiful day makes a beautiful picture.


----------



## essendon bombers

Bridge over the Murrumbidgee River at Gundagai. Gundagai is worth a stop on the trip to see the Dog on the Tuckerbox statue and the town holds its place in Australian folklore. The town is worth a sleep over if you want to do Sydney-Melbourne in two days as it in a lovely country setting and almost at the half way point.


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## essendon bombers

*PACIFIC HIGHWAY – WOOLGOOLGA TO BALLINA, NORTHERN NSW*

The last piece of the puzzle for the Pacific Highway is almost underway and it is being done in one hit!
The 155 km Woolgoolga to Ballina will be upgraded to four lane divided highway to complete the dual carriageway between Sydney and Brisbane upon completion in 2020.
The consortium Pacific Complete, consisting of Laing O’Rourke and Parsons Brinkerhoff, is contracted as the preferred delivery partner to upgrade the highway. This part of the highway is part of $5.64 billion being pumped into the Pacific Hwy by the Australian and NSW Governments over the next five years. 
Currently, nearly 400 km of the Pacific Hwy from Hexham to the Queensland border is completed dual carriageway. A further 120 km is currently being upgraded to dual carriageway including from Port Macquarie, around Kempsey and Nambucca Heads, to Urunga; and north of Ballina to the Byron Bay turnoff.

Australian Government’s Pacific Highway upgrade website: http://investment.infrastructure.gov.au/funding/projects/pacifichighway.aspx


----------



## essendon bombers

ChrisZwolle said:


> I was looking into the Bruce Highway upgrade near Gympie. It struck me how expensive this is, a 8.4 km section of motorway near Gympie will cost $ 624 million. That's nearly $ 75 million per kilometre through rural terrain. Now I understand it needs quite some flood mitigation, but it's a lot of money.
> 
> 
> Another section nearby from Cooroy to Federal cost $ 590 million for 13.5 km of motorway. That's $ 44 million per kilometre. That area seems to be more hilly, but perhaps they could twin most of the existing Bruce Highway.



I found some local articles for you if you're interested that might help to explain the high cost of infrastructure projects in Australia. I don't think there is a single reason but many small reasons that all add up. One article I found compares Australia to France.


*Why do roadworks cost so much?*
The Age, 3 August 2014

About $800,000 for a roundabout and $21 million to widen a road. How can building and improving roads be so hideously expensive?

*Construction costs are inflated by high bidding costs and poor financial transparency*, federal assistant Infrastructure Minister Jamie Briggs was quoted this week in advance of an industry round-table discussion on the best ways to tackle the problems.

According to a recent leaked Infrastructure Australia report, *road expenditure in Australia is notoriously inefficient and roads agencies lack intimate knowledge of roads systems, resulting in frequent cost overruns*.

A former VicRoads employee said *the roads agency has been deskilled to the point where there are too few experienced engineers to properly assess tenders submitted by private construction companies*. Doug Harley, who was manager of network modelling at VicRoads, left the agency last year after three decades, over differences of opinion regarding the cost benefits of East West Link.

Because tenders are selected almost solely on their price, he said, private companies submit cheap tenders, and then later start adding variations that end up inflating the final price well above the original quote.

However, contractors who frequently work for VicRoads say such a scenario is unlikely. Allan Williams, operations manager at regular VicRoads contractor Bitu-mill, said any road construction business that engaged in under-quoting and then over-claiming on variations would be risking future contracts. “It’s a small industry, and your reputation and your ethics come into it when you tender, not just price. You’re only as good as your last job, and companies that did that may come unstuck next time they put in a tender.”

People are often ignorant of what it costs to build a road or install a roundabout, Mr Williams said. "When you see a noticeboard for a road project and it says $5 million, that includes a lot of costs apart from the construction - *it also covers the cost of design, the site investigation, relocation of services, environmental plans, traffic management, even the costs of putting together the tender.*"

*Costs are also boosted by high community expectations regarding environmental and safety issues*, he said, with continual improvements in worksite safety and procedures meaning upfront costs are greater. "In order to protect the personal safety of the general public and of road workers, a road construction project might need to include concrete barriers, worksite diversions, traffic management and project methodology - and that all costs.”

Civil engineer and transportation expert Professor William Young, from Monash University, said c*ompetition with the mining industry can be blamed to a large extent for the high costs of road construction in Australia*.

"Labour costs here are three or four times higher in Australia than in England, for instance," he said.

Competing with the mining industry pushes up the prices of materials as well as labour.

While the Infrastructure Australia report suggested the nation's "addiction" to road building meant spending is inefficient and unaccountable, it acknowledged this was less true at the lower levels of government. Local government, it argued, tends to retain engineering personnel “who generally do manage and ‘know’ their road networks intimately”.

In the case of Darebin, in Melbourne's north-east, the council has a pavement management system that audits the condition of its 512 kilometres of roads. Any requests for road improvements such as roundabouts and widening need to be closely costed and put out to budget for public review.

Darebin still carries out road maintenance in-house and has a substantial number of engineers on staff, thus ensuring it is able to carry out accurate estimates of bigger projects that need to be outsourced. This limits the chance of cost overruns in the final construction price, Darebin Council's director of assets and business services Steve Hamilton said. "We have a good idea of unit rates based on our experience.”

This is not the case at VicRoads, according to Mr Harley, who claimed the agency no longer has experience building things and no previous job estimates to work off. "*VicRoads has to go for the lowest tender, and because they have been deskilled over the years, they can't tell whether or not the price has been deflated - or inflated*," he said.

VicRoads, denies this, claiming that even though most of its road construction works are outsourced, the agency still undertakes some road and bridge design and occasional minor road construction. VicRoads' director of procurement and contract management Mark Koliba said this has been a deliberate strategy “to ensure that VicRoads maintains capability, continues to be an informed purchaser and is up to date with current market rates”.
How much does a road cost?

VicRoads declined to provide costings on road construction, stating there are too many variables influencing the cost to be able to generalise. These include the location of the project, whether land acquisition was required, whether services such as power, water or telecommunications needed to be relocated, and the availability of suitable construction materials. Costs also vary enormously depending on how much and what kinds of traffic the road is expected to carry. VicRoads looks after freeways and arterial roads in urban and non-urban areas, while municipal councils look after local roads.

As an indicator of the variation between road building costs, a major arterial road might require asphalt to a depth of 30 centimetres, while a local street might require asphalt only three centimetres deep.

The roundabout being built at the intersection of Gisborne-Melton Road and Melton Valley Drive, Melton, was contracted to Bitu-mill at $865,000 reflecting the scope of a project that involves an arterial road, traffic management measures and relocation of services. Meanwhile, a simple local roundabout constructed in a local street is more likely to cost $100,000 or less.

What is involved in building a local roundabout?

Design $3000
Construction prelims/mgmt $8000
Site preparation/demolition $4000
Road pavement $35,000
Kerb and channel $10,000
Footpath/crossovers $10,000
Drainage $20,000
Service alterations $5,000
Landscaping $5,000
Total $100,000



*Why infrastructure costs more in Australia than France*
Australian Financial Review, 1 August 2014

Tourists visit the Château de Versailles, which evolved from Louis XIII’s hunting lodge into one of France’s most magnificent palaces and the seat of the French government, to marvel at Louis XIV’s Grand Apartments and Hall of Mirrors. But just a few kilometres east,¬hidden from view under a nearby forest, is a far more prosaic structure: an ¬underground motorway.

The 10-kilometre road tunnel, known as “Duplex A86" was built by three French construction groups between 1997 and 2011 to connect the missing link in the A86 ring road that runs around Paris. At a total cost of €1.56 billion ($2.25 billion) it works out at about $226 million a kilometre.

On the other side of the world in Sydney, grand plans for the 33-kilometre long WestConnex motorway, which will include a 13-kilometre underground tunnel, are being pushed ahead by the NSW government.

This motorway, which will burrow beneath brick apartment blocks and fibro bungalows in western Sydney suburbs, will cost about $350 million a kilometre.
The cost comparison is not entirely fair – WestConnex’s tunnels will be taller and wider – but the stark difference in price between Australia and a high-cost country such as France with its 35-hour working week remains mind-boggling as the federal government embarks on a $50 billion infrastructure spending spree.

Foreign construction groups hoping to win work on some of the infrastructure projects up for grabs – including ¬Melbourne’s $8 billion East West Link ¬tunnel, Sydney’s $3 billion NorthConnex tunnel and Queensland’s $1.6 billion Toowoomba bypass – marvel at the expense of building in Australia.
“In general, it is more expensive than most other places," says José Manuel Entrecanales, the chairman and chief executive of Acciona, the Spanish infrastructure group that has built highspeed railway lines, desalination plants and roads around the world.

“*Australia is a very sensitive, demanding society, and you have to pay for that."*

MORE THAN JUST HIGH WAGES

*Australia’s high wages are a well-known problem, with French construction group Bouygues claiming workers cost $80 an hour in Australia to employ compared with just €30 ($46) in France.*

But the causes of Australia’s high infrastructure costs are far more pervasive than pricey labour, creating an enormous challenge for governments hoping to deliver new roads, railways and hospitals on time and on budget.

At issue is the time that commuters are trapped in traffic on the way to work or spend circling Sydney Airport, the amount of coal and grain that can be exported without being held up by bottlenecks on railways as trains are delayed on their way to ports; and the cost and quality of our healthcare.

*Prescriptive tender processes which require financing to be lined up before ¬construction bids are submitted; the use of multifarious sub-contractors creating unnecessary layers of management; poor project management; and governments that fail to buy materials at the cheapest price available all drive up costs.*

Scott Charlton, the chief executive of toll road group Transurban , has identified ¬governments’ propensity to specify every last detail used in new infrastructure as being a key factor pushing up costs, joking earlier this year that his company could save taxpayers money by letting contractors choose their own bolt colours.

“We’re not going to tell you that your bolts have to be pink, you can have the bolts whatever colour you want."

Charlton claims Transurban, which will build the NorthConnex road tunnel in western Sydney to link the M2 and F3 freeways after approaching the NSW government with an unsolicited bid, ran a more efficient tender process than the public sector would have done.

The toll road group sent out an eight-page document to design and construction companies, asking them to come up with their best ideas for the tunnel, rather than issuing thousands of pages of specifications.
Nicholas Wall, director of business development for Acciona’s Australian infrastructure business, agrees governments can be unnecessarily demanding in the early stages of tenders, particularly on designs.
“Historically governments have asked for multiple drawings, both cross and long sections, which are well above and beyond what is required," he says.

LIMITING INNOVATION

John O’Rourke, the principal of Plenary, an infrastructure investment group that specialises in public-private partnerships (PPPs) and was part of the consortium that built the Gold Coast’s new light rail system, says governments that “over specify" limit innovation. “The best projects are where the state does a good job in planning the outputs that it wants, not the inputs," he says.

Infrastructure investors who take stakes in PPPs such as schools and hospitals after they are built also complain about the large numbers of “key performance indicators" required by governments. These include obligations to respond to telephone calls to help desks within 30 seconds, watering grass on school ovals frequently and ¬fixing broken windows within a specified period of time.

The quality of service is laudable, but investors say budgeting for what they claim are over-staffed help desks and maintenance services pushes up costs.

*Governments like PPPs, because the risks of cost blowouts are usually borne by the private sector, not taxpayers.

But the construction companies that build Australia’s largest projects are getting fed up with being asked by governments to absorb unexpected risks, and want the model to change. This means risks are being forced back onto taxpayers.

“If risk is pushed onto the contractor, the contractor has to then price that risk into their bid, which inflates the price,*" points out Graeme Hunt, chief executive ofTransfield Services . “We have on several occasions made a decision not to proceed [with a ¬tender] because we felt the risk cannot be priced or managed commensurate with returns available."

Leighton Holdings is still trying to shore up its balance sheet following heavy losses on its fixed-price Airport Link and Victorian desalination plant projects, and is facing up to $1 billion of losses on a $1.85 billion contract to design and build a jetty for energy group Chevron on its Gorgon project in Western Australia that has run into trouble.

Leighton’s new Spanish owners, Grupo ACS, are reluctant to wade into projects they perceive as risky, with the chief executive Marcelino Fernandez Verdes this week claiming Leighton “didn’t go on" with a ¬tender for Melbourne’s East West Link ¬tunnel because the geotechnical risks were “not acceptable".

David Williams, director of the University of Queensland’s geotechnical engineering centre, says Australian contractors have too often rushed out to buy expensive tunnelling machines (which cost hundreds of millions of dollars) when digging new tunnels, rather than taking time to accurately assess geological conditions. “There is a tendency to focus more on the tunnel boring machine or the equipment to make sure it’s capable of getting through whatever you might hit and paying less attention to what you hit."

RISK AVERSE

Other construction groups have also shown signs of becoming more risk averse, with the UK’s Balfour Beatty last month pulling out of a three-way race to build a $1.6 billion light rail line down Sydney’s George Street. Balfour Beatty, which is battling sliding profits in its home market, is believed to have baulked at the financial risk it would have to take if it was the successful bidder for the light rail line due to the uncertain cost involved in relocating utilities.

Two big contractors falling out of two major projects in short succession is a ¬worrying sign for Tony Abbott’s ambitions to be known as an “infrastructure prime minister".

To keep projects on track, governments need to engage contractors earlier on in the development process, rather than telling them what to do, says Marc Vogts, the former BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto executive now running the John Grill centre for project leadership at the University of Sydney. 
“Contractors themselves have a lot to offer in terms of solutions," Vogts says.
“They take on such large projects that if they fail, their business will fail . . . they can deliver a lot of technical and ¬commercial innovation."

Contractors feel the same. The Spaniard in charge of Leighton’s new PPP division, Angel Muriel, has already expressed views that Australia could benefit from new design and construction techniques, and that more competition would drive ¬contractors to become more innovative, according to people in the industry. (Muriel declined to comment.)

Better technology could also be part of the answer. Darren Weir, the director of Laing O’Rourke’s Queensland and Northern Territory business, says the British group is now using digital engineering modelling and “augmented reality" systems on local projects to get a sense of what they will look like when they are finished.

“We build a job twice – we build a job virtually, and sort out all the problems in the digital model, and then apply that on site," Weir says. “In Western Australia we have guys walking around construction sites with iPads fully uploaded with the digital model of the construction sequence so they’ve got current information. "

Laing O’Rourke has used digital engi¬neering in the building of London’s second-tallest skyscraper, the Leadenhall Building, colloquially known as “the Cheesegrater".

Still, while more technology and less bureaucratic red tape may be part of the solution to lower costs, industry ¬participants remain concerned by the lack of long-term planning for Australia’s ¬infrastructure needs.

POOR PIPELINE

*A poor pipeline of new infrastructure projects in Australia,which has forced bidders to compete for one-off “mega projects" rather than being able to spread bets across a range of projects, has been a driving force behind high costs*, says ¬Plenary’s O’Rourke.

Similarly, Garry Bowditch, chief executive of the SMART infrastructure group at Wollongong University, argues Australia’s “staccato project flows" have made it ¬difficult for companies to make long term investments in people and technology.

Bowditch also believes governments need to plan better for unexpected changes during construction, citing the national broadband network as an example of a project that failed to deal with soaring costs. “There is an urgent need to better provision for new information, especially when costs blow out so the scale and scope of projects can be reconsidered," Bowditch says.

Vogts argues stronger project leadership and governance would help define the scope of projects before they are financed, pointing out it is hard to backtrack once projects are under way.

“There are a lot of people who are striving to get good systems and processes and get the project right, but you’ve got to stand back and say, ‘Did you do the right project?’ "

Vogts credits state governments with having appetite to learn from the private sector, with NSW’s WestConnex Delivery Authority sending two project directors to participate in the John Grill centre’s inaugural executive leadership program which starts this month (three other people from the NSW government will also attend along with 12 people from different industries in the private sector).

John Fitzgerald, the acting co-ordinator of government body Infrastructure ¬Australia, says greater willingness by both governments and the private ¬sector to collect and release data after projects are finished would also help improve performance.

“Learning from experience across state boundaries and on a national level could be an important contributor to improving practices but that’s a lot easier said than done," he says.

Governments have started thinking about how they approach new infrastructure projects, with governments in NSW and Victoria now accepting so-called “unsolicited" proposals from industry, such as Transurban’s NorthConnex proposal, allowing for more creative thinking.

Some have also started reimbursing a portion of bidding costs to unsuccessful tenderers, with losing bidders on Queensland’s Toowoomba bypass receiving about $4 million of their tender costs back.

Charged with delivering long-term project pipelines, better leadership and communication with the private sector, simplifying tender processes, creating more flexible labour practices and making savvier purchasing decisions, governments should not underestimate the task ahead, Vogts says.
“We’ve got a big challenge ahead of us . . . fundamentally we have to do more with less."


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## roofromoz

essendon bombers said:


> One of the biggest features of Victoria’s Labor Government’s infrastructure agenda is to remove 50 level crossings around Melbourne. The program is expected to cost $5 billion, take eight years to complete and be paid for by selling the port of Melbourne. Traditionally Melbourne has built its freeway network whereas Sydney removed most of the suburban level crossings. So now Sydney is playing catch up with freeway network development and Melbourne is playing catch up with level crossing removals.


There are only a small number of level crossings left in Sydney, most of them being on the Richmond Line, although there is one on Parramatta Road at Granville (Carlingford Line).

With the Richmond Line, there are plans to remove the Garfield Road crossing at Riverstone and replace it with a bridge.

Not too sure what the future holds for the Parramatta Road crossing, which is a major chokepoint during peak.


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## essendon bombers

*Tasmanian Midland Highway*

Recently, the Federal and Tasmanian Governments announced a 10 year $500m plan to upgrade the Midland Highway, the main highway in Tasmania that connects Hobart with Launceston, its two biggest cities. The Feds contribute $400m and Tasmania contributes $100m.

Although duplication of the complete length remains a long term goal, only a small section will be duplicated as projected traffic levels don’t warrant a four lane carriageway the full length. The objective is to upgrade the highway to a minimum AusRAP Level 3 standard; this will be done with 24 small to medium projects.

Projects consist of:
•	Installing flexible wire rope safety barriers
•	Intersection and alignment upgrades
•	Additional overtaking lanes
•	Widening lanes and wider medians
•	Removing roadside hazards
•	Duplication between Perth and Breadalbane (west of Launcestion airport)

Interactive website available: www.midlandhighway.tas.gov.au


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## essendon bombers

*First National Infrastructure Audit released*

Infrastructure Australia (IA) has released its first national audit which showed that road congestion costs Australia $13.7b annually now; but this will rise to $53b annually by 2031 if no action is taken.

The audit makes 81 findings including:

•	Australia's population is expected to grow from 22.3 million in 2011 to 30.5 million in 2031—with the majority of the growth occurring in our capital cities.
•	The expected population growth reinforces the economic importance of our capital cities. They contributed $854 billion to our economy in 2011 and are projected to contribute $1,621 billion in 2031.
•	Congestion threatens economic growth and living standards and could cost Australia $53 billion by 2031.
•	Without action, road travel times in Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane and Canberra are expected to increase by at least 20 per cent in the most congested corridors by 2031.
•	On average, demand for public transport in our capital cities is set to almost double over the next 20 years.
•	Hot spots such as the Pilbara and Gladstone also merit close attention. Today they contribute $44 billion to the national economy. By 2031 this is projected to more than double to $110 billion.
•	The national land freight task is expected to grow by 80 per cent between by 2031, with a large component expected to be handled by road freight vehicles.
•	Maintaining and maximising the efficiency of existing infrastructure will be critical, and in many cases will be of equal or greater importance as developing new infrastructure projects.
In terms of policy settings the audit proposes that:
•	improving governance and modernising regulatory settings so we get the best out of our infrastructure;
•	boosting transparency and project assessment processes to enable informed choices; and
•	greater sharing of information on infrastructure performance and outcomes to improve long-term decision making.


Later this year IA will produce a 15 year pipeline of priority projects and policy reforms.


Website: http://www.infrastructureaustralia.gov.au/

The latest infrastructure priority list, dated December 2013 can be found here: 

http://www.infrastructureaustralia.gov.au/projects/files/IPL_Web_update.pdf


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## Blackraven

:lol:


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## sirfreelancealot

Blackraven said:


> :lol:


So, you're getting done for doing 100kph in a 100kph limit? Are there no margin formulas? In the UK we usually have a 2mph + 10% rule, so in a 70 mph limit you'll not get fined unless your driving at 79mph. As speedometers alway under-read you could do an 80 indicated without getting caught, as your real speed is likely to be 75mph.


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## Blackraven

sirfreelancealot said:


> So, you're getting done for doing 100kph in a 100kph limit? Are there no margin formulas? In the UK we usually have a 2mph + 10% rule, so in a 70 mph limit you'll not get fined unless your driving at 79mph. As speedometers alway under-read you could do an 80 indicated without getting caught, as your real speed is likely to be 75mph.


http://www.worldcarfans.com/115060394742/driver-gets-speeding-ticket-after-doing-100-kmh-in

It was an 'error' on the part of Queensland Police...........but yeah it's really hilarious either way :lol:


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## mw123




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## essendon bombers

*Kilmore-Wallan Bypass*

The twin towns of Kilmore and Wallan lie north of Melbourne where the Northern Highway (B75) deviates from the Hume Freeway. Over coming years, as Melbourne continues to grow these two towns are like likely to be considered satellite cities to Melbourne, as much as Werribee and Sunbury are considered today. The combined population is expected to grow from about 15,000 today to 40,000 by 2031 with a corresponding increase in through heavy vehicle traffic serving Bendigo, Echuca, northern Victoria and southern NSW from Melbourne. 

Vicroads have undertaken planning studies and environmental effects statement and have determined that the western bypass is the best option for Kilmore (blue line). The southern part of the bypass is a revamped Epping-Kilmore Rd while the western section is a new road with three new roundabouts. Funding is not yet committed for by the state and no construction timetable set. An eastern bypass of Kilmore was considered, but rejected based on passing near an equine precinct and through locally sensitive areas.

Vicroads video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmSrAnX5UaU


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## essendon bombers

*Koo-Wee-Rup Bypass, Pakenham to South Gippsland Hwy, Victoria*

The Koo Wee Rup road project is roughly 20km long, lies at the edge of Melbourne south eastern urban fringe and will link the Princes Freeway at Pakenham to the South Gippsland Highway just south of Koo Wee Rup. 

The project will be done in three stages with the first stage due for completion this year:

Stage 1 - Construct new 3.4km two lane bypass of Koo Wee Rup township (blue line)

Stage 2 – upgrade the Koo Wee Rup road to divided highway from the Princes Fwy to the northern end of the bypass constructed in Stage 1 (red line)

Stage 3 – convert the divided highway to freeway by building new overpasses, on/off ramps, and a new connection to the Freeway at Pakenham (black lines)

At the moment there is no timeline for construction of Stages 2 and 3 and no monies committed.

The bypass is expected to be beneficial to South Gippslanders and those who wish to go to Philip Island, a popular holiday and weekend spot. This traffic will avoid the Cranbourne urban area (yellow shaded) that the current South Gippsland Hwy passes through.


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## ChrisZwolle

*Legacy Way, Brisbane*

*Legacy Way to open within 48 hours: Lord Mayor Graham Quirk*

The Legacy Way toll tunnel should be open within the next 48 hours, Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said, bringing to an end his administration's TransApex infrastructure program.

Work on the $1.5 billion, 4.6-kilometre Legacy Way, which will link Toowong to the Inner City Bypass at Kelvin Grove, started in April 2011 and had been expected to be open by late 2014.​
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/que...-lord-mayor-graham-quirk-20150624-ghwjt4.html

:cheers:


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## ChrisZwolle

*Toowoomba Second Range Crossing*

* Ferrovial consortium’s bid chosen for Toowoomba toll road project worth 1.6 billion Australian dollars, located in Queensland (Australia) *

* Ferrovial, through a consortium headed by subsidiary Cintra Infraestructuras (Nexus consortium) has been selected as preferred tenderer for the design, construction, financing, operation and maintenance of a 41-kilometre section of the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing toll road in Toowoomba (Queensland).
* The project spans a concession period of 25 years and involves an estimated investment of 1.6 billion Australian dollars.
* The consortium will now work with the Queensland government to finalise the contract.

The project includes the contraction of a 41-kilometre new section of toll road, bypassing the city of Toowoomba and thereby improving traffic conditions in the region by reducing the heavy goods vehicle traffic that currently crosses the centre of town. The project will also enhance opportunities for local economic development and boost employment and the local supply chain.

The 25-year concession starts from the date the highway opens to traffic, scheduled for the end of 2018.​
Full press release: http://www.ferrovial.com/en/press-r...der-toll-road-toowoomba-queensland-australia/


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## essendon bombers

*Snow at the Queensland Border!*

If you come to Australia you shouldn’t really to expect to see this, but courtesy of some cold weather last week sometimes the unexpected happens.

It may have been a few cms and melted by lunchtime. The town of Stanthorpe received the most snow in Queensland but it also fell in and behind the mountains down through New South Wales and into Victoria. Although no snow in the big cities, it was a real struggle to get warmer than 10C in Melbourne last week.


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## Verso

^^ When was the last time it snowed in Queensland (particularly in lowlands, not mountains)?


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## ukraroad

27 Aug 2008


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## mw123

Pacific Highway Upgrade | Titenbar to Ewingsdale 



DAJAN said:


> RMS has actually posted some recent pics of Tintenbar to Ewingsdale...
> 
> http://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/projects/northern-nsw/tintenbar-to-ewingsdale/index.html


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## mw123

New M12 Motorway in Sydney.


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## KIWIKAAS

*Perth Gateway Project update*

Nearing completion


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## mw123

Pacific Highway Upgrade | Frederickton to Eungai





































Roads and Maritime Services NSW


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## ChrisZwolle

If you convert it to euros, it's more than € 100 million per kilometer. Such a cost is very rare in Europe and usually reserved for big urban projects or complex tunnels or large bridges, not an apparently relatively straightforward widening of 7 kilometers through mostly undeveloped land.


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## Eurosnob

ChrisZwolle said:


> If you convert it to euros, it's more than € 100 million per kilometer. Such a cost is very rare in Europe and usually reserved for big urban projects or complex tunnels or large bridges, not an apparently relatively straightforward widening of 7 kilometers through mostly undeveloped land.


Hey Chris,

This article may shed some light: http://www.afr.com/business/why-infrastructure-costs-more-in-australia-than-france-20140801-j6yuu

I migrated from the Netherlands to Australia years ago and I have to admit that I have been underwhelmed with the quality of new road infrastructure projects compared to what I was used to in Europe. Taking into account the huge cost, I'm not quite convinced that we are getting value for money.


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## KIWIKAAS

ChrisZwolle said:


> I found a project that blows my mind in terms of cost. It's a 7 kilometer segment of the Bruce Highway from Caloundra Road to the Sunshine Motorway. It will be widened from four to six lanes. The cost? $ 1134 million. That's $ 162 million per kilometer? What constraints incur such a huge cost, considering the existing highway runs through mostly undeveloped terrain? As I understand they want to make if possible for a future extension to eight lanes (which doesn't fit in the existing median), but it still seems very expensive.
> 
> http://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/Projects/...oundra-Road-to-Sunshine-Motorway-project.aspx


Yes it is kind of mind boggling. Infrastructure costs are out of control in Australia. Terrible shame really


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## Nexis

A Melbourne video from FreewayBrent


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## mw123

Sydney | New M5 East St Peters Interchange


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## mw123

Sydney | M4 East Concord Interchange


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## mw123

Toowoomba Second Range Crossing

Pre-construction work is underway. Aerial render of the viaduct.









http://www.aurecongroup.com/en/projects/transport/toowoomba-crossing.aspx


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## mw123




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## ChrisZwolle

*WestConnex, Sydney*

*Go-ahead for first WestConnex tunnel*

Building the first WestConnex tunnel is set to begin within months, with planning approval received for the new underground M4 East, an important step in the crucial project.

Federal Minister for Major Projects Paul Fletcher said the tick of approval from the NSW Department of Planning and Environment meant initial works could begin straight away on the 5.5km tunnel, with major construction expected to start in the middle of the year.​
Full press release: http://www.westconnex.com.au/news/m...212_go_ahead_for_first_westconnex_tunnel.html

It's stage 1, M4 east on this WestConnex map:


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## mw123




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## mw123

Albion Park Rail Bypass


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## rakcancer

ChrisZwolle said:


> *Go-ahead for first WestConnex tunnel*
> 
> Building the first WestConnex tunnel is set to begin within months, with planning approval received for the new underground M4 East, an important step in the crucial project.
> 
> Federal Minister for Major Projects Paul Fletcher said the tick of approval from the NSW Department of Planning and Environment meant initial works could begin straight away on the 5.5km tunnel, with major construction expected to start in the middle of the year.​
> Full press release: http://www.westconnex.com.au/news/m...212_go_ahead_for_first_westconnex_tunnel.html
> 
> It's stage 1, M4 east on this WestConnex map:


So after all (M4,M5 and M4-M5 link) is finished there will be one conitinous around 24km tunnel?!


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## mw123

rakcancer said:


> So after all (M4,M5 and M4-M5 link) is finished there will be one conitinous around 24km tunnel?!


Yes.


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## rakcancer

Nice....


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## mw123

NorthLink WA


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## Drunkill

(and in googlemaps)

Which will get a little bit messier to the West with two new lanes being added to the end of the Bolte Bridge (part of Citylink, a tollroad) as on/offramps only 1km to the West of these pictures. With Citylink getting a new lane in each direction with the widening project which began this week. http://citylinktullawidening.vic.gov.au/
[video type="youtube"]FpXKW1BT97o[/video]
(The above exit is the Montague Street interchange


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## rohjoe

Tullamarine Freeway, Melbourne










Pacific Motorway, Coomera, Queensland


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## rohjoe

*Video: Western Distributor, Melbourne*

Link below to a cool video on the Western Distributor project. The project will provide an alternative to the Westgate Bridge for traffic approaching Melbourne CBD from the western suburbs. Plans includes widening the Westgate Freeway to 12 lanes, a tunnel under Yarraville and connections to the Port of Melbourne and the Citylink tollway. There are two options proposed for connecting ramps to the tunnel section. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bXhqGeWdjE&feature=player_embedded


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## Kanadzie

wow that's a highly tidal flow of traffic :lol:
could they install maybe a movable zipper there? If they could swing an extra lane or 2 even, assuming the central overpass piers won't interfere...


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## rohjoe

Kanadzie said:


> wow that's a highly tidal flow of traffic :lol:
> could they install maybe a movable zipper there? If they could swing an extra lane or 2 even, assuming the central overpass piers won't interfere...


It does appear rather extreme but I suspect there was a jam somewhere that day. Probably not a representative picture. It's currently being widened too: http://citylinktullawidening.vic.gov.au/


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## Ryme Intrinseca

ChrisZwolle said:


> A regular overpass usually doesn't cost more than a couple of million dollars each. Even when building 20 or 30 of them, it doesn't explain the $ 150 million/kilometre figure.


In the UK at least the cost is way more than that! For instance, this scheme is priced at £106m (A$184m), the main features being a simple two bridge GSJ and around 1.5km of widening. I agree the Bruce Highway scheme looks expensive for what it is, but not completely out of whack with at least some other developed countries.


----------



## ChrisZwolle

^^ That's expensive for a scheme with just a single property displacement according to Google Earth. Though the interchange is built below grade which drives up the cost.


----------



## Ryme Intrinseca

^ Yes, that will be a factor, and there are a couple of retaining walls and bridge widenings.


scotdaliney said:


> Including those and Reid/Tonkin. Perth will have 3 of the four full freeway to freeway interchanges in Australia soon. (Some argue Tonkin/Leach isn't, but the stop from tonkin north to leach west is at a close but different interchange (abernethy).


I didn't know about the plans for Reid/Tonkin:









In the UK this design is known as a 'partially-unrolled cloverleaf' - it's kind of a cross between a cloverstack and a cloverturbine.


----------



## essendon bombers

*Melbourne Citylink-Tulla widening -- some photos*

from Carrick Drive, Gladstone Park


one northbound,



one southbound




this picture taken from Reynard Street, Pascoe Vale, towards the city


----------



## essendon bombers

this one closer to the city, @ Brunswick Road


----------



## essendon bombers

@ Bulla Rd interchange, Essendon Airport DFO


----------



## richard88

For what its worth, these new sections of the Bruce Highway just south of Gympie do have a superbly smooth surface. Of all the roads I've driven on in Australia, Europe and North America, I think it is the smoothest I've ever driven on. I know it doesn't justify the enormous cost, but anyway.. 

The section between Rocky and Mackay looks to have had serious flood damage. There are several waves in the road which was making me feel a little car sick


----------



## ChrisZwolle

*Roe 8, Perth, Western Australia*

* Work to start on Roe 8 following contract award*

The Western Australian Liberal National Government has approved a contract to build Roe 8, a key transport initiative which will significantly improve traffic flow across Perth's southern suburbs.

Premier Colin Barnett said Roe 8 - the 5km, four-lane dual carriageway extension of Roe Highway from the Kwinana Freeway intersection through to Stock Road - would deliver significant benefits to the Western Australian economy.

"Roe 8 is part of the 85km freight route from Muchea to Fremantle and will redistribute more than 6,900 trucks and 74,000 light vehicles per day from existing routes in the area," the Premier said.

Transport Minister Bill Marmion said a contract for the construction of Roe 8 was being finalised. Contract award to a consortium comprising CPB Contractors, Georgiou, WA Limestone, GHD, AECOM and BG&E was expected in forthcoming days.

"Roe 8 is an important component of the overall $1.9 billion Perth Freight Link Project," Mr Fletcher said.​
Full propaganda press release: https://www.mediastatements.wa.gov....-start-on-Roe-8-following-contract-award.aspx


----------



## ParadiseRacer32

Those are some great photos, *essendon bombers*! (btw I go for Essendon as well  )
I drive the Tullamarine Freeway/Citylink regularly and it does need the upgrade. However imo it seems like too much work for an extra lane so far (in the 8 lane section).


----------



## ChrisZwolle

*Melbourne*

*Major Works Set To Transform Outer-Western Roads*

Local residents and commuters out west will benefit from a huge package of road upgrade and maintenance works that will cut travel times, improve road safety and better connect communities in key growth corridors.

The Andrews Labor Government has called for Expressions of Interest for the western package of the Outer Suburban Arterial Roads (OSARs) Program – an Australian first, $1.8 billion investment.

It combines eight high-priority road upgrades with maintenance on more than 700 kilometres of road stretching from Werribee to Footscray, ensuring motorists benefit from new high quality roads while the existing network is maintained to a high standard for years to come.

The upgrades will involve a combination of duplication and widening works to western arterial roads including:

* Dunnings Road and Palmers Road, from Point Cook Road to Princes Freeway, Point Cook
* Palmers Road, from Princes Freeway to Western Freeway, Truganina
* Derrimut Road, from Sayers Road to Dohertys Road, Tarneit
* Leakes Road, from Fitzgerald Road to Derrimut Road, Truganina
* Dohertys Road, from Fitzgerald Road to Grieve Parade, Laverton North
* Dohertys Road, from Foundation Road to Palmers Road, Truganina
* Princes Freeway/Forsyth Road interchange, Hoppers Crossing
* Duncans Road interchange, Werribee/Werribee South

The package will transform the outer-western road network by boosting capacity and improving road pavement conditions with intersection upgrades, almost 30 kilometres of lane duplication, and road maintenance.

The Request for Proposal is expected to go out in early 2017, with construction expected to begin 2018.​
Full press release: http://www.premier.vic.gov.au/major-works-set-to-transform-outer-western-roads/

This is an interesting development. Large scale 'package' PPPs for urban arterials are uncommon, I cannot think of any similar project. They say it's an Australian first, usually big PPP contracts are for freeways, large bridges, tunnels or major highways. 

On the surface, $ 1.8 billion for _improving road pavement conditions with intersection upgrades, almost 30 kilometres of lane duplication, and road maintenance_ seems expensive, but these PPP projects usually involve a 20 or 30 year maintenance contract, and I'm not familiar with the exact upgrades that are proposed. Maybe others can elaborate on this. A$ 1.8 billion / 1.4 billion USD usually buys a large urban freeway, or a 100 km rural freeway project in the U.S., Canada or Europe.


----------



## mw123

Westconnex: New M4-M5 Link design features released

New design features for the next stage of WestConnex have been released, with potential for the M4-M5 Link twin tunnels to be completed early, capacity increasing from three to four lanes in each direction and exit and entry ramps at Camperdown removed.

Minister for Roads Duncan Gay said engineering improvements meant the twin tunnels from Haberfield to St Peters could be built as a stand-alone project, and initially operate independently from the Rozelle Interchange and Iron Cove Link. This would allow the tunnels to potentially open to motorists in 2022.

http://www.westconnex.com.au/news-media/new-m4-m5-link-design-features-released


----------



## mw123




----------



## essendon bombers

ChrisZwolle said:


> *Major Works Set To Transform Outer-Western Roads*
> 
> Local residents and commuters out west will benefit from a huge package of road upgrade and maintenance works that will cut travel times, improve road safety and better connect communities in key growth corridors.
> 
> The Andrews Labor Government has called for Expressions of Interest for the western package of the Outer Suburban Arterial Roads (OSARs) Program – an Australian first, $1.8 billion investment.
> 
> It combines eight high-priority road upgrades with maintenance on more than 700 kilometres of road stretching from Werribee to Footscray, ensuring motorists benefit from new high quality roads while the existing network is maintained to a high standard for years to come.
> 
> The upgrades will involve a combination of duplication and widening works to western arterial roads including:
> 
> * Dunnings Road and Palmers Road, from Point Cook Road to Princes Freeway, Point Cook
> * Palmers Road, from Princes Freeway to Western Freeway, Truganina
> * Derrimut Road, from Sayers Road to Dohertys Road, Tarneit
> * Leakes Road, from Fitzgerald Road to Derrimut Road, Truganina
> * Dohertys Road, from Fitzgerald Road to Grieve Parade, Laverton North
> * Dohertys Road, from Foundation Road to Palmers Road, Truganina
> * Princes Freeway/Forsyth Road interchange, Hoppers Crossing
> * Duncans Road interchange, Werribee/Werribee South
> 
> The package will transform the outer-western road network by boosting capacity and improving road pavement conditions with intersection upgrades, almost 30 kilometres of lane duplication, and road maintenance.
> 
> The Request for Proposal is expected to go out in early 2017, with construction expected to begin 2018.​
> Full press release: http://www.premier.vic.gov.au/major-works-set-to-transform-outer-western-roads/
> 
> This is an interesting development. Large scale 'package' PPPs for urban arterials are uncommon, I cannot think of any similar project. They say it's an Australian first, usually big PPP contracts are for freeways, large bridges, tunnels or major highways.
> 
> On the surface, $ 1.8 billion for _improving road pavement conditions with intersection upgrades, almost 30 kilometres of lane duplication, and road maintenance_ seems expensive, but these PPP projects usually involve a 20 or 30 year maintenance contract, and I'm not familiar with the exact upgrades that are proposed. Maybe others can elaborate on this. A$ 1.8 billion / 1.4 billion USD usually buys a large urban freeway, or a 100 km rural freeway project in the U.S., Canada or Europe.



The road maintenance contract is for 20 years. If I recall correctly the benefit cost ratio is 4.4 and the arterial roads will remain toll free. The winning consortium in return will get annual assistance from the state budget. The six road upgrades (highlight red) and two upgrade interchanges (yellow circle) run through both residential, semi-agricultural and industrial areas.

It’s a good package of road upgrades although I would’ve liked to have seen more. Point Cook Road misses out. So does Ballan Road through Wyndhamvale. There Is proposal for future ‘Education City’ at East Werribee in which Sneydes Road runs through the middle of the precinct. Derrimut Road becomes Hopkins Road as you go north and leads to the Western Freeway at Rockbank. In years to come Rockbank will be itself surrounded by new suburbs. Nothing wrong with upgrading roads ahead of time.

I would like to know when roads within the 700km network require upgrading / duplicating five or ten years in the future who pays for it? Will it be written into the contract that the consortium funds future upgrades or will it come from the state budget which would fund both the upgrade and the maintenance contract?

The outer suburban roads program sounds promising, perhaps there will be packages for northern suburbs, south eastern suburbs too?? Arterial road packages sit nicely with level crossing removal upgrades as medium to large scale projects. The State Government a few months ago announced two packages of crossing removals, the ‘western’ package and the ‘north-western’ package containing eight projects each.


----------



## essendon bombers

*$700 million for Northern Australia & Beef Roads*

The Federal Government on 24 October committed $700 million for highway and stock road upgrades across northern Australia. The list of 25 projects are listed below:



Project Name
Project Description
Australian Government funding (up to)

Rockhampton Road Network—Road Train Access (Stage 2)
Upgrading between Gracemere saleyards and the Rockhampton abattoirs to provide access for Type 1 Road Trains.
$20.00*million

Burke Developmental Road—Chillagoe to Almaden (Package 1)
Progressive sealing works.
$4.31*million

Burke Developmental Road—Chillagoe to Almaden (Package 2)
Progressive sealing works.
$1.66*million

Clermont—Alpha Road (Package 1)
Progressive sealing works.
$ 2.00*million

Clermont—Alpha Road (Package 2)
Progressive sealing works.
$ 4.01*million
Clermont—Alpha Road (Package 3)

Progressive sealing works.
$0.96*million

Ootann Rd—Almaden to Kennedy Hwy (Gunnawarra) (Package 1)
Progressive sealing works.
$0.66*million

Ootann Rd—Almaden to Kennedy Hwy (Gunnawarra) (Package 2)
Progressive sealing works.
$4.10*million

Gregory Developmental Road (South of Charter Towers)
Widening works.
$4.63*million

Richmond-Croydon Road (Package 1)
Progressive sealing works.
$3.20*million

Richmond-Croydon Road (Package 2)
Progressive sealing works.
$0.96*million

Cloncurry—Dajarra Road
Progressive sealing works..
$2.58*million

Diamantina Developmental Road (Boulia—Dajarra)
Rehabilitation and widening works.
$4.03*million

Richmond—Winton Road (Package 1)
Progressive sealing works
$2.97*million

Richmond—Winton Road (Package 2)
Progressive sealing works
$0.80*million

Barkly Stock Route (NT)
Upgrading a section of the route
$10.00*million

Tablelands Highway (NT)
Upgrading sections of the Highway to a two lane sealed standard
$20.00*million

Great Northern Highway (WA)
Highway widening
$12.51*million

Bowen Developmental Road
Progressive paving, sealing and drainage works
$23.00*million

Landsborough Highway (Longreach—Winton)
Pavement widening and strengthening of around 24*kilometres
$19.99*million

Peak Downs Highway (Clermont—Nebo)
Logan Creek to Nine Mile Creek—Pavement widening and strengthening
$28.00*million

Rockhampton (Bajool—Port Alma Road)
Upgrades to the port access road—pavement widening and safety upgrades
$11.60*million

Buntine Highway (NT)
Strengthening, widening and sealing priority sections
$32.06*million

Bow River Bridge (WA)
Replacing the existing single-lane bridge with a new two-lane bridge
$30.79*million

Cape Leveque Road (WA)
Road re-construction and re-alignment
$52.53*million


----------



## mw123




----------



## rohjoe

*Construction Costs*



ChrisZwolle said:


> *Major Works Set To Transform Outer-Western Roads*
> 
> On the surface, $ 1.8 billion for _improving road pavement conditions with intersection upgrades, almost 30 kilometres of lane duplication, and road maintenance_ seems expensive, but these PPP projects usually involve a 20 or 30 year maintenance contract, and I'm not familiar with the exact upgrades that are proposed. Maybe others can elaborate on this. A$ 1.8 billion / 1.4 billion USD usually buys a large urban freeway, or a 100 km rural freeway project in the U.S., Canada or Europe.


Legislation to revive the corruption-fighting Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) looks set to pass through parliament. Hopefully this will help bring road construction costs down. http://www.skynews.com.au/news/top-...w-procurement-rules-in-exchange-for-abcc.html


----------



## ChrisZwolle

*NorthLink WA*

*Stage 2 Contract awarded for NorthLink WA*

*The second of three construction contracts for the $1.12 billion NorthLink WA has been awarded to the Great Northern Connect Team - a joint venture between BGC Contracting Pty Ltd and Laing O'Rourke Australia Construction Pty Ltd.*

The $417 million construction contract is for Stage 2 of the project and covers construction of the Central Section of the Swan Valley Bypass between the Reid Highway and Ellenbrook.

Western Australian Minister for Transport Bill Marmion said work would start with the 17 kilometre link between Benara and Maralla roads, then Reid Highway between Malaga Drive to Altone Road. 

"Construction is well underway on Stage 1 of the NorthLink WA project with Tonkin Highway Grade Separations scheduled for completion by early 2018 - Stage 2 of the NorthLink WA project will begin construction early this year and is scheduled for completion in 2019."

The Australian Government is contributing $894 million and the Western Australian Government $223 million towards the NorthLink WA project.​
Full press release: https://www.mediastatements.wa.gov....tage-2-Contract-awarded-for-NorthLink-WA.aspx

This is a large freeway project northeast of Perth. The Swan Valley Bypass is 38 kilometers long.


----------



## italystf

How to build 5km of road in 2 days:


----------



## bogdymol

^^ As a road engineer I can tell you that this solution has no change in surviving with reasonable traffic on it. It is more or less a "painting" that looks like a road.


----------



## ChrisZwolle

It will keep the road dust free. But it's not really that much of a road indeed. It features no culverts, drainage or bridges.

Many roads on the American High Plains and the Canadian Prairies were built like that in the 1930s. Some of these states and provinces have an incredibly large network of paved roads relative to population. 

In the U.S., lack of funding has led some states to turn them into gravel roads. In Canada, there are many weight restrictions during the spring due to thawing soil.


----------



## mw123




----------



## rohjoe

*Perth Links Road, Tasmania*

New design for Midlands Highway bypass of Perth, Tasmania:






http://www.midlandhighway.tas.gov.au/projects/perth_link_roads


----------



## lukeyp

In what world is a three-way stack necessary to link 3 single lane roads... and in Tasmania too?


----------



## rohjoe

*Perth bypass*



lukeyp said:


> In what world is a three-way stack necessary to link 3 single lane roads... and in Tasmania too?


Actually, the bypass will be a dual carriageway as per cross section in the image, and the B52 is a busy road which carries traffic between Hobart and the NW coast. I'll take this over a roundabout any day.


----------



## Kanadzie

^^ but one of the roads is ending at a tiny roundabout
why not a trumpet interchange instead? 
This design seems to just use twice the land and probably quadruple the construction cost :lol:


----------



## rohjoe

Kanadzie said:


> ^^ but one of the roads is ending at a tiny roundabout
> why not a trumpet interchange instead?
> This design seems to just use twice the land and probably quadruple the construction cost :lol:


The roundabout will be replaced in future when the dual carriageway is extended further south.

Personally, I dislike trumpet interchanges. A directional interchange such as this is far superior in terms of geometry. The project is largely federally funded and the State would be foolish to raise objections if the money is available for a higher standard result.


----------



## lukeyp

I think youre all missing my point.

Full motorway-motorway interchanges are fairly rare in Australia. A 3-way stack in rural Tasmania? Get real. 

Why not a trumpet? HAHA. More like why not a roundabout? 

Is this seriously going to be carrying the sort of traffic that the M7/M5 interchange in Sydney carries? Or the M80 and the Westgate in Melbourne? Or even the Derwent and Tasman Hwy interchange?


----------



## rohjoe

I'm not missing your point. I agree this may be unusual for the setting, and possibly even over-engineered, but I think it's commendable that extra money can be spent to ensure a safe and future-proof design. It will no doubt cost a lot less to construct than if it were built in Perth WA, or Sydney.


----------



## Kanadzie

^^ but it is built in Perth... a random Perth :lol:


----------



## rohjoe

Kanadzie said:


> ^^ but it is built in Perth... a random Perth :lol:


Touche! :lol: Edited for clarity.


----------



## lukeyp

rohjoe said:


> I'm not missing your point. I agree this may be unusual for the setting, and possibly even over-engineered, but I think it's commendable that extra money can be spent to ensure a safe and future-proof design. It will no doubt cost a lot less to construct than if it were built in Perth WA, or Sydney.


I don't think its commendable at all! 

Our Federal government and a number of our state governments are running deficits and we have enormous debt. Some states (ahem, Tasmania) are only able to afford this infrastructure because of handouts from other states GST payments.


----------



## rohjoe

lukeyp said:


> I don't think its commendable at all!
> 
> Our Federal government and a number of our state governments are running deficits and we have enormous debt. Some states (ahem, Tasmania) are only able to afford this infrastructure because of handouts from other states GST payments.


I agree WA finances are in terrible condition, thanks in part to large infrastructure spending. This project is a drop in the bucket in comparison. But no, Tasmania doesn't deserve it. Because it's located in, well, Tasmania.

Let's put parochialism aside and celebrate good infrastructure, which is not as common in Australia as it should be.


----------



## essendon bombers

For Tasmania's Midland Hwy you could duplicate more kilometres of highway instead of building a fancy interchange....you could argue that that isn't necessary either.


----------



## ChrisZwolle

*Bruce Highway, Queensland*

A 13.5 kilometer segment of 4-lane divided highway opened to traffic on 28 April 2017, from the Cooroy south interchange to Sankeys Road interchange near Federal. It appears to be a motorway standard road. The construction cost was $ 490 million (€ 332 million). Again, this is fairly expensive for a not-so-urban freeway project compared to what you see in Europe or the U.S. 

The new 13.5km, 4-lane divided highway opened to traffic on 28 April 2017 between the existing interchange south of Cooroy and the recently completed section of highway in Federal (near Sankeys Road) and was completed 5 May 2017.​
https://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/Projects...A-Cooroy-southern-interchange-to-Sankeys-Road


----------



## cairnstony2

ChrisZwolle said:


> A 13.5 kilometer segment of 4-lane divided highway opened to traffic on 28 April 2017, from the Cooroy south interchange to Sankeys Road interchange near Federal. It appears to be a motorway standard road. The construction cost was $ 490 million (€ 332 million). Again, this is fairly expensive for a not-so-urban freeway project compared to what you see in Europe or the U.S.
> 
> The new 13.5km, 4-lane divided highway opened to traffic on 28 April 2017 between the existing interchange south of Cooroy and the recently completed section of highway in Federal (near Sankeys Road) and was completed 5 May 2017.​
> https://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/Projects...A-Cooroy-southern-interchange-to-Sankeys-Road


At this rate, we might have freeway all the way to Cairns in another hundred years...

Parts of the Bruce Highway up here in north Qld are already getting pretty busy and the standard of some stretches for many years was pitiful. After particularly heavy rain several years back we were cut off from the rest of the country for more than two weeks! Things didn't get fully reopened for about six weeks. They had to ship food in as I recall. 

Since then a lot of local upgrades, especially to bridges have reduced the flood risk in some areas, but the road between Cairns and Townsville could really do with grade separation in many areas, if only to reduce accidents on the windier stretches. It's our main link with the rest of the country after all...


----------



## Eastern37

^^ The road between Cairns and Townsville has improved considerably in the last 5-10 years. There's still a bit to go but it's becoming quite a decent drive these days, the extra bit of width does a lot more than I thought it would.


----------



## essendon bombers

*South Australia State Budget 2017*

As budget season is drawing to a close, just a quick look at some road projects that have been funded from the State Budgets of South Australia, then NSW.

Roads:
•	$305m Main South Road duplication from Seaford to Sellicks Beach, with the first part being 10km from Seaford to Aldinga Beach Road; [south west of Adelaide]
•	$174m Oaklands Crossing project, grade separation with rail underpass, rebuild intersection of Morphett & Diagonal Roads, [southwestern suburbs]
•	$405m South Road upgrade, Regency Road to Pym Street in Croydon Park, this section links the Superway section and the Torrens – Torrens section, [north west of city]
•	Intersection upgrades in Blackwood and Daw Park, [southern suburbs]

Transport, Non-roads:
•	$462m for Gawler rail line electrification [northern suburbs]
•	$15m upgrade to Park’n’Ride facilities along the Adelaide O Bahn, [eastern suburbs]
•	$1m Mt Gambier airport upgrade

Oaklands Crossing on youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBas9IJE5sc


----------



## essendon bombers

*New South Wales State Budget 2017*

NSW feels strong, secure and confident enough in their budget position to take the step forward and invest for the next generation. We see it in the transformational projects such as Westconnex and Northconnex, in the public transport area with Sydney Metro & Northwest Rail, Parramatta Light Rail. The hospitals and schools seemed to have received a good deal from the budget too.

Broken down into the regions of Sydney & NSW:

Sydney – Southern Suburbs
•	$14.1 million planning money towards the WestConnex Southern F6 extension 
•	$1.5 million to commence construction of traffic improvements on the Princes Highway at President Avenue
•	$1.9 million to complete investigations and commence design of traffic improvements on King Georges Road at Connells Point Road and Stoney Creek Road
•	$2.9 million towards the planning for upgrade of Heathcote Road between Infantry Parade, Hammondville and The Avenue, Pleasure Point

Western Sydney
•	$485.2 million to continue building the Northern Road
•	$99.3 million for the upgrade of Bringelly Road 
•	$43.9 million for the Schofields Road upgrade 
•	$26.9 million to widen Narellan Road to six lanes from Camden Valley Way to Blaxland Road 
•	$17.5 million for Campbelltown Road upgrade from Camden Valley Way to Denham Court Road 
•	$16 million for Memorial Avenue from Old Windsor Road to Windsor Road 
•	$13.4 million to progress the Jane Street and Mulgoa Road upgrade 
•	$11.1 million for traffic improvements at Riverstone
•	$4.5 million to widen Appin Road with intersection upgrades at Menangle Park


Illawarra & South Coast
•	$137 million in 2017-18 for upgrades to the Princes Highway, including $35.5 million to complete the Foxground and Berry bypass and $19 million to start building the upgrade between Berry and Bomaderry 
•	$20 million to complete replacement Princes Highway bridge at Burrill Lake
•	$17.3 million in 2017-18 for planning and preconstruction for the Princes Motorway bypass of Albion Park Rail

Hunter & Central Coast
•	$93.7 million in 2017-18 to continue construction of the widening of the M1 Pacific Motorway to six lanes between Wyong Road and the Doyalson Link Road (State and Federal funded
•	$31 million in 2017-18 to commence construction of the widening of the M1 Pacific Motorway to six lanes between the Kariong and Somersby interchanges (State and Federal funded)

North Coast
•	$84 million in 2017-18 to continue construction of the $240 million new bridge across the Clarence River at Grafton 
•	A share of $1.5 billion to continue the Pacific Highway upgrade program projects between Port Macquarie and Glenugie, near Grafton, continued construction between Glenugie and Ballina and planning for the future bypass of Coffs Harbour

Southern NSW
•	$24.4 million to start construction of the Ellerton Drive extension in Queanbeyan 
•	$23.5 million in 2017-18 to continue construction for the realignment of the Princes Highway at Dignams Creek
•	$22.8 million in 2017-18 to for upgrades to Gocup Road between Tumut and Gundagai

Western NSW
•	$9.5 million to complete construction of the $40 million realignment of the Mitchell Highway at Guanna Hill 
•	$7 million towards a new Cobb Highway bridge over the Murray River between Echuca and Moama (NSW contribution)


Transport, non-Roads

•	$2.8 billion to continue the construction of Sydney Metro & Northwest & Southwest rail line capable of carrying 40,000 people per hour around the city once finished
•	$1.4 billion maintaining the Sydney rail network
•	$25m towards the Parramatta Light Rail project
•	$10m towards new Parramatta-Sydney ferries
•	$25m planning and industry engagement for new diesel XPT train carriages, for regional NSW
•	$29m for seatbelts on rural school buses
•	$253 million to continue delivery of 512 new intercity train carriages as part of the $2.3 billion project to replace the trains carrying customers between Sydney and the Central Coast, Newcastle, the Blue Mountains and the South Coast


----------



## ChrisZwolle

*Mitchell Freeway, Perth*

The Mitchell Freeway extension to Hester Avenue will likely open to traffic on Friday.










http://www.communitynews.com.au/nor...sion-may-open-friday-morning-main-roads-says/


----------



## ChrisZwolle

*Mitchell Freeway, Perth*

*Traffic moves freely on the new Mitchell Freeway extension*

The Mitchell Freeway extension through Perth's fast growing outer northern suburbs is now complete and will open to traffic on Friday morning.

The $236 million project is 80 per cent funded by the Turnbull Government and 20 per cent funded by the McGowan Government and extends the Freeway from Burns Beach Road to Hester Avenue.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Premier Mark McGowan officially opened the extension today.

Some of the key features of the project include:
* A six kilometre, four-lane extension of the Mitchell Freeway from Burns Beach Road in Joondalup to Hester Avenue in Clarkson;
* Interchanges at Burns Beach Road, Neerabup Road and Hester Avenue; and
* An extension of Neerabup Road (east from Connolly Drive to Wanneroo Road) and duplication of Hester Avenue from Hidden Valley Retreat to Wanneroo Road, to provide a connection to the new freeway extension.

The project has been delivered on time and under budget, with savings reallocated to other infrastructure priorities including the Wanneroo Road and Joondalup Drive grade separation and the Murdoch Activity Centre access roads. These projects form part of the Australian Government's recently announced $1.6 billion commitment towards the $2.3 billion Western Australia Infrastructure Package.​
Full press release: https://www.mediastatements.wa.gov....ly-on-the-new-Mitchell-Freeway-extension.aspx


----------



## Calvin W

LOL. 20% funded by the McGowan government. They were elected in March, the extension was well and truly paid for before then....


----------



## ChrisZwolle

^^ Australian government press releases about road infrastructure are often loaded with political propaganda, sometimes even going as far as to detract former governments for not delivering or breaking promises. I don't see that as much in other countries.


----------



## KIWIKAAS

Australia is uber tribal politically. Its a damn shame really as it stifles development.


----------



## cairnstony2

Just a few minutes watching pariiamentary debates in Canberra and you'd see how ridiculous it gets sometimes...


----------



## Calvin W

ChrisZwolle said:


> ^^ Australian government press releases about road infrastructure are often loaded with political propaganda, sometimes even going as far as to detract former governments for not delivering or breaking promises. I don't see that as much in other countries.


I live in Perth, and know all about it.

Not just road infrastructure. Governments do it with everything....


----------



## lukeyp

Was truly entertaining to watch Mark McGowan open the Aubin Grove Station just weeks after becoming premier and trying to claim it.


----------



## KIWIKAAS

*North East Link: Which of the four options is best?*
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-08/north-east-link-four-corridor-options-compared/8782898



> After years of talk and millions of dollars spent on planning, the Victorian Government has released four route options for the proposed long awaited North East Link.
> 
> The favoured option of both the Government and the Opposition is Corridor A, which is the cheapest and shortest, but we've looked at how each would impact road users and the surrounding environments.
> 
> With many of the options running through sensitive Victorian electorates, we've also analysed the potential political ramifications of each proposal.












Option A









Option B









Option C









Option D


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## ChrisZwolle

*Bruce Highway*

https://www.fullyloaded.com.au/industry-news/1709/ministers-welcome-bruce-highway-section-upgrade

A section of the $8.5 billion Bruce Highway Upgrade project has completed six months ahead of its due date.

Chester says the $100.4 million upgrade will benefit all drivers using the Bruce Highway.

The upgrade includes:

* a new six-lane bridge over the highway to increase capacity and ease congestion
* longer on and off-ramps to improve safety for motorists entering and exiting the highway
* improved bridge clearance to avoid the need for high loads detouring on other roads.​
Holy cow, $ 100 million for a new suburban interchange without any property relocation, that is outrageous! It's basically a new overpass with new ramps. Nothing more... 

Translated to Eurospeak that would be € 84 million. I think that similar projects in most of Western Europe shouldn't cost more than € 20 - 25 million and far less in cheaper countries. € 84 million buys you 10-15 kilometers of new motorway in Poland or Spain including an interchange or two.


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## Innsertnamehere

They are building an $80 million CAD interchange right now in Ontario, but it looks quite a bit more extensive than that. It involves widening the main highway for a few KM and sone large grading and bridge replacements beyond the basic overpass.


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## Penn's Woods

KIWIKAAS said:


> *North East Link: Which of the four options is best?*
> http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-08/north-east-link-four-corridor-options-compared/8782898
> 
> 
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> Option A
> 
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> 
> Option B
> 
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> 
> Option C
> 
> 
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> 
> 
> 
> Option D


What's that "urban growth boundary" on the maps? A line beyond which development is limited or prohibited?

Also, I don't get option D.


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## KIWIKAAS

^^ the urban growth boundary is pretty much just that.

Option D utilises the existing "Healesville Freeway" reservation to connect the extended Metropolitan Ring Road with Eastlink.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healesville_Freeway


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## ChrisZwolle

Urban growth boundaries are the primary reason why real estate is so expensive. It caps the supply of housing desired by the public, so it drives up prices. This can be observed in any market with artificial or natural boundaries.


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## cairnstony2

ChrisZwolle said:


> Urban growth boundaries are the primary reason why real estate is so expensive. It caps the supply of housing desired by the public, so it drives up prices. This can be observed in any market with artificial or natural boundaries.


In some places I'm sure this is true, but property here in Cairns is still relatively affordable despite the severe geographical constraints placed on the city by the mountains that squash development against the coast.


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## ChrisZwolle

^^ It depends on the growth rate of a city and the amount of available land within the urban growth boundary. If there is strong growth and limited supply of developable land, housing prices will escalate more quickly.


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## bogdymol

But if there are no boundaries or limits, you will end up having a lot of housing or even tall residential buildings far away from the city, surrounded just by empty fields. At least that's happening in the capital city of Romania (I don't think it's the best example though).


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## Innsertnamehere

Or Houston. The city is essentially the size of Conneticut.


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## ChrisZwolle

Houston is actually not really that thinly populated. Of course it's not Manhattan or Vancouver, but the built-up area (not metropolitan area) of Houston is actually denser than most Northeastern urban areas. Despite the lack of zoning and urban growth boundaries, Houston has a relatively normal density in suburban areas by U.S. standards.


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## AtD




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## Kanadzie

bogdymol said:


> But if there are no boundaries or limits, you will end up having a lot of housing or even tall residential buildings far away from the city, surrounded just by empty fields. At least that's happening in the capital city of Romania (I don't think it's the best example though).


Even the Toronto area has skyscrapers and cows next to each other (e.g. Mississauga between 403 and 401), and that's with super-strict density requirements and smart growth, massive property values and all that... it's really remarkable when you fly into the airport in particular :lol:


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## ChrisZwolle

*Mackay Ring Road, Queensland*

*Work starts on Mackay Ring Road Stage 1 upgrade*

Work has started on Mackay and Whitsunday’s largest ever road infrastructure project with the first sod officially turned on the Mackay Ring Road project.

Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Darren Chester said the Bruce Highway through Mackay was a critical commuter, freight and tourist route, and this upgrade would improve travel times by 14 per cent by avoiding 13 kilometres of low-speed urban roadway.

Queensland Minister for Main Roads and Road Safety Mark Bailey said the Mackay Ring Road would deliver 11.3 kilometres of new road, including the first 2.6 kilometres of the Walkerston Bypass.

“Vehicles using the ring road will avoid 10 sets of traffic lights between Stockroute Road and Bald Hill Road with 80km/h and 100km/h speed limits,” Mr Pearce said.

“The upgrade once finished, scheduled in early 2020, will not only increase safety and reduce accidents but also cater for the region’s predicted 50 per cent growth in cross-river traffic by 2031.”​
Full statement: http://statements.qld.gov.au/Statement/2017/9/28/work-starts-on-mackay-ring-road-stage-1-upgrade


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## Nikkodemo

*Northern Territory, Australia*


Stuart Highway, Northern Territory, Australia by Jochen Hertweck, en Flickr


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## Nikkodemo

*Northern Territory*


Stuart Highway, Northern Territory, Australia by Jochen Hertweck, en Flickr


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## ChrisZwolle

*Melbourne Ring Road*

*North East Link*

The Victorian Government today confirmed the route for the long-overdue completion of the ring road.

The North East Link will begin on the Eastern Freeway at Springvale Road where the capacity of the Eastern will be doubled with six extra dedicated lanes to eliminate some of eastern Melbourne’s worst bottlenecks.

The expanded Eastern Freeway section will remain toll-free under the Andrews Labor Government.

Heading west, the mega-freeway will connect to a new six lane tunnel at Bulleen with local underground connections at Banksia St and Manningham Road.

The five kilometre-long tunnel will then travel deep beneath the Yarra River, protecting environmentally sensitive parkland and residential areas.

There will be a local connection at Lower Plenty Road, with the North East Link then running north alongside the existing Greensborough Highway, which will stay open for local traffic.

Travel times between Melbourne’s north and south will be cut by up to 30 minutes in each direction, with massive travel time savings for people traveling to Melbourne Airport from the south and east.

While the business case is yet to be finalised, early cost estimates of this massive project range up to $16.5 billion – the single biggest transport infrastructure investment in Victorian history. 

Detailed design will now get underway and the business case, including finalising cost estimates, will be publicly released ahead of the Victorian Budget 2018/19.

Procurement and planning approval processes will also begin in 2018, ahead of a preferred builder being selected in 2019, and major construction starting in 2020.​
Full press release: https://www.vic.gov.au/news/north-east-link-a.html

$ 16.5 billion :nuts: That's 12.5 billion USD or € 10.5 billion for a 15 kilometre missing link. :hammer:

What is wrong with Australian road building schemes? Everything is ultra expensive compared to the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, Western Europe, etc.


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## ParadiseRacer32

They seem to also be building a busway in the Eastern Freeway median between Doncaster Road and Hoddle Street (freeway terminus). The median was originally reserved for a rail line, but looks like that idea has been scrapped..
Video on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DanielAndrewsMP/videos/1594041023993761/

And yeah. $16.5 billion is crazy. Here's an interactive map of the project: http://northeastlink.vic.gov.au/project/map


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## ChrisZwolle

So they're going to build a new north-south alignment instead of following a 'natural' arc around the city. This will reduce the length of new alignment motorway. That explains why they're going to 12-lane the Eastern Freeway.










Still, $ 16.5 billion is absolutely outrageous for 10 kilometers of new motorway and 12 kilometers of expanded freeway. Even half that would be very expensive.


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## Suburbanist

When it became possible to Travel on fully paved roads between Darwin, Perth, Adelaide, Alice Springs and Cairns?


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## KIWIKAAS

Suburbanist said:


> When it became possible to Travel on fully paved roads between Darwin, Perth, Adelaide, Alice Springs and Cairns?


The last unpaved sections of the Eyre Highway were sealed in 1976, so that's probably when.
Back in the 70's through to the early 2000's some large stretches of these remote highways were wide dirt roads with a 4-5 metre wide sealed strip down the middle which have since been upgraded to proper 7-8 metre wide, marked roads.


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## Kanadzie

^^ there were some old highways in the US like that from the 1920's / 1930's, so called "sidewalk highway"...


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## essendon bombers

*State Opposition promise – removing 35 metropolitan intersections*

A couple of weeks ago the Victorian State Opposition leader Matthew Guy pledged to remove 35 arterial road intersection across Melbourne and Geelong. Specific arterials roads are targeted including Bell Street, Fitzsimmons Lane, Springvale Road, Princes Hwy, Nepean Hwy and Geelong Road.

The marketing bang has been nowhere near as big as the level crossing removal promise four years ago, however I really like this policy. These roads are six lanes across or wider or have service lanes so there is room to rebuild them. Some locations appear to be demolishing a 1960s overpass in favour of a future underpass.

Many of the city’s major intersections involve more than just two roads crossing each other. They involve third and fourth roads converging near the same place so I hope that these roads are taken into account when redesigning intersections.

At some locations I would like to see double underpass, or one underpass one overpass, such as Princes Hwy East, Springvale Road, Police Road / Centre Road in a six way intersection. When both Princes Hwy & Springvale Roads are being targeted for removals.




Traffic lights would be removed from more than 50 congested road intersections with new underpasses created under a $5 billion pitch from Matthew Guy to voters concerned about congestion in Melbourne and Geelong.

Seizing on the popularity of level crossing removals, the Opposition is marking one year before the state election with the major infrastructure announcement, which would be partly funded by the sale of Snowy Hydro. 
If elected, Mr Guy plans to create underpasses at dozens of major intersections to remove traffic lights. The policy would cost between $4.1 billion and $5.3 billion.

Census data shows 74 per cent of Melburnians drive to work every day.
Under the plan, 35 intersections would be removed with the preference for underpasses to be created rather than ugly road flyovers. 
Mr Guy has pledged to consult with local communities, engineers and local government. 

The 35 intersections are scattered throughout suburban Melbourne, with two also earmarked for removal in Geelong. 

Twenty more sites would be identified if the Coalition wins government. 
The Coalition estimates the project would create 5,000 jobs during construction. 

"These will be freeway style, diamond interchanges," Mr Guy said. 

"Despite the level crossing removal program's benefits to traffic along Melbourne's train lines, over one million people continue to sit in gridlocked traffic on other parts of the road network."

Mr Guy said reports showed the cost of congestion to the economy by the end of 2022 — after the next term of government — would be $7.24 billion. 

The Opposition said the State Government would contribute up to $1.75 billion to the project with the same level of cash from the Commonwealth.

A further $1.8 billion would come from the sale of Victoria's share of the Snowy Hydro scheme.

The Turnbull Government has flagged interest in buying Victoria's slice.
'You can't build your way out of congestion

Transport planning expert John Stone from the University of Melbourne warned the plan would only create traffic chaos by increasing congestion.

"They're tapping into real concern but they know the evidence internationally, if they don't they should know — you can't build your way out of congestion," Dr Stone said.

"I think it's a very cynical way of exploiting people's very real anxieties about congestion, because what they're really doing is giving them more congestion by spending all this money, which is then not available for public transport, schools and hospitals."

He doubted the project could be delivered without buying up property, and said underpasses would create trenches outside homes and businesses.

Improved traffic flow 'good for business'

"Removing these suburban congestion hotspots will make our roads safer and keep traffic flowing, which means less time spent sitting in gridlock and more time at home with family and friends," Mr Guy said. 

"It also means people like tradies, couriers and salespeople who use the roads to get between jobs will be able to do so more quickly. That's good for business and good for jobs."

Mr Guy said it would probably not be necessary to acquire properties or land because the "existing footprints" of the intersections could be used. 

He said he was confident the underpasses would not reduce turning options.
"Some will have a right turn available to them, it depends on the engineering works put in place," he said.
"Most I expect would, it just depends on the engineering at the time."
He said the Coalition sought independent advice when drawing up the plan.
"We've had these costs independently assessed to ensure they are absolutely correct," Mr Guy said.

The Coalition is set to spend big on roads in its pitch to Victorians in 2018, with Mr Guy already committing to revive the East West Link as well as build the North East Link which Labor has already began preliminary work on. 

The Andrews Government's level crossing removals have proven popular and its infrastructure agenda will also be a key part of its platform to retain office at next year's election.


Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-...affic-congestion-a-key-election-issue/9166410


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## essendon bombers

ChrisZwolle said:


> So they're going to build a new north-south alignment instead of following a 'natural' arc around the city. This will reduce the length of new alignment motorway. That explains why they're going to 12-lane the Eastern Freeway.
> 
> 
> Still, $ 16.5 billion is absolutely outrageous for 10 kilometers of new motorway and 12 kilometers of expanded freeway. Even half that would be very expensive.



Such a shame that it comes from a leader who said it wasn't worth the paper it's written on and flushed $1.2billion down the toilet to cancel a 6km tunnel contract that was costing about $6billion, all over an economic ratio....hno:

Then to come out and announce that he would build the North East Link that involves a tunnel of similar length (mostly under parkland and wetland) that would initially cost $6billion, provide three unrealistic alternate options that would cost between $13b to $20b, to select the only option that is really available to him, then to blow up the cost to $16.5b which is now more than Option B.....hno:


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## essendon bombers

*Melbourne's West Gate Tunnel, cooked up by Labor with Transurban, deserves scrutiny*

Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-13/melbournes-west-gate-tunnel-cooked-up-with-transurban/9251712


What does the deal involve?
•	$6.7 billion project — Transurban to pay $4 billion, the state the rest
•	Tolls on CityLink will be extended by a decade until 2045, with fees to rise 4.25 per cent annually from 2019 to 2029
•	The new road will be tolled with an extra fee for cars and light commercial vehicles driving to the city in the morning peak hour, in a move that appears to discourage commuters from driving to work
•	6,000 new jobs in construction
•	Work will begin in January and finish by 2022, at the end of the next term of government
•	Compensation for Transurban for when the state builds other road projects has been scrapped
•	If the toll extension is not agreed to by Parliament, which is a real possibility, the state will cover the shortfall



Victorians have a right to cast a critical eye over Premier Daniel Andrews' $6.7 billion West Gate Tunnel, which delivers a decade more of tolls for Transurban on the lucrative CityLink.

There is little doubt that Melbourne needs a second major road link to the western suburbs and beyond — the suburbs are booming and road freight needs an alternative to the West Gate bridge. 

But it is a big political risk to be slugging road users an extra 10 years of increased tolls on CityLink to pay for it, boosting Transurban's bottom line. 
How the State Government got to the point of signing a contract — dreamt up by Transurban not state planners — deserves scrutiny and makes Labor vulnerable to the accusation of sweetheart deals with private business.

Taxpayers now look likely to fork out billions more because the toll extension plan will be blocked in this Parliament.

Today, Greens leader Samantha Ratnam confirmed that the party would join with the Coalition to block the toll extension.

The Government is under no obligation to put the extension through before the election.

But it sets the battle lines for a campaign on toll-funded versus taxpayer-funded roads.


_Far cry from Labor's election platform_

The $6.7 billion contract signed this week is a far cry from Labor's 2014 election pitch.

At the most recent state poll Labor told voters it would build a $500 million West Gate Distributor, promising the shovel-ready project could be built quickly and take trucks off streets of the inner-west.

At the same time, it was railing against the Napthine Government's East West Link, arguing it was a waste of money and did not stack up — something critics of this new project argue.

It also argued the Coalition were not transparent about the project and that it had no mandate to sign contracts for East West. Sound familiar? 

Labor ultimately dumped the project, costing taxpayers more than $1 billion, despite assurances it would not cost a cent.

Less than six months into its term of government, Labor received an "unsolicited" proposal from Transurban to build a much grander road project to the west to ease congestion.

At the cost of $5.5 billion the company was going to fund most of it through a proposal to extend tolls on CityLink.

Ever since that decision to follow through on the election pledge to tear up East West Link, Labor has needed a road project to fill the abyss created by scrapping the project.

Tackling congestion is a high priority for many voters, and Labor will be hoping the West Gate Tunnel, along with local measures like level crossing removals, will ease voter concerns. 

It should be noted the long-term vision for the East West Link — once the section from Clifton Hill to Parkville (through politically sensitive inner-city seats) was built — was a second section to be built from the city to the western ring road.

Perhaps if the western section was built first in a less politically sensitive area and one of obvious need, Victorians wouldn't again be caught in a political fight over infrastructure.


_The post-Northcote world_

Since Labor's thumping in the Northcote byelection at the hands of the Greens, Labor has talked about getting back to "bread and butter" issues.
And since the November 18 smashing Premier Andrews has outlined more than $22 billion for road projects; the West Gate Tunnel and the North-East Link.

Labor's strategy for re-election has for some time relied on the "grid" of issues to focus on jobs, education, health and public transport.

But it will head into next year's poll with a swag of major road projects on its agenda, and with work underway on the West Gate Tunnel.
There is significant political risk with the Greens able to hone their anti-roads message in the inner city.

Some in Labor are worried the Government has looked rushed with projects like this and that it has over-corrected on roads.
The vast sums of money committed to roads deserve more scrutiny and it will come.

It also provides plenty of political fodder for the Opposition to talk about cost blow-outs.

And questions about what deals were made and when discussions were held with Transurban will come and should be highlighted.

The toll extension should be manna for the Coalition, and its commitment to blocking the extra time in Parliament carries a risk because taxpayers will be left footing the bill. 

The challenge now is for the Coalition to actually pull off the political attacks on the issue.

Despite it being the state political issue of the day on Tuesday, the Opposition failed to ask a single question on the issue in Parliament.
This road and tunnel project will get built.

How much taxpayers and motorists are stung is up to politicians, and how much it costs each political party will be determined in less than 12 months time.


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## essendon bombers

Anyone think that Transurban are a really clever company? Pay out $4 billion in the short term to finance a new tunnel which they can then toll, in exchange for a ten year extension to the contract that could net them $15 billion in the long run.

Scrapping compensation for the construction of alternative roads, although a good thing in my eyes, is an opening for Transurban to get themselves involved in a future east west tunnel between Citylink and Eastern Freeway, the same tunnel scrapped a couple of years ago?


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## essendon bombers

*Melbourne's West Gate Tunnel project cost blows out by $1.2b*

Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-12/melbournes-west-gate-tunnel-project-cost-blows-out/9248994

West Gate Tunnel Project:
•	New tunnels from West Gate Freeway under Yarraville 
•	Widening of West Gate Freeway from eight to 12 lanes
•	14km of new and upgraded cycling, walking paths
•	New bridge over Maribyrnong River
•	New elevated road along Footscray Rd
•	Better access to ports, removing trucks from residential areas
•	To be completed by 2022



Melbourne motorists will pay tolls for an extra 10 years on CityLink to help pay for the West Gate Tunnel Project, which has blown out to $6.7 billion.

The Victorian Government has signed the contract for the road linking the West Gate Freeway to CityLink, despite the State Opposition's threat to block the tolling deal with infrastructure giant Transurban in the Parliament.
Transurban will contribute $4 billion to the project, in exchange for motorists paying tolls on CityLink until 2045, under a deal the Opposition estimates will rake in $15 billion in revenue.

The toll road was initially estimated to cost $5.5 billion, but will cost $1.2 billion more because the twin tunnels under Yarraville are now twice as long as originally planned.

Premier Daniel Andrews said taxpayers would foot the bill for the whole project if the Liberals and the Greens carried out their threat to block a 10-year extension to Transurban's existing CityLink concession deed.

"This road will be paid for by motorists or it will be paid for by every single Victorian taxpayer," he said.

"Either way, work starts in a couple of weeks' time."


_'Worst deal in living memory': Opposition _

The state will contribute $2.6 billion to the second river crossing, but if the funding arrangement does not pass the Parliament, Transurban will receive taxpayer-funded "completion" and "substitution" payments.
"Completion/substitution payments cover project construction costs, financing costs and a return component commensurate with Transurban's investment metrics and the risk profile," the company said in a statement to the stock market.

Opposition leader Matthew Guy said the agreement was "possibly one of the worst contractual deals signed by a government in living memory".
"Daniel Andrews is Transurban's golden goose," he said.

Greens leader Samantha Ratnam said the Andrews Government had made an extraordinary decision to proceed with the project, generating huge profits for Transurban.

"It goes against everything they said they stood for when they went to the last election concerning the East West Link," she said.
Mr Andrews rejected suggestions the project had parallels with the Napthine Government's East West Link, which was dumped by Labor at a cost to taxpayers of more than $1 billion.

"The key difference is this project stacks up and the other one didn't, and we're not signing contracts five minutes before the election," he said.
"This project returns a dividend on every dollar we invest."

CityLink tolls will rise by an annual 4.25 per cent from 2019 to 2029 and then in line with inflation, with similar fees on the West Gate Tunnel.

Motorists driving into the city from the tunnel will be tolled at Footscray or Dynon Roads between 7:00am and 9:00am.

Transurban's chief executive Scott Charlton would not answer questions about the project today.

The company said the road would take 28,000 vehicles off the West Gate Bridge and 22,000 off the Bolte Bridge, and more than 9,000 trucks off local streets every day.

The project is due to be completed in 2022.


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## essendon bombers

Just following on my earlier post:

List of 35 Intersection Removals as proposed by the State Opposition for next year’s election. 20 more would be identified in the future.


NEPEAN HIGHWAY
•	Warrigal Rd, Lower Dandenong Rd & Balcombe Rd, Mentone
•	South Rd, Moorabbin
•	North Rd, Gardenvale
•	Glenhuntly Rd, Hotham St, New St, Elsternwick

BAYSIDE SUBURBS
•	Braeside-Dandenong Rd, Governor Rd, Mordialloc
•	South Road & Warrigal Road, Moorabbin
•	Moorooduc Hwy & Cranbourne Road, Frankston (an extended underpass / overpass can eliminate two intersections and a railway line)

PRINCES HIGHWAY – DANDENONG
•	Springvale Road, Centre Rd, Police Rd, Mulgrave (I hope this six way intersection is a double grade separation)
•	North Road, Wellington Road, Monash University
•	Warrigal Rd, Oakleigh

SPRINGVALE ROAD
•	Princes Hwy, Centre Rd, Police Rd, Mulgrave
•	Ferntree Gully Road, Glen Waverly
•	Burwood Hwy, Vermont
•	Maroondah Hwy, Nunawading

BELL STREET
•	Banksia St, Lower Heidelberg Rd, Heidelberg
•	Albert St, Preston
•	St Georges Rd, Preston (I hope this would be an extended underpass to include High St and Plenty Rd on the other side of the railway line, and the level crossing removal itself)

NORTHERN SUBURBS
•	Plenty Road, McDonalds Rd, George Rd, South Morang
•	Sydney Road, Camp Rd, Mahoney's Rd, Campbellfield (adjacent to level crossing removal)
•	Mickleham Rd, Broadmeadows Rd, Westmeadows

GEELONG ROAD & INNER WEST
•	Buckley St, Sunshine Rd, Williamstown Rd, Geelong St, Gordon St (existing overpass removal), West Footscray
•	Somerville Rd, Roberts St, Brooklyn
•	Ballarat Road, Footscray

OUTER WESTERN SUBURBS
•	Ballarat Road, McIntyre Rd, Anderson Rd, St Albans Rd, Sunshine (existing overpass removal)
•	Princes Fwy West, Point Cook Rd, Laverton (project should also involve Central Ave and Railway Ave)

GEELONG
•	Settlement Rd (Princes Hwy), Barwon Heads Rd, Belmont
•	Settlement Rd, Surfcoast Hwy, Belmont

MANNINGHAM & THE NORTH EAST
•	Fitzsimmons Lane, Main Rd, Lower Plenty
•	Williamson Rd, Porter St, Templestowe
•	Williamson Rd, Foote St, Templestowe

OTHER LOCATIONS
•	Gap Road & Horne St, Sunbury
•	Stud Road & Wellington Road, Rowville
•	Heatherton Road & Hallam Road, Endeavour Hills
•	Racecourse Road & Bald Hill Rd, Pakenham
•	Westernport Hwy & Thompsons Road, Lyndhurst
•	Westernport Hwy & Hall Rd, Cranbourne West


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## essendon bombers

*Auditor-General report highlights risk of cost blowouts for Level Crossing Removal Program*

Source: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/vi...m/news-story/efb373ba0b95beec61c892207ed4389f


THE Andrews Government pledge to remove Melbourne’s “most dangerous and congested” railway level crossings has been exposed as a sham in a damning ¬report by the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office. 

The report reveals that 29 of the 50 level crossings targeted in Labor’s 2014 key election promise were rated as low or no priority by VicRoads just a year earlier.

Another seven that VicRoads deemed as high or medium priority have been ignored.

The report found public servants failed to give “full and frank advice” on which sites to target, even after the Andrews Government was elected and pushed ahead with the project.

“As a result, the April 2017 approved business case does not include any analysis or rationale for why the 50 level crossings were selected as higher priority — or demonstrate that they were more dangerous and congested — than other level crossings,” the report states.

“The 50 selected level crossing sites include a number of sites that have not been identified as dangerous and congested,” it adds.

Opposition public transport spokesman David Davis said the Victoria Auditor-General’s Office (VAGO) had blown the whistle on the program.

“They (the government) were warned by the auditor that they needed a business case before they proceeded, but they proceeded nonetheless and now we see the consequences,” he said.

“These are not the most dangerous and congested level crossings. We have seen (Premier) Daniel Andrews’ wall-to-wall advertising claiming ‘the most dangerous and congested’.

“The auditor blows the whistle on that claim and Dan Andrews should stop his ads today because they are wrong.

“There are other crossings that are more dangerous he has left off. He spent millions on an advertising campaign that was a pack of lies.”

Mr Andrews boasted about the policy within weeks of his 2014 election. “My team will get straight to work fixing schools, ending the ambulance crisis, creating jobs, saving TAFE and removing the 50 most dangerous and congested level crossings,” he said.

Public Transport Minister Jacinta Allan yesterday downplayed suggestions that “postcode politics” had decided which crossings would go.

She said the government had committed to the 50 locations while in opposition, ¬before it had seen VicRoads’ priority list.

“We worked on information publicly available to us at the time, that included the RACV’s list of 30 dangerous and congested level crossings,” Ms Allan said. “The level crossings that we committed to in opposition are those that we are delivering in government.”

A crossing on Union Road in Surrey Hills is among four identified as high priority by VicRoads but not earmarked for removal.

Ranked as Australia’s 13th most dangerous crossing in a 2008 report, it was the scene of a horror collision last year in which two elderly women died.

By contrast, questions were yesterday asked about a contract signed to remove a level crossing in Werribee no longer used by passenger trains. Just four freight trains use it daily.

The Auditor-General’s report also revealed the project’s budget had blown out from $5-6 billion to $8.3 billion.

It warned that the bill could continue to rise as the government fast-tracked the work: “This pace presents risks to achieving value for money.”
Treasurer Tim Pallas said: “This is, in many ways, an illustration of why governments should probably never talk about the cost of a project until they sign the contracts.”



By the way the benefit cost ratio (BCR) for the level crossing removals is 0.78


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## KIWIKAAS

Just seems ridiculous to cancel the one and then propose the second stage of what was essentially the same project (EWL).
I do prefer the Western Distrubutor as now proposed to the original western section proposal, but it baffles me as to why A$1.2 was thrown away cancelling what is in essence part the same project.
Too much politics!


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## ChrisZwolle

essendon bombers said:


> •	Tolls on CityLink will be extended by a decade until 2045, with fees to rise 4.25 per cent annually from 2019 to 2029


So in a decade, the tolls go up 52%. (100*1.0425^10). I don't know the Australian inflation figures, but it seems high to me. 

There does seem to be a large amount of politics involved in Australian roadbuilding. While this happens in most other countries as well, the level of politics seems excessive. Pushing through contracts, canceling contracts, changing the design at the last moment, etc. This means billions are wasted. 

I'm also baffled by some of the language that Australian road agencies use in their press releases. It's so political, in Europe and most of the U.S. & Canada, it is generally much more neutral.


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## Innsertnamehere

it's because a lot of their highways are in extremely urban areas - often heading right into downtowns. Most American and Canadian agencies don't even bother attempting to build highways like that, and when they do, they are equally political. The low impact highways (rural ones) seem to be generally non political, just like in the Americas.


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## ChrisZwolle

I was more thinking along the lines of 'we are reversing the previous government failed plans' or 'to relieve the people of previous government terrible decisions'. Those are lines that belong in a politician's speech, not a press release from an department or agency.


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## essendon bombers

Australian inflation rates work on a 2 to 3% band. When the inflation starts to head outside this band the Reserve Bank moves on interest rates.

Yes, Australian media release are becoming too political and less interesting to read however they usually come from the minister, not the department or the agency.

Insertnamehere is correct that generally rural and outer metropolitan freeways do not generate controversy as opposed to inner suburban freeways, or ones through environmentally sensitive areas, that says more about the demography rather than anything else. A direct orbital North East Link that runs through Eltham is an example of outer metropolitan route through sensitive environment (the so called ‘green wedge’) that is why the project was put off for 10-15 years after the completion of the northern ring road and Eastlink. The Perth Freight Link was cancelled because it cut through a park.

The problem with Australia is that our politicians get a bee in their bonnet over specific issues. In Vic road building it was the near religious opposition by the left to the East West Link (Eastern Fwy shall not be connected to the Citylink) and chest thumping about the BCR to prove their point. In water politics it is the refusal to build dams during the drought of the last decade, only for it to rain almost non stop for eighteen months during 2010/11. Instead we built the southern hemisphere’s largest desal plant when we didn’t need to and now we don’t use any water from it (apparently there was a water order this year but it was tokenistic). In energy politics it is about coal powered power stations and how we must close them all to meet our Paris agreement. We have a bee in our bonnet about nuclear power plants so we never built them never will, leaving us without baseload power for a growing population. Now, the future risk is we will total blackouts at peak demand (ie. The hottest summer days when we desperately need air conditioners) plus rising power prices.


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## essendon bombers

*TASMANIAN STATE BUDGET*

Tasmania is enjoying economic sunshine for the moment and the Hodgeman Government is keen to make sure that there is something to show for it. The Bridgewater Bridge, the northern Gateway to Hobart is finally going ahead after being on the drawing board for years. Other roads receiving attention are those around Hobart Airport and central business district; a new river crossing near Launceston; the Bass Hwy in the Tasmanian northwest and tourist roads.

Projects:
•	$121m BRIDGEWATER BRIDGE ($576m project, Commonwealth paying the rest)
•	Continuation of Midland Highway (10 year) upgrade, the main highway linking northern and southern Tassie
•	$27 million investment towards a new Hobart Airport interchange
•	$53 million toward second Tamar River crossing at University Drive, North Launceston
•	$30.8 million for Central Hobart roads incl. Macquarie and Davey Streets, and for starting a fifth lane for the Southern Fwy
•	$51.7 million towards upgrading tourist roads
•	Duplication of East Derwent Hwy in Hobart’s eastern suburbs
•	Road widening on Evandale Road between Launceston Airport and Evandale
•	New overpass of Bass Hwy at Leith, northern coast
•	Bass Hwy upgrade at Brittons Swamp


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## essendon bombers

*NEW SOUTH WALES STATE BUDGET*

New South Wales handed down its State Budget on 19 June and seem to be in a position of more money than know what to do with it. Fortunately, they are pumping big dollars into roads and public transport around Sydney. The headline project is a new $3 billion underground rail between Sydney and Parramatta that will cut travel time between the two cities to under twenty minutes. For the road network, the F6 Freeway (Sydney southern suburbs) is now on the drawing board, Albion Park Rail Bypass near Wollongong, the Coffs Harbour Bypass, bridge replacements in regional areas and sealing outback highways are features.


ROADS
The 2018-19 NSW Budget commits additional funds for: 

• Road safety - a $600 million boost brings the total allocation to $1.9 billion over five years to improve road safety in NSW, including targeted safety infrastructure upgrades as well as enhanced enforcement; 
• Heathcote Road - $173 million towards upgrading the Woronora River bridge and widening between Hammondville and Voyager Point; 
• Nowra Bridge - $155 million reserved to match Australian Government funding and enable a new Princes Highway bridge to be built across the Shoalhaven River; 
• Henry Lawson Drive - $100 million for widening between the M5 Motorway and Milperra Road, and; 
• Sealing Country Roads –$an additional $40 million will allow initial sealing of the last two unsealed State Highways in NSW – the Cobb and Silver City Highways – to be completed by 2023.


Major funding allocations in 2018-19 include: 

• $1.8 billion for the new Westconnex motorway with the M4 East Tunnel opening in first half of 2019; 
• $1.7 billion for maintenance of road, maritime and freight assets; 
• $1.2 billion to continue the NSW and Australian Government funded Pacific Highway upgrade, including planning and preconstruction for the Coffs Harbour Bypass; 
• $439 million for the NSW and Australian Government funded Western Sydney Infrastructure Plan which is providing upgrades of key routes from Liverpool, Penrith and Campbelltown to access to the new Western Sydney Airport; 
• $334 million for established Sydney roads including upgrades to Heathcote Road, Henry Lawson Drive and King Georges Road; 
• $281 million for easing congestion at pinch points across Sydney including upgrades around Sydney airport and the M4 Smart Motorway; 
• $244 million for the Princes Highway, allowing construction to commence on the Albion Park Rail Bypass, Berry to Bomaderry upgrade and the replacement bridge at Batemans Bay; 
• $178 million to continue planning and preconstruction for the F6 extension Stage 1, Western Harbour Tunnel, Beaches Link and Sydney Gateway; 
• $165 million for Central Coast roads including widening the Pacific Motorway and upgrading the Empire Bay Drive intersection with The Scenic Road and Cochrone Street at Kincumber; 
• $168 million investment in maritime improvements across NSW for commercial and recreational fishers and boaters; 
• $119 million for road freight safety and productivity in regional New South Wales; 
$87 million on Freight Rail infrastructure upgrades, including the Fixing Country Rail program designed to enhance rail infrastructure and eliminate connectivity constraints affecting regional freight services; 
• $84 million for the New England Highway including the Scone bypass and the Bolivia Hill upgrade between Glen Innes and Tenterfield; 
• $81 million for Bridges for the Bush, allowing construction of new bridges to commence at Gunnedah, Barrington and on Nerriga Road near Braidwood; 
• $62 million for the Newell Highway including fast tracking the delivery of overtaking lanes through an innovative contract approach and planning for the new Dubbo bridge, and; 
• $55 million for upgrades to Hunter roads, including completion of the intersection upgrade where the M1 Motorway meets John Renshaw Drive and Weakleys Drive. 

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

Projects:
•	$2.4 billion to complete Sydney Metro Northwest
•	$1.9 billion to continue building Sydney Metro City and Southwest
•	$258 million to start construction of Parramatta Light Rail Stage 1
•	$20 million is budgeted for planning Parramatta Light Rail Stage 2 which will run north of the Parramatta River and link to Sydney Olympic Park. 
•	$110 million to deliver Newcastle Light Rail, which will see high capacity, frequent services commence through the Newcastle city centre in 2019, supporting precinct development
•	$496 million to continue delivering the New Intercity Fleet for Central Coast, Newcastle, Blue Mountains and Illawarra customers
•	over $400 million for new trains to service the Sydney Trains network
•	$179 million to purchase new buses to accommodate growth in NSW bus services and to replace old buses
•	$880 million committed for digital systems on the rail network to replace legacy signalling and train control with modern, intelligent systems that will improve service reliability and the network’s ability to recover after major incidents
•	$133 million for the Transport Access Program to continue to make more transport services accessible, with upgrades like lifts, escalators and ramps to stations and wharves to make it easier for people with limited mobility and parents with prams.
•	$31 million investment to continue procurement of a new regional rail fleet and maintenance facility to replace the ageing XPT, XPLORER and Endeavour trains
•	$1.5 billion to maintain the Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink Intercity networks, helping make journeys more reliable and facilitating rail freight movement through the state’s busiest rail corridors; 
•	$1.2 billion for public transport concessions including pensioners, seniors, people with disabilities and the school student transport scheme; 
•	$137 million for the Northern Beaches B-Line, with infrastructure improvements along the route between Mona Vale and the Sydney CBD to further improve reliability; 
•	$132 million toward the Central Walk project, a new underground pedestrian concourse at Central Station to better connect customers to trains, light rail and new Sydney Metro underground platforms; 
•	$87 million for Community Transport and Home and Community Care services to help people across the state who have difficulties accessing transport, and; 
•	Funding for planning of additional commuter car parking at Leppington, Edmondson Park, Engadine, and Schofields


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## essendon bombers

*MELBOURNE SUPERHIGHWAY*

The Victorian Opposition has announced plans to resurrect the East West Link road project, putting forward two design options to link the Eastern Freeway with major roads west of the city.

The original design includes a tunnel under Royal Park to CityLink at Parkville, while the new option takes a longer and more southerly route to connect with the West Gate Tunnel in West Melbourne.

But Opposition Leader Matthew Guy said voters would not know which route the Coalition would build until after the state election.

"We will have a process that is public, that is sensible, that will be assessed on cost measures that might be assessed on a whole range of other measures, environmental effects and the like," he said.

"We put two options on the table, and it is now up to private tenderers to come back and provide those options.

"I'm a politician, I'm not out there trying to be a civil engineer."

The Opposition's transport plan revealed the Coalition now supports the West Gate Tunnel project — a scheme it described in March as a "dud" and not in the interests of the state as it voted in Parliament to revoke its planning approval.

Mr Guy also committed the Coalition to completing another project started by the Andrews Government — the $16.5 billion North East Link, which will connect the M80 Ring Road with the Eastern Freeway.

The Coalition has also promised to remove 55 traffic light intersections and build overpasses to improve traffic flows.

"Melbourne's congestion is worse than it's ever been before," Mr Guy said.

"Infrastructure Victoria, Infrastructure Australia, everyone says that the East West Link needs to be built. Only the Liberal Party's going to build both projects."

The former Napthine Coalition government signed contracts before the 2014 election to build the East West Link as then Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews campaigned to scrap the project.

Once in government Labor cancelled the road at a cost of more than $1.1 billion.

Mr Guy has faced questions about the massive costs of the road projects.

He said the North East Link and the East West link would both be tolled, but a Coalition government would not introduce tolls on existing roads.

"The Labor party fronted the last election with $300 million on the table to build Melbourne Metro," he said.

"We are fronting up with $7 billion of state and federal monies and that is one huge head start to get these projects underway."

The Turnbull Government has been a supporter of the East West Link, offering the Andrews Labor government a $3 billion inducement to build it.

Mr Guy said he would consult the Office of Projects Victoria on two proposed routes for an East West Link.

The first, similar to the Napthine government's plan, would connect the Eastern Freeway to the CityLink north of the city.

The second option would take a more southern corridor and connect the Eastern Freeway to the West Gate Tunnel at West Melbourne.

Mr Guy said he would proceed with the development of the North East Link, but would review elements of the design, including the number of property acquisitions and the location of tunnel portals.

"Daniel Andrews wants to build his North East Link without fixing the Eastern Freeway and that's a plan for 24 hour gridlock," Mr Guy said.

Mr Guy said a Coalition government would allocate at least $2 billion to a North East Link and an East West Link, and expected the Federal Government to contribute almost $5 billion.

"This is generational — this is not about the next four years. This is about our children's future and the future liveability of Melbourne," Mr Guy told Triple M.

Under Mr Guy's plan, construction of an East West Link would start in 2020-21 with an estimated completion date of 2026.

Construction of a North East Link would start in 2020 and be completed by 2027.

The Coalition says its plan would create about 19,000 jobs.


Source: ABC News


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## essendon bombers

^^

I really like this plan to combine three freeway projects into one superproject. Whether it sells to the Victorian public later this year is a different story.

Firstly, it envisages a northeast-southwest axis for the city where currently there is not one. There is a northwest-southeast axis, established with Citylink during the 1990’s and currently being strengthened with the Melbourne Metro rail project that have direct benefits for those two corners of the city. The superhighway, combined with Melbourne Metro rail 2, can give the cross axis to the metropolitan area.

The 2014 East West plan was shelved because it suffered from a poor benefit cost ratio. By redesigning the project and combining with other projects along the same axis we can view the BCR in a different light and look at the axis as a whole instead of one project as a single. The original East West tunnel was one long tunnel from point to point and should have had exits along the way, given that most of the traffic headed for side streets either side. Adding exits to the tunnel increases the tunnel cost a lot so I believe the tunnel should be as short as possible. I would hope that a revised East West design would take this into account, include maybe two or three exit points and a tunnel perhaps under the university/cemetery/parkland.

It is much smarter to connect the north east direct to the city / western suburbs and can directly benefit Geelong and Ballarat then to sell it as a quicker trip to the airport. Linking the Eastern Fwy direct to the West Gate Tunnel under construction is better than to Flemington. Additionally, the airport and north west suburbs can be served from a new tunnel to the east with new Citylink ramps.

The North East Link may serve the dual purpose as the ring road and the axis from the north east to the city & west. I’m not entirely happy with the design that Andrews has proposed. If one long tunnel under the city is not a great idea then why one in the middle of the suburbs? I would propose a shorter tunnel as well, mainly under Yarra River & Banyule parklands. Matthew Guy is also looking to minimise the dislocation of residents in the project’s path whereas Dan Andrews looked to save a local Italian Social Club in the same path.

Given that Guy has proposed an intersection removal program across the city with new overpasses or underpasses at key intersections this could be a good way to go with both East West Link and North East Link (in parts, not in entirety) and could help reduce the project’s costs. For example, the intersection of Manningham Road / Banksia St, Bulleen / Templestowe Rds and Bridge Street ought to be grade separated and it is right in the middle of the North East Link path. Yet, no one has proposed moving this intersection. Andrew’s tunnel bypasses underneath and I don’t believe he would have any plans to remove the traffic lights there anyway.

The superhighway plan gives Melbournians something to think about until the next election; it is by no means a sure vote winner. Looking to the future the city needs to decides whether to prioritise roads as per the past or invest in public transport. For the road network, where are the most critical pinch points? Melbourne is fast approaching the 5 million population mark and the state coalition talks about decentralising. Both parties are planning large scale infrastructure and I doubt that one side will overwhelm the other this time.


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## ParadiseRacer32

I also hope the East-West link goes forward, but only once I see how good (or bad) the two designs will be. Going to the Eastern Freeway from CityLink and vice-versa has always been a pain and will always be without this project. It's a huge gap in our freeway system.


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## ChrisZwolle

*Coffs Harbour Bypass*

Plans have been released for the Coffs Harbour Bypass of the Pacific Highway in New South Wales.

The project includes a 12 kilometer bypass, the cost of which is estimated at $ 1.17 - 1.3 billion. So far the Australian government has committed $ 971 million.










>> https://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/projects/northern-nsw/coffs-harbour-bypass/index.html


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## TheLakes

The loop off ramp at Korora Hill still gives you a chance to back track to the Big Banana.


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## TheLakes

Some images of the total tunnel proposals and projects going on in Sydney.
When and if the Western Harbour tunnel and Beaches link are built this will create a continuous tunnel from north to south of, well over 30 km. That would make it the current longest in the world if it was complete now.

These do not include the twin 9 km Northconnex tunnels to the north west of the city, and details of the St Peters interchange with new roads accessing the airport and the container terminals at Port Botany.









Current status. The next approval will be for the Rozelle interchange, the 5 way star just west of the centre of the city, 










Completed network as currently planned


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## TheLakes

Sydney's Northconnex project.

Twin 9 km tunnels built for 3 lanes in each direction with a 5.3 m clearance.
One road header is still tunneling on the northern interchange.
The mainline tunnels are all through with benching works continuing.


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## rowerowo-budowlany

Bushfire seen from Perth roads
https://youtu.be/OS6PRtTfLC8


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## ChrisZwolle

*Northeast Link, Melbourne*

Some renders of the A$ 16 billion Northeast Link & East Freeway project in Melbourne. This project seems a sure thing now that the Andrews government won reelection. They want to launch the tender immediately.


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## essendon bombers

I wish that instead of 12 lanes side by side that they would elevate the middle six lanes and have wider median and side strips.


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## essendon bombers

*Expansion of Melbourne Level Crossing Removal Program*

The State Government has announced the expansion of its very popular railway crossing removal program with an additional 25 crossings removed on top of the 50 promised four years ago. The program is said to include the construction of new skyrail, where an extended elevated line is built in an area with multiple crossings in close proximity to each other, in Preston and around Pakenham. An additional $6.6 billion is provided to cover the cost of construction.

A very good reason for the unexpected thumping return of this government is its drive on this program. It’s absolute gold for political advertising here; benefits both road and rail users, we have so many crossings in close proximity to each other in certain parts of town that it does not take much to eliminate a few in one hit, station rebuilds, economies of scale, value for money, ability to package multiple crossings together to create medium to large scale projects for contracts and bidding, everyday people drive across the level crossing they imagine it removed, unclogged local roads, improves safety and amenity.

The locations include:
•	Mont Albert Road & Union Road in Surrey Hills/Mont Albert. (site of double fatality a couple of years ago) 
•	Glenhuntly Road and Neerim Road in Glenhuntly. (Glenhuntly Rd is also a tram square) 
•	Argyle Avenue, Chelsea Road and Swanpool Avenue in Chelsea. 
•	Munro Street and Reynard Street in Coburg. (imo this rail line should have 8km skyrail that eliminates 10 crossings in one hit) 
•	Oakover Road, Murray Road and Cramer Street in Preston.(possibly extend skyrail north to Resevoir) 
•	Gap Road/Station Street in Sunbury
•	Old Geelong Road in Hoppers Crossing
•	Fitzgerald Road, Robinsons Rd & Mt Derrimut Rd in Deer Park
•	McGregor Rd, Bald Hill Rd & Racecourse Rd in Pakenham


Any other countries / cities in the world that could do with a level crossing removal program like this? Would it popular in your town if one was proposed by your government?


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## Innsertnamehere

Toronto has a smaller version for its Regional Rail expansion program, but it isn't marketed sesperately. They are planning 10 crossing removals right now, with suggestions that the program will become a dedicated program constantly adding new crossing removals as time goes on. A large part of the network will be upgraded from hourly to 15 minute frequency service over the next few years, so the need for crossing removals is going to skyrocket.


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## ChrisZwolle

*Toowoomba Second Range Crossing*

*Historic day as western half of Toowoomba Second Range Crossing opens*

The western section of the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing (TSRC) has opened to traffic for the first time, marking a major milestone for one of the state’s largest infrastructure projects and for Queensland’s largest inland city.

Deputy Prime Minister and Federal Infrastructure Minister Michael McCormack said the completion of work on the western section of the project meant motorists could enjoy a new drive between Cranley and the Gore Highway before Christmas.

Tolls will be announced closer to the opening of the whole road, with the toll gantry to be located east of the newly opened section.

Key features of the opened section of TSRC from 8 December 2018 include:

* four lanes (two lanes each way) between Cranley and Charlton, a distance of 9 kilometres
* two lanes (one each way) between Charlton and Athol, a distance of 15 kilometres
* grade-separated interchanges at Cranley, Charlton, Wellcamp and Athol
* access to the Nass Road truck stop and decoupling pad at Charlton
* a grade separated connection to Boundary Street
* sections of centre line widening to reduce the risk of head-on crashes​
Full statement: http://statements.qld.gov.au/Statem...half-of-toowoomba-second-range-crossing-opens

A map: points 1-6 opened to traffic:


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## ChrisZwolle

*Tonkin Highway, Perth*

The first stage of the 'Northlink WA' project in Perth was completed mid-2018, a 6 kilometer upgrade of the Tonkin Highway to a six lane freeway. I'm not sure of an exact opening date, satellite imagery going back to October 2017 already shows temporary traffic switches with grade-separation.


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## Calvin W

That section has been open for quite awhile now. The next section to the north should be open in 2019.


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## 54°26′S 3°24′E

What I always have thought was a bit odd in Australia, appart from the illogical right of way rules, is that major urban streets have 60 to 70 km/h, even with property driveways (a bit less prevalent in Perth than Sydney), sidewalks, and at grade intersections with or without traffic lights, while Perth urban freeways have 80-100 km/h. Clearly the former is quite high compared with other first world countries, whereas the latter is more normal or even in the lower end. Hence, the main impact of contstructing freeways is higher capacity in the intersections, whereas the off-peak travel time reduction is smaller than in many other countries.


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## Calvin W

54°26′S 3°24′E;156432496 said:


> What I always have thought was a bit odd in Australia, appart from the illogical right of way rules, is that major urban streets have 60 to 70 km/h, even with property driveways (a bit less prevalent in Perth than Sydney), sidewalks, and at grade intersections with or without traffic lights, while Perth urban freeways have 80-100 km/h. Clearly the former is quite high compared with other first world countries, whereas the latter is more normal or even in the lower end. Hence, the main impact of contstructing freeways is higher capacity in the intersections, whereas the off-peak travel time reduction is smaller than in many other countries.


Perth has three freeways in total. Mitchell, Kwinana, and Graham Farmer. Everything else is classified as highway.

The three freeways are posted at 100km/h.


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## lukeyp

Calvin W said:


> Perth has three freeways in total. Mitchell, Kwinana, and Graham Farmer. Everything else is classified as highway.
> 
> The three freeways are posted at 100km/h.


The entirety of the Graham Farmer Freeway is 80km/h.

The section of Kwinana and Mitchell Freeways through the Perth CBD is 80km/h and the section of Kwinana Freeway south of Safety Bay Road is 110km/h.

There is also no such thing as a 'freeway' or 'highway' classification in WA. 'Controlled Access Highway' is the highest level in the road heirarchy and this includes the three 'freeways' and a number of highways in Perth that feature a range of junctions from uncontrolled T-intersections through to fully free-flowing interchanges. The common feature is that there is no direct property access and there are restrictions on what can enter the road reserves.

Freeway is just a suffix.


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## Penn's Woods

ChrisZwolle said:


> Agreed, it's also difficult to identify stretches of Australia or judge them by size if you're not from Australia.
> 
> For example I would wonder how easily non-Australians would identify this coastline:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> It's actually nearly the entire NSW coast, the image stretches 700 kilometers north to south. A zoom level like that on the European or U.S. coast would be much more identifyable with specific geographic features.




If you zoom enough you can spot Sydney. And it’s farther south than you’d expect; o think there’s still more of NSW off the map to the south.

I’m a bit obsessed with Australia these days...long before the fires...never been there but I want to. So I’ve got a halfway decent knowledge of the geography in my head.


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## ParadiseRacer32

That photo only really shows the NSW north coast, the southernmost coastal point on that image seems to be Wollongong and there is still the entire NSW south coast south of that. NSW's coastline is over 2,000km long. Coastlines are very hard to measure though


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## Vars

ChrisZwolle said:


> Agreed, it's also difficult to identify stretches of Australia or judge them by size if you're not from Australia.
> 
> For example I would wonder how easily non-Australians would identify this coastline:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> It's actually nearly the entire NSW coast, the image stretches 700 kilometers north to south. A zoom level like that on the European or U.S. coast would be much more identifyable with specific geographic features.


The coastline in that pic stretches from about Shoalhaven Heads (near Nowra) in the south to Lennox Head (near Ballina) in the north, a distance of about 725km or 450 miles. Landmarks easily visible to the naked eye include Sydney, Sydney Harbour and Botany Bay (a bit above the white writing), Newcastle, Stockton Beach and sand dunes (the white strip aligned SW to NE immediately NE of Newcastle), the Hunter Valley open cut coal mines (a group of pale blobs NW of Newcastle), the Clarence River (near the top right), the Darling River (running NE to SW through the brown/orange outback at top left), the Murrumbidgee River (running east to west along the bottom left), and the Lachlan River, which joins the Murrumbidgee near the bottom left corner.

Some of the dark green areas near the coast burned in the recent bushfires, especially those between Sydney and the coal mines and west to SW of Sydney. See here: https://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/fire-information/fires-near-me


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## ChrisZwolle

These landmarks are probably well-known to Australians or NSW’ ers, but I doubt if many non-Australians would be able to identify them. A zoom level like this in Europe would show easily identifyable coastlines (entire countries). Australia is just so huge that you need to zoom out more to see identifyable features.


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## Penn's Woods

ChrisZwolle said:


> These landmarks are probably well-known to Australians or NSW’ ers, but I doubt if many non-Australians would be able to identify them. A zoom level like this in Europe would show easily identifyable coastlines (entire countries). Australia is just so huge that you need to zoom out more to see identifyable features.




Well, that (long) stretch of coast is relatively regular. Anywhere along the coast of Victoria or eastern South Australia would be recognizable, I think, at more “European” zoom levels.


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## rohjoe

Adelaide’s Northern Connector is set to open next month...

https://youtu.be/8W7dxbhiTDQ


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## ChrisZwolle

*NorthLink WA*

An update about NorthLink WA, a new freeway northeast of Perth to Muchea. It is apparently also called the Tonkin Highway.

The opening date was originally early February, but has been rescheduled to late April due to a change in construction schedule:

*Change in construction schedule delays opening*

It is taking longer than anticipated to finish the works on NorthLink WA northern section. We are sorry for the delay, especially when the road is so close to completion. 

It has been decided to complete the final seal on the road surface now, instead of next summer as was originally planned. Completing it now will avoid extensive disruption to road users next year and will ensure the road is fully complete when it opens. 

While we do our best to estimate the completion date, sometimes big, complex projects go over time for a variety of reasons. This extra work means Tonkin Highway to Muchea is expected to be open in late April 2020.​
Sounds reasonable. Now they will have the highway complete with its final road surface and a 110 km/h speed limit instead of a year of reduced speed limit without the final asphalt course.


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## ParadiseRacer32

I definitely would prefer waiting a couple months to ensure a project is fully complete. Saves disruptions later down the line and means we can enjoy the new road when it opens to the full


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## In D'Business

ChrisZwolle said:


> An update about NorthLink WA, a new freeway northeast of Perth to Muchea. It is apparently also called the Tonkin Highway.


Sorta correct - NorthLink is the name of the project. The actual scope of the project is upgrading and extending Tonkin Highway to Muchea. The road itself will be Tonkin Hwy when it is opened.


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## ChrisZwolle

Another name I've seen is the 'Swan Valley Bypass'.


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## ChrisZwolle

*Pacific Highway*

A new segment of the Pacific Highway in New South Wales will open this month:

*Opening the new motorway between Tyndale and Maclean*

In March, a 12 kilometre section of new motorway between Tyndale and Maclean will open to traffic. As part of this traffic change motorists will experience smoother, safer and more reliable journeys with better flood immunity and more readily available alternative routes.

The existing Pacific Highway between Glenugie and Maclean will be renamed Big River Way. Big River Way will continue to connect communities across the region as sections of the upgraded highway are opened to traffic and the existing highway is bypassed.

At Tyndale there will be a split interchange. Tyndale north interchange will open in its permanent arrangement as part of this first traffic change. Tyndale south interchange will open as part of the upgrade between Tyndale and Glenugie.

The interchange at Maclean will open in two stages.​
Update letter: https://www.pacifichighway.nsw.gov.... Maclean UPDATE project update March 2020.pdf


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## mw123

Pacific Highway Upgrade


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## ChrisZwolle

*Northern Connector, Adelaide, South Australia*

The Northern Connector in Adelaide has opened to traffic today.


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## mw123

Detailed renders of the lighting installations inside the Northconnex Tunnel opening later this year in northern Sydney.


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## mw123

*Pacific Highway Upgrade












































*


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## ChrisZwolle

The Glenugie - Tyndale section of the Pacific Highway near Grafton, New South Wales will open 'soon' / 'in the coming months'. It's a 36 kilometer segment of new motorway.


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## mw123




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## mw123

*M4-M5 Westconnex Interchange


























*


----------



## spoortje nijverdal

Sydney?


----------



## mw123

spoortje nijverdal said:


> Sydney?


Yes. In St Peters. 

St Peters


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## 54°26′S 3°24′E

mgk920 said:


> There are agricultural inspection checkpoints at several state lines in Australia, just like there are between some USA states (most famously for traffic entering California). Hawaii has strict agricultural inspection rules for people flying into that state, too.





mw123 said:


> Yes that is true. Though it's mostly just an honesty system on the mainland with few (if any?) checks and disposal bins at borders/airports. The only time I've ever regularly encountered active agricultural checks/enforcement is when entering Tasmania - I suppose similar to Hawaii in that way.


Actually, there are quarantine zones even within states: Travellers Map Landing – Australian Interstate Quarantine

At least at Perth airport, I have seen quarantine officers also at the gates of incoming domestic flights.


----------



## essendon bombers

*Bunbury Outer Ring Road, Western Australia*

The WA Government have awarded a contract to Southwest Connex consortium to construct a $852 million bypass around Bunbury, south of Perth. The four lane highway around the east side of the town, is the largest road project for the south western region of the state, and taken with the Bussell Hwy upgrade; represents a major upgrade to the route between Perth and the Margaret River. The project, once it starts early next year and to take three years to complete, will help support 5600 direct and indirect local jobs.













Victoria - $50m is set aside to build onramps on the Hume Fwy at Watson St in Wallan, north of Melbourne. The intersection currently has only northbound facing ramps; this project converts it to a full diamond interchange and will assist relieving the town’s peak hour volumes, given new housing estates nearby.

Queensland - $7.5m is set aside to widen Mount Lindsay Hwy from two to four lanes between Stoney Camp Rd and Chambers Flat Rd, south of Brisbane.


----------



## ChrisZwolle

essendon bombers said:


> The WA Government have awarded a contract to Southwest Connex consortium to construct a $852 million bypass around Bunbury, south of Perth.


Maybe I'm looking at the wrong places, but I always find it difficult to retrieve official road news from Australia. The official department or agency websites often don't have many press releases, and these sections are not prominently featured on the front page of their website either. Apparently most news is through 'media statements' from politicians, which I find weird. It's like they want to take ownership of the work that the department or agency does. 

Home | Western Australian Government this hardly looks like a functional website at all. Only a search bar and covid-19 information are on the front page

DOT Home the DOT website. No news section on the front page. No link to it either. You have to go 4 pages deeper via 'about us' to find no news about the BORR: Department news

Home | Main Roads Western Australia the Main Roads website. Some latest news if you scroll down, no info on the BORR. 

https://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/Pages/Ministers/Rita-Saffioti.aspx Media statements. Aha, finally a link to the BORR 






Media statements - Preferred proponent chosen for $852 million Bunbury Outer Ring Road project







www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au


----------



## In D'Business

For WA projects, when at the MRWA website, navigate to Projects & Initiatives | Main Roads Western Australia. From there, 'Regional Projects' and 'Bunbury Outer Ring Road' should appear. I would've thought that was easy enough. The full WA Government website is a bad place to go to for specific information such as projects.


----------



## 54°26′S 3°24′E

Are there any plans to upgrade Mandurah-Bunbury to full motorway, i. e. without the at grade junctions?


----------



## essendon bombers

I think the answer lies in the differences between the Westminster system of government versus the various European governance systems. I don’t find it weird that the ministers would try to take ownership of their department’s work. The department works for and answers to the minister. The minister is accountable to the parliament. The minister is the breadwinner inside cabinet for the department.

When searching for media releases, go to the minister, not the department.

For the federal ministers, I follow this path:


> > www.australia.gov.au



Scroll through covid 19 info to the bottom to Australia.gov.au
News and Social Media
Social media (don’t ask me why…)
RSS feeds
Media releases by portfolio
Infrastructures, Regional Development and Cities
Pick your minister (currently, McCormack for rural, Tudge for cities, or Buchholz for minor developments)
I then get to a _Page not found_ but then click Media Releases
You can then switch between statements, speeches, interviews etc. and between ministers

For Victoria, I enter _Victorian Premier Media Centre_ straight off Google.

NSW is easy to get to: Media releases | NSW Government, but more tightly controlled (Premier and Deputy Premier only), and you can change your language settings

Queensland: Media Statements


----------



## essendon bombers

54°26′S 3°24′E said:


> Are there any plans to upgrade Mandurah-Bunbury to full motorway, i. e. without the at grade junctions?



None in the short term that I know of. this section is already divided highway; no major cross intersections; and the traffic volumes on either the highway or the cross roads is not enough to justify a major upgrade.

I would rather once the Bunbury & Busselton projects are done, perhaps to continue duplication, bit by bit, into Margaret River region. This is a popular part of the state and a nice part of the country, and should continue to see growth in the future.


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## ChrisZwolle

essendon bombers said:


> I think the answer lies in the differences between the Westminster system of government versus the various European governance systems. I don’t find it weird that the ministers would try to take ownership of their department’s work. The department works for and answers to the minister. The minister is accountable to the parliament. The minister is the breadwinner inside cabinet for the department.


I think it becomes shady if ministers take ownership of contract awards, this could give the illusion of a conflict of interest. The function of the minister is to get the project approved and funding allocated, but the actual development of the works and contract should be left to the department / transport agency. 

When I look for press releases about road projects in say Canada, United States or Europe they are generally found at either the website of the ministry / department, or the agency overseeing the project, almost always prominently at the front page. These press releases could include ministerial statements or quotes, but so far I've only seen this entirely relegated to minister media statement websites in Australia.


----------



## Penn's Woods

essendon bombers said:


> I think the answer lies in the differences between the Westminster system of government versus the various European governance systems. I don’t find it weird that the ministers would try to take ownership of their department’s work. The department works for and answers to the minister. The minister is accountable to the parliament. The minister is the breadwinner inside cabinet for the department.
> 
> When searching for media releases, go to the minister, not the department.
> 
> For the federal ministers, I follow this path:
> 
> 
> Scroll through covid 19 info to the bottom to Australia.gov.au
> News and Social Media
> Social media (don’t ask me why…)
> RSS feeds
> Media releases by portfolio
> Infrastructures, Regional Development and Cities
> Pick your minister (currently, McCormack for rural, Tudge for cities, or Buchholz for minor developments)
> I then get to a _Page not found_ but then click Media Releases
> You can then switch between statements, speeches, interviews etc. and between ministers
> 
> For Victoria, I enter _Victorian Premier Media Centre_ straight off Google.
> 
> NSW is easy to get to: Media releases | NSW Government, but more tightly controlled (Premier and Deputy Premier only), and you can change your language settings
> 
> Queensland: Media Statements


I’m an American but know a bit about the Westminster system and it doesn’t seem unusual to me either. The voice of the department to the public would be its head. It’s true in the U.S. too for that matter. Well, a lot of announcements would come from a spokesman or spokeswoman, but that person’s a political appointee....

I would, though, expect them to archive releases as such on their website.


----------



## Penn's Woods

ChrisZwolle said:


> I think it becomes shady if ministers take ownership of contract awards, this could give the illusion of a conflict of interest. The function of the minister is to get the project approved and funding allocated, but the actual development of the works and contract should be left to the department / transport agency.
> 
> When I look for press releases about road projects in say Canada, United States or Europe they are generally found at either the website of the ministry / department, or the agency overseeing the project, almost always prominently at the front page. These press releases could include ministerial statements or quotes, but so far I've only seen this entirely relegated to minister media statement websites in Australia.


I see your point.


----------



## 54°26′S 3°24′E

essendon bombers said:


> None in the short term that I know of. this section is already divided highway; no major cross intersections; and the traffic volumes on either the highway or the cross roads is not enough to justify a major upgrade.
> 
> I would rather once the Bunbury & Busselton projects are done, perhaps to continue duplication, bit by bit, into Margaret River region. This is a popular part of the state and a nice part of the country, and should continue to see growth in the future.


Priorities always have to be made, of course, but I think that ~ 17 000 AADT should justify proper interchanges for safety reasons.


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## 54°26′S 3°24′E

Penn's Woods said:


> I’m an American but know a bit about the Westminster system and it doesn’t seem unusual to me either. The voice of the department to the public would be its head. It’s true in the U.S. too for that matter. Well, a lot of announcements would come from a spokesman or spokeswoman, but that person’s a political appointee....
> 
> I would, though, expect them to archive releases as such on their website.


I think a characteristic of the US political system is that there is a higher number of political appointments as well as directly elected officials than what is common in Europe.


----------



## essendon bombers

*Swan River Crossing, Western Australia*


WA rolling up their sleeves further. This time, $230 million to replace an old bridge with two bridges in Fremantle. The two new bridges will meet the future needs of road, rail, cycling, walking and boat traffic. The project is funded with a 50/50 split between state and feds.

For the moment, industry is being called out for design proposals and construction plans. The bridge project is due to commence late next year and support 1400 jobs. Architectural and heritage views are being sought in the design of the bridge and will be considered by a state design review panel.

There are two road bridges close together in Fremantle, not sure which one they are referring to but I would bet it’s the one closest to the ocean. That one has an adjacent rail bridge.


----------



## essendon bombers

*Rockhampton-Yeppoon road upgrade, Queensland*


Website: Yeppoon Road Upgrade Project
Central Queensland jobs boosted by $1.4B road building investment

In central Queensland, $80m is committed (so far) to a road project around the city of Rockhampton.

The Rockhampton-Yeppoon Road, around 36km in length, connects the city to the coastal town of Yeppoon. The road serves many industries including defence, forestry and tourism; and is a designated B double route. The first five kilometres of the road is divided highway.

There is a fair amount of traffic volume, averaging around 11,000 vehicles per day currently. About 1000 of these are heavy vehicles.

The project is currently in the community consultation phase and will soon move into the business case and design phase. Construction won’t commence until 2023 with the opening in 2025.

Rockhampton gets plenty of love for funded road projects.

Central Queensland road and transport projects underway are:

Rockhampton Northern Access Upgrade $157 million – 425 jobs
Capricorn Highway-Rockhampton to Gracemere Duplication $75 million – 187 jobs
Road train access to Rockhampton abattoirs: Rockhampton-Emu Park Road $20 million
Bajool-Port Alma Road upgrade $14.5 million – 59 jobs
Capricorn Highway overtaking lanes $19 million – 60 jobs

Projects in planning include:

Rockhampton Ring Road $1 billion – almost 800 jobs
Bruce Highway—Rockhampton Intersections Upgrade $4.95 million planning project
Lawrie Street upgrade $35 million – 56 jobs
Rockhampton-Yeppoon Road upgrade $80 million staged upgrades


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## ChrisZwolle

*Pacific Highway*






Pacific Highway upgrade opens new sections - 2020 Minister's releases - Minister's releases - Media releases - News & events - About us - Roads and Waterways – Transport for NSW


Pacific Highway upgrade opens new sections




www.rms.nsw.gov.au





*Pacific Highway upgrade opens new sections*

*26 August 2020*
The Woolgoolga to Ballina Pacific Highway upgrade has hit another major milestone with 15 kilometres of dual carriageway opening tomorrow (Thursday) between Mororo and Devils Pulpit.



There happens to be very recent satellite imagery from 5 August 2020. It shows that this section of the Pacific Highway upgrade is not a full motorway, but has quite a number of U-turns.


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## VITORIA MAN

why if i follow this thread , it doesnt appear on" whats new" when somebody posts when i enter to skyscrap. ?


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## Penn's Woods

VITORIA MAN said:


> why if i follow this thread , it doesnt appear on" whats new" when somebody posts when i enter to skyscrap. ?


I’m noticing a long lag - sometimes 24 hours or more - in notifications. Both on a laptop and on an iPhone.


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## ChrisZwolle

Evidently the Mackay Ring Road (Bruce Highway) will open to traffic tomorrow. I couldn't find much else about it, many regional newspapers in Eastern Australia are paywalled.


__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1301747349098606594


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## VITORIA MAN

Penn's Woods said:


> I’m noticing a long lag - sometimes 24 hours or more - in notifications. Both on a laptop and on an iPhone.


only if i post a pic or write something it works


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## ChrisZwolle

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1302154751589539842


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## essendon bombers

*WA STATE BUDGET*


*Roads budget creating local jobs and busting congestion across WA*
8/10/2020 2:20 PM


2020-21 State Budget includes $2.39 billion for road infrastructure and maintenance
$27 billion in overall infrastructure investment over the next four years
$11.8 billion pipeline of work for transport infrastructure works over the next four years
New Smart Freeway technology from Joondalup to the city
Builds on $100 million WA Recovery Plan major roads infrastructure package
11 major projects fast tracked for COVID recovery, creating more than 13,000 jobs
More than $260 million to be spent a month on major transport infrastructure
More than $230 million allocated to road safety initiatives across WA

Major projects to be progressed as part of the State Budget include:


$100 million to install Smart Freeway technology on the Mitchell Freeway between Hester Avenue and Vincent Street, including works on 16 on-ramps;
$50 million to construct a 6-metre-wide Causeway Cyclist and Pedestrian Bridge with dedicated pedestrian and cyclist lanes to the west of the Causeway;
$275 million to construct a 45.6 kilometre, 10-metre-wide sealed bypass two lane highway west of Bindoon, including connections to existing roads and overtaking lanes; and
$36 million on the Great Northern Highway Port Hedland Deviation project.


As part of the WA Recovery Plan, more than $100 million has been invested towards major job-creating road projects to support local jobs and local businesses.



Projects include:


$7 million for the Stock Road Bridge replacement;
$16 million to improve amenity along some of Perth's key arterial routes;
$3 million for a right turn lane upgrade at the intersection of Main Street and Royal Street, Osborne Park;
$5 million for upgrades to Kwinana Beach Road (from Patterson Road to CBH Terminal);
$11.35 million for the Metropolitan Intersection Crash Program which targets high risk intersections with a high crash rate for improvements - annual ongoing program;
$11.5 million to upgrade and undertake pipe relocation works for intersection improvements of Albany Highway, Kelvin and Olga roads in Maddington;
$16 million towards a program for Low Cost Crash Treatments on local government roads in the metropolitan area;
An additional $40 million towards the next phase of the Stephenson Avenue Extension in the City of Stirling;
$300,000 to upgrade Old Yanchep Road through the Tourist Road Improvement Program; and
$7 million for road and rail crossings upgrades on the South West Main Line in Cookernup, Coolup and Waroona.

Work continues to fast track 11 major road projects across WA, as part of its Building for Tomorrow program, which will create up to 13,000 local jobs, including:


Roe Highway/Great Eastern Highway/Abernethy Road, expected to create 1,200 jobs, with contract awarding by January 2021 and early works to commence in March - 18 months earlier than anticipated;
Stephenson Avenue Extension in Stirling, expected to create 800 jobs with phase one now under construction and phase two expressions of interest from industry brought forward six months early; 
Leach Highway and Welshpool Road Interchange, expected to create 600 jobs and contract award anticipated December 2020, six months earlier than previously planned;
Tonkin Highway Gap project, expected to create 1,050 jobs with early works planned for later this month, three months ahead of schedule;
Mitchell Freeway Extension to Romeo Road, expected to create 1,200 jobs with early works planned for January 2021 and contract award due later this year;
Mitchell Freeway Hodges Drive to Hepburn Avenue widening, expected to create 530 jobs with early works planned for January 2021 and contract award due later this year; 
Swan River Crossings (Fremantle Traffic Bridge), expected to create 1,400 jobs with early works expected late 2021, and contract due to be awarded in December this year, six months earlier than previously scheduled;
Bunbury Outer Ring Road, expected to create 4,500 jobs, construction anticipated in January 2021, three months earlier than expected;
Albany Ring Road, expected to create 1,000 jobs with construction now underway;
Bussell Highway Duplication Stage 1 and Stage 2, to create 570 jobs with Stage 1 construction to begin later this month; and
Lloyd Street Extension expected to create 280 jobs with contract award anticipated in January 2021 and early works to commence in March, 18 months earlier than previously planned

As part of the Government's continued commitment to road safety, funding has also been allocated for the following road improvement programs:


$49.4 million for a Safer Roads and Bridges Program;
$21.4 million for the State Black Spot Program; and
$100 million for Regional State Road Safety Improvement Program, a landmark agreement negotiated with the Commonwealth Government to upgrade 1,400 kilometres of road across the State.


----------



## essendon bombers

*Bindoon Bypass, Western Australia*



$275 million has been allocated in the state budget of Western Australia to start building a 66 kilomentre bypass of Bindoon, north east of Perth. The bypass will realign the Great Northern Highway and will result in triple road trains reaching as close to Perth as Muchea.


The current situation is that triple road trains can only reach as far as Wubin (276km from perth) where decoupling or using smaller trucks must take place due to highway alignment and gradients make it unsuitable for such long vehicles. Muchea will be home to a future road train assembly area.


61.5km of the route will be new highway built ten metres wide and 4.5km will be existing highway improvements. Economically, the value of the road is recouped through transport operational cost savings and the stated benefit cost ratio is 3.4 with a net present value of $462 million. (7% real discount rate)


----------



## essendon bombers

*Parkes Bypass, New South Wales*



Early works started in September on Parkes Bypass in central NSW. The town, situated on the Newell Hwy, nearly half way between Melbourne and Brisbane, will have 10.5 km new road on the west side of the town. At a cost of $172 million it will save ten minutes of a trip and remove 1200 trucks a day from the middle of town.


----------



## essendon bombers

*Singleton Bypass, New South Wales*



Last week’s budget contained funding to start building a bypass around the town of Singleton, located on the new England Hwy in the Hunter Valley. The new two lane road of eight kilometres length includes a 1.7km bridge over the main north railway and floodplains.

Construction is still some time away, not expected to start until mid 2023 and to complete in 2027. Perhaps because the local council still has some concerns over the design detail such as the Putty Rd interchange being only half diamond instead of full diamond; and that the pass should be four lanes instead of two lanes (I agree with them on this point).

The current aadt through the town is 26,000 vehicles including 3700 heavy vehicles. The bypass is expected to remove around 15,000 of these.

Singleton is located about 76km from Newcastle and 200km road distance from Sydney.


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## Vars

ParadiseRacer32 said:


> Definitely happy to see this terrible intersection go.
> Thanks for the breakdown!


Presumably this will also remove the railway level crossing on Old Barnawartha Road? Good thing if so. Will there be any ramps provided as part of the project?

I think there are several such intersections on the Hume Highway, in both Victoria and NSW.


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## Vars

Bindoon bypass 66km in length - that's long!

Why only two lanes the Singleton bypass? With a predicted aadt of 15,000 surely four lanes is justified? Imo the New England Highway should be four lanes as far north as Muswellbrook.


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## ChrisZwolle

The Bindoon bypass will feed into the extended Tonkin Highway (Swan Valley Bypass) which ends at Muchea. I suppose the present road through that area is not practically upgradeable to a high-speed road with gentle alignment. 

However, seeing Australian construction prices, $ 275 million surely isn't going to be enough to build a 66 kilometre road?


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## Vars

^^ The Bindoon bypass will allow road trains to get nearer to Perth before they have to be decoupled. It will probably cost more than that I'd say. Blame the mining boom for that - it sent construction costs through the roof. However, since the boom ended I believe that the WA government has let some contracts for less than expected, as companies have less work and thus are more willing to reduce their prices in order to get some.


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## essendon bombers

McKoy St Wodonga – it appears that this project is still in planning and construction will be 2022-4. Surely the level crossing will be removed; how necessary is it to build ramps at this location? It would serve only a handful of businesses, the quarry, the university? There are off ramps nearby.



Bindoon Bypass – looking at google images it appears that the western & northern sections is over flat land so construction would be very easy. Construction cost would be a bit above $4m per kilometre.


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## rohjoe

NORTHCONNEX SYDNEY
A number of cool videos linked at these sites, showing entrances and exits for the new Northconnex tunnel in the northern suburbs of Sydney, which is about to open. 
Driver education - NorthConnex
Get to know NorthConnex


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## rohjoe

Yet another tour of the NorthConnex tunnel in Sydney with the opening apparently imminent...


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## mw123

Finally opening on Saturday 31 October:


----------



## Penn's Woods

From my Facebook feed:









The Australian-first way Sydney drivers will be kept alert while driving through new tunnel


Eye-catching visual displays including metal silhouettes of swooping galahs are designed to keep drivers focused while travelling through the 9-kilometre NorthConnex tunnel.




www.abc.net.au


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## ChrisZwolle

*NorthConnex*

A video of the new NorthConnex Tunnel in Sydney on opening day:


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## kostas97

^ Are there any stretches of motorway using the official motorway sign rather than the "motorway/expressway begins" sign (if they do that)???


----------



## 54°26′S 3°24′E

I guess you are asking about the Vienna convention style motorway sign, which ain't official (or seen) in any Australian state or territory to my knowledge, but the Aussies should know...


----------



## kostas97

54°26′S 3°24′E said:


> I guess you are asking about the Vienna convention style motorway sign, which ain't official (or seen) in any Australian state or territory to my knowledge, but the Aussies should know...


Exactly, i mean the one that we use in Europe (this Vienna convention sign), i was wondering if they used it in Australia too.


----------



## KIWIKAAS

Only in NSW as far as I know. And then only placed sporadically


----------



## mw123

I know they had them on the Hume Highway at Berrima however it looks like they've recently changed them to 'Start/End Motorway' signs according to Google streetview.

Perhaps they are phasing them out. The screencaps below are in the same spot in 2018 v 2019.









Google Maps


Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.




goo.gl





Southbound:


















The other side of the road northbound:


----------



## Penn's Woods

mw123 said:


> I know they had them on the Hume Highway at Berrima however it looks like they've recently changed them to 'Start/End Motorway' signs according to Google streetview.
> 
> Perhaps they are phasing them out. The photos below are in the same spot in 2018 v 2019.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Google Maps
> 
> 
> Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> goo.gl
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Southbound:
> View attachment 688479
> 
> View attachment 688480
> 
> 
> 
> The other side of the road northbound:
> View attachment 688491
> 
> View attachment 688493


Before you adopted the alphanumeric numbering system, would there have been a change there? I assume it changes from A31 to M31 now (or vice versa in the other direction), and that tells you whether it’s a freeway or not. But before, it would have all been National Highway 31, correct?


----------



## mw123

Penn's Woods said:


> Before you adopted the alphanumeric numbering system, would there have been a change there? I assume it changes from A31 to M31 now (or vice versa in the other direction), and that tells you whether it’s a freeway or not. But before, it would have all been National Highway 31, correct?


That is correct. However when they changed to alphanumeric it was signposted as M31 all the way to the Victorian border. I didn't even realise that they changed it to A31/M31 until I saw these images so it must be a recent change.

To make things more confusing, it is still labelled as M31 between Berrima and the Victorian border on Google Maps, Open Street Maps and the official Transport for NSW website. So I don't know what is going on lol. Will ask around in Ozscrapers. 

As you can all tell, Australian road signage and route designations are a complete mess.


----------



## mw123

So it turns out that that A31 sign is an error. 

They were originally intending to use the M- prefix on strict access controlled motorways only however decided to use the M- prefix for the entire length of the Hume highway (I presume to keep it consistent with the Victorian side of the highway which is designated as M31 as well).


----------



## essendon bombers

*Sydney Gateway project*



**new road links St peter’s Interchange with Sydney Airport International Terminal and Domestic Terminal.


Premier Gladys Berejiklian has announced the contract to build the Sydney Gateway project - which will see drivers’ travel times slashed considerably - has been awarded to John Holland Seymour Whyte.


The project will connect the WestConnex motorway from St Peters to Sydney Airport and Port Botany.


Ms Berejiklian said the link will take 100,000 vehicles a day to ensure travel times were reduced, with people travelling from Western Sydney expected to save 30 to 40 minutes.


The roughly $2.6 billion project will begin construction next year and is set to be completed in 2024. “The great news is at least the Sydney Airport and the airline industry can have something to look forward to in what has been a shocking year for them,” Ms Berejiklian said.


Transport Minister Andrew Constance said the Gateway project was “not only a congestion buster but a stress buster". "If you look at the travel time savings that people are going to experience once this project’s complete, it’s phenomenal," he said.


----------



## mw123




----------



## essendon bombers

*South Australia Roads Budget 2020-21*



Projects funded include:

(funding may include Commonwealth contributions but not sure of that; most of below projects are in partnership with Commonwealth)


$135m to seal the Strzelecki Track in the outback
$250m Hahndorf township road plan
$185m Fleurieu Peninsula (south of Adelaide) road upgrades/improvements over five years targeting specifically to the south of existing Main South Rd and Victor Harbour Rd duplication works. These projects can assist the region’s bushfire economic recovery.
$20m to upgrade roads around two new schools at Aldinga and Angle Vale
$25m for Golden Grove park’n’ride (N.E. suburbs)


----------



## essendon bombers

*South Road Tunnels, Adelaide*



South Australia & Commonwealth are now planning the most difficult and major part of the South Road upgrade. The remaining 10.5km section is the final that links the recently completed Darlington project and the Torrens to Torrens projects.



At a cost of some $9 billion over ten years, this upgrade is split into two stage: the 6km southern from Darlington to Anzac Hwy will include 4km of tunnels. The northern stage from Anzac Hwy to River Torrens will include a mix of at surface freeway and a second northern tunnel. Every effort was made to save and protect local heritage and community assets since the corridor passes through an older and more condensed part of the city. The first stage (southern) will be funded from an existing SA/Commonwealth commitment of $5.4 billion.



The hybrid tunnel and surface solution was chosen as It maximises network effectiveness, minimises property acquisitions and minimises disruption. For the most part, the existing South Rd appears to be unaffected. The project will create about 4000 jobs and will complete a continuous 78km freeway from Gawler in Adelaide’s far north to Old Noarlunga in the far south. An average of 24 minutes will be slashed from the existing driving time from Torrens to Darlington once this is completed.



Now that the concept is sorted, early works will start next year and major construction commences in late 2023. The project will complete by 2030. In the meantime, the business case and project design will begin. So too will the site investigations and stakeholder engagement program.


----------



## ChrisZwolle

essendon bombers said:


> the Strzelecki Track


I wonder how they pronounce that in Australia.


----------



## essendon bombers

I would swap the e and z around.

It ought to be pronounced the Polish way, named after Sir Paweł Edmund Strzelecki 24 June 1797 – 6 October 1873 

There is also Strzelecki Hwy in Gippsland, Victoria (route B460) 

and Strzelecki on Flinders Island, Tasmania


----------



## Penn's Woods

essendon bombers said:


> I would swap the e and z around.
> 
> It ought to be pronounced the Polish way, named after Sir Paweł Edmund Strzelecki 24 June 1797 – 6 October 1873
> 
> There is also Strzelecki Hwy in Gippsland, Victoria (route B460)
> 
> and Strzelecki on Flinders Island, Tasmania


Is he the guy who discovered Mount Kosciuszko?

So you’d go with “stre-LEZ-ki”?

That’s actually better than “stre-LECK-i,” since the C is pronounced TS. So the correct pronunciation is “stzhe-LETS-ki.” (I’m completely Polish by ancestry as far as I know and have learned just enough of the language that I can pronounce things.)


----------



## essendon bombers

yes, well, at least got to name the mountain. Named in 1840 after Polish-Lithuanian freedom fighter General Tadeusz Kosciuszko. 

sorry, I was meaning strez-lecki.


----------



## essendon bombers

*Tasmanian Roads Budget



ROADS FOR GROWTH*

$1 billion in State funding for the Roads program including:


$112.3m for the new $576m Bridgewater Bridge#
$280.6m for road maintenance across the State
$130m towards the $175.5m# Greater Hobart Traffic Solution, including $65m for the Tasman Bridge upgrade, as part of a $130m# project
$45.2m towards the $350m# Sorell & midway causeway
$100m for Roads of Strategic Importance and road safety projects
$33.2m for new road link between W. & E. Tamar Hwys and a new Tamar River Bridge at Newnham (Launceston)
$12.7m for the West Tamar Highway (N.W. Launceston)
$40.5m for State Road upgrades – North-West and West Coast*
$31m for State Road upgrades – Northern*
$61.1m for State Road upgrades – Southern*
$37.3m for tourist roads

The government’s media release talked in terms of ‘visions’ and ‘solutions’ without giving the specifics of where the funding is going. The Transport Tasmania website has an area that outlines some detail on the smaller projects around the state. This roads budget looks like a big effort for the part of the small island state; a population barely over half a million inhabitants.


----------



## essendon bombers

*New South Wales Budget



Road projects*

· Almost $545 million ($4.2 billion over four years) to commence construction on the Sydney Gateway project and continue planning and preconstruction activities for the M6 Stage 1 Extension;

· $356 million ($5.7 billion over four years) for the planning and preconstruction for the Western Harbour Tunnel and Warringah Freeway Upgrade as part of the Western Harbour Tunnel program;

· $197 million over the next four years for the Prospect Highway upgrade (State and Federal funded) including $13.9 million in 2020-21;

· $149 million over the next four years for the Memorial Avenue upgrade, including $37 million in 2020-21;

· $120 million over the next two years to match the Federal funding commitment for metropolitan pinch points;

$1.3 billion continued funding for Westconnex M4-M5 link tunnel

· Almost $432 million ($1.4 billion over four years) for projects underway on the Princes Highway including the new Nowra Bridge, the Batemans Bay Bridge, Albion Park Rail Bypass and the Berry to Bomaderry Upgrade, as well as planning for further upgrades between Nowra and the Victorian border;

· Almost $342 million ($383 million over four years) to complete duplication of the Pacific Highway, including completing construction between Woolgoolga to Ballina;

· $135 million ($1 billion over four years) for planning and early works for the Coffs Harbour Bypass;

· More than $15 million ($436 million over four years) to continue planning for the Great Western Highway upgrade between Katoomba and Lithgow;

· Almost $158 million for the Newell Highway, including delivery of additional overtaking lanes, flood mitigation works, heavy duty pavement upgrades as well as planning for the Parkes Bypass and new Dubbo Bridge;

· More than $50 million ($61.6 over next two years) towards completion of the sealing of the Silver City and Cobb Highways in the Far West to open up the region for tourism and freight operators;

· Almost $9 million to continue planning for the Muswellbrook and Singleton Bypasses on the New England Highway;

$312 million local country roads upkeep

$108 million upgrading country road bridges



*Other Transport Initiatives*



_Almost $28 billion will be invested over the next four years by the NSW Government into continuing the delivery of the Sydney Metro City and Southwest project and commencing the construction of the Sydney Metro West, and Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport projects._



$1.6 billion ($1.5 billion recurrent and $49 million capital) for bus services throughout NSW, including regional and metropolitan bus services, school services and funding of new and replacement buses;

$656 million for Parramatta Light Rail Stage 1

· An additional $192 million for the Transport Access Program to upgrade train stations and ferry wharves to make them more accessible including new lifts, ramps and footbridges. This adds to the existing $885 million that was committed over four years in last year’s Budget;

· More than $1.1 billion ($4. billion over the forward estimates) to continue to deliver More Trains, More Services for increased rail services, and more frequent and additional services on the Illawarra, Airport and South Coast lines;

· Fully funding the delivery of commuter car parks at Edmondson Park, Leppington, Warwick Farm, West Ryde, Emu Plains, Schofields, Revesby, Riverwood, North Rocks, Engadine, Hornsby, Jannali, Wentworthville, Winston Hills, Casula, Tuggerah and Beverly Hills; and

· Almost $710 million in walking and cycling infrastructure over the next four years, bringing the NSW Government’s total investment to almost $1.1 billion – the largest in the State’s history

· More than $43 million ($1.3 billion over four years) for the Regional Rail Fleet Program to replace the ageing fleet and build a rail maintenance facility in Dubbo;

· More than $31 million ($258 million over four years) initial NSW and Australian Government investment in a Fast Rail network.


----------



## mw123

*Albion Park Rail Bypass (Princes Highway upgrade) construction photos - opens mid 2021


















































*

Old video showing the design:


----------



## mw123

Also as part of the Princes Highway upgrade is the new Nowra Bridge project.


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## ChrisZwolle

*Wells Crossing to Glenugie Pacific Highway lanes open*

*26 November 2020*

Today, the Pacific Highway upgrade is taking an eight-kilometre leap forward with new northbound lanes due to open to traffic between Wells Crossing and Glenugie this afternoon.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack said this was the latest stretch between Woolgoolga and Ballina to open to traffic before the country's biggest ever regional road project crosses the finish line next month, weather permitting.






Wells Crossing to Glenugie Pacific Highway lanes open - 2020 Minister's releases - Minister's releases - Media releases - News & events - About us - Roads and Waterways – Transport for NSW


Wells Crossing to Glenugie Pacific Highway lanes open




www.rms.nsw.gov.au





This segment was upgraded with one new concrete southbound carriageway in 2012, while the old Pacific Highway carried the other direction. A new concrete northbound carriageway has now been completed.








[


----------



## 54°26′S 3°24′E

If understand this correctly, there will be dual carriageway all the way from Sydney to Brisbane next month? That is quite a milestone, and a massive improvement from a few decades ago.


----------



## ChrisZwolle

That's right, though there are more improvements planned, most notably a bypass for Coffs Harbour and an improvement / realignment at Hexham / Beresfield: Google Maps

Not all of the Pacific Highway is up to motorway standards, some sections were built with U-turns. Generally speaking, most of the newer segments in the north of New South Wales are up to or near motorway standards while Newcastle - Port Macquarie has quite a large number of intersections / U-turns. 

A substantial portion of the Pacific Highway north of Port Macquarie has been built on a greenfield alignment.


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## perheps

From Brisbane to Melbourne non-stop end of 2029


----------



## 54°26′S 3°24′E

What is missing is a section close to Newcastle and the Coff's Harbour bypass?


----------



## mw123

54°26′S 3°24′E said:


> What is missing is a section close to Newcastle and the Coff's Harbour bypass?


Yep that's it.

Coffs Harbour Bypass and M1 to Raymond Terrace link close to Newcastle.

Both existing sections are 4 lanes however run through built up areas with traffic lights.









Coffs Harbour Bypass | Pacific Highway Upgrade


The Australian and NSW governments are funding the Coffs Harbour bypass project.




www.pacifichighway.nsw.gov.au










M1 Pacific Motorway extension to Raymond Terrace - Projects - Roads and Waterways – Transport for NSW


M1 Pacific Motorway extension to Raymond Terrace




www.rms.nsw.gov.au


----------



## Verso

I remember a sign just outside Brisbane saying 931 km to Sydney. That's a remarkable distance for building a motorway, especially if you take into account that there is no large city between Gold Coast and Newcastle. I only remember Byron Bay (which is close to Gold Coast), the rest I just remember a few town names and the Pacific Highway... which is now the Pacific Motorway.

By the way, are there any plans to pave/seal Highway 1 along the Gulf of Carpentaria (part of the Savannah Way)? It's quite strange to see gravel on Highway 1.


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## ChrisZwolle

I believe there is now a 2,015 kilometre stretch of four lane highway from Geelong to Gympie:


----------



## Penn's Woods

Which is considered the main route between Brisbane and Sydney? The Pacific or the New England route?


----------



## mw123

[


Penn's Woods said:


> Which is considered the main route between Brisbane and Sydney? The Pacific or the New England route?


The Pacific. Much faster now that these upgrades are complete. Back in the day I believe the New England was faster.

It is also now faster to use the Hume and Pacific highways via Sydney when travelling from Melbourne to Brisbane despite this route being less direct. That wasn't the case 1 year ago even.


----------



## Verso

ChrisZwolle said:


> I believe there is now a 2,015 kilometre stretch of four lane highway from Geelong to Gympie


It's 2,071 km from Colac to Gympie. The highways through Winchelsea and Coffs Harbour are 4-lane urban roads though. It's also 2,133 km from west of Sale (east of Melbourne) to Gympie via Melbourne, but I'm not sure how much sense that makes (and there're again 4-lane urban roads through Rosedale and Traralgon).


----------



## essendon bombers

At 2065km, you could start outside Beaufort on the Western Hwy and drive to Gympie on continuous four lane road.

From Melbourne, four lane road exists to Colac and Torquay via Geelong, Beaufort (pending completion of the Beaufort Bypass then almost to Ararat), Bendigo, Arcadia (Goulburn Valley Hwy, before Shepparton), Traralgon (extend to Sale in a few years time), Woolamai (Bass Hwy, approaching Philip Island), Rosebud (Mornington Peninsula).



Carpentaria Hwy – the budget a couple of months ago allocated $120m to this road. Not enough to completely seal the road but at least it is getting some attention.


----------



## Verso

^^ What about the road to Cape York? There was a plan to seal 173 km of the Peninsula Developmental Road, which is completed, but much of the road is still gravel/muddy. Are there at least long-term plans to seal it all the way to Cape York? Sealing just one traffic lane (e.g. 3.5 m) would already be a big improvement.


----------



## essendon bombers

Verso said:


> ^^ What about the road to Cape York? There was a plan to seal 173 km of the Peninsula Developmental Road, which is completed, but much of the road is still gravel/muddy. Are there at least long-term plans to seal it all the way to Cape York? Sealing just one traffic lane (e.g. 3.5 m) would already be a big improvement.



I found a website called Cockatours which has some info on Cape York road. Yes, the 173km sealing project has taken six years and would have completed this year but that leaves around 530km of dirt road to go. At this rate the road could be sealed in about 15 years but it assumes that the government is as committed to the area in the future as it has shown the last few years. That may not be the case. There is not much up there apart from a town, a mine and an outback adventure.

Having said that I think it might be a good time now for Australia to consider the Cape York’s defence and strategic value to the rest of the country. It may justify getting a move on with this road upgrade or it may mean do very little.


----------



## essendon bombers

*Grain Silo Art Trail, Victoria*


Earlier this year, I went for a drive in north western Victoria and did the grain silo art trail. Stretching around 200km, five silos have been painted by local artists depicting country life. The silos are spaced about an half hour drive apart. Starting in Rupanyup (B210, north of Stawell) and tracks north west to Warracknabeal then north along the Henty Hwy (B200). The locations are at Rupanyup, Sheep Hills, Brim, Lascelles then heads west to Patchewollock. Not all the silos that one drives past are painted; there are many in the area spaced about 10km apart; every second or third silo is. I really like the idea of silo art; it helps to give character to parts of the country that more often feels forgotten about. Grain silo art is not limited to Victoria, it is found in NSW, SA and WA too.



Website: Home | Silo Art Trail



Youtube: Silo Art Trail - YouTube


----------



## essendon bombers

Pictures below:


Rupanyup 










Sheep Hills 










Brim 










Lascelles










Patchewollock


----------



## essendon bombers

plus this silo in Coonalpyn (SA) besides the Dukes Hwy from Adelaide to Melbourne (not part of the Victorian grain silo trail).


----------



## mw123




----------



## Short

A 68 page Ebook has been made available to freely download about the Pacific Highway Upgrade.


































Pacific Highway Upgrade Ebook website


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## essendon bombers

Bits and pieces



Northern Tasmania – work will soon start on $55m upgrade of three roads that connect the East Tamar Hwy (Bell Bay) to Devonport and state’s northwest, that bypasses Launceston. These short roads include the Batman Hwy (route B73), Frankford Rd (B71) and Birralee Main Rd (B72); and links towns from Bell Bay, Sidmouth, Exeter, Birralee and Westbury. This freight route will help to relieve pressure from Launceston’s city streets.



Northern Territory – the Feds have announced a $217m package of road upgrades in the NT that support the development of the Beetaloo Gas Basin, located around 500km south of Darwin. The main roads targeted here are the Buchanan Hwy, Western Creek Rd and Gorrie Dry Creek rd, all currently dirt tracks. The works include road sealing, flood immunity, bridge and culvert improvements and some realignment.

Money is also being put aside for a study into a future multimodal freight terminal near Tennant Creek, that one day could become a hub supporting the Stuart Hwy, Barkly Hwy, and to a future Tennant Creek to Mount Isa railway.



Canberra - $137 million will be committed to upgrade and strengthen the Commonwealth Bridge. The twin bridges, that are right in front of Australia’s parliament house, were built in 1963 and haven’t had a major upgrade since. Pedestrian pathways will be widened and road safety barriers replaced.


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## essendon bombers

some maps of the Tassie & NT projects above

The NT map is a very rough approximation of the roads targeted around Beetaloo Basin.


----------



## mw123

essendon bombers said:


> *South Road Tunnels, Adelaide*
> 
> 
> 
> South Australia & Commonwealth are now planning the most difficult and major part of the South Road upgrade. The remaining 10.5km section is the final that links the recently completed Darlington project and the Torrens to Torrens projects.
> 
> 
> 
> At a cost of some $9 billion over ten years, this upgrade is split into two stage: the 6km southern from Darlington to Anzac Hwy will include 4km of tunnels. The northern stage from Anzac Hwy to River Torrens will include a mix of at surface freeway and a second northern tunnel. Every effort was made to save and protect local heritage and community assets since the corridor passes through an older and more condensed part of the city. The first stage (southern) will be funded from an existing SA/Commonwealth commitment of $5.4 billion.
> 
> 
> 
> The hybrid tunnel and surface solution was chosen as It maximises network effectiveness, minimises property acquisitions and minimises disruption. For the most part, the existing South Rd appears to be unaffected. The project will create about 4000 jobs and will complete a continuous 78km freeway from Gawler in Adelaide’s far north to Old Noarlunga in the far south. An average of 24 minutes will be slashed from the existing driving time from Torrens to Darlington once this is completed.
> 
> 
> 
> Now that the concept is sorted, early works will start next year and major construction commences in late 2023. The project will complete by 2030. In the meantime, the business case and project design will begin. So too will the site investigations and stakeholder engagement program.


Visualisation of this project.


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## ChrisZwolle

The first new span of the bridge across the Clyde River in Batemans Bay, part of the Princes Highway, will open in late March, which is ahead of schedule. They are replacing the old bridge with a new set of concrete spans. The expansion will be completed entirely by 2023.









Batemans Bay's $274 million bridge to open in late March | About Regional


Coastal commuters will be among the first people to cross the new Batemans Bay Bridge over Clyde River from late…



aboutregional.com.au


----------



## essendon bombers

*South Australian road safety upgrades*


A breakdown of a $100m road safety package for South Australia. Treatments include shoulder sealing, rumble strips and installing barriers.

Targeted roads include:


Riddoch Hwy (Keith-Mt Gambier) $4.54m
Ngarkat Hwy (Bordertown-Pinaroo) $9m
Eyre Hwy (Ceduna to head of Bight) $9.1m
Augusta Hwy (Collinsfield-Red Hill) $7.5m
Barrier Hwy (Burra-Cockburn) $18m
Stuart Hwy (Pimba, Coober Pedy) $17m
Upper Yorke Rd (Maitland-Arthurton) $6m
Horrocks Hwy (Wilmington-Templars) $19.9m
Tod Hwy (Kyancutta-Lock) $6m
Birdseye Hwy (Lock-Rudall) $4m
Minlaton Rd (Minlaton-Stansbury) $3m


Meanwhile, for southwest Victoria, the State government announced a $270m road package for the Great Ocean Road, Princes Hwy and the inland routes connecting these two roads. The area is between Geelong and Warrnambool. This is to support both the dairy and tourism industries. If you are a resident from the town of Cobden, you have hit the jackpot with roads north, south, east and west out of town all receiving improvements. Cobden is a focal point for the inland routes.


----------



## essendon bombers

*Grain Silo Art – Northern Victoria*


The Grain Silo Art Trail continues to grow and attract interest in Victoria. So I decided to check out some of the painted grain silos north of Melbourne.


The first one is in Rochester, situated on the Northern Hwy about 20 mins south of Echuca.


----------



## essendon bombers

After some backtracking, these six silos in Colbinabbin are well worth a look, giving a glimpse into the local area’s history. Colbinabbin is on the east-west Bendigo-Murchison Rd. Sun glare presented an issue at that time.


----------



## Vars

^ Yes, this would be the main justification for a longer tunnel - reducing the gradient of the descent into the Hartley Valley. The highway is subject to snow and ice elsewhere but there won't be any tunnels in these places.


----------



## 54°26′S 3°24′E

I was driving that down that hill on the western side of Blue "Mountains" a couple of decades ago. I have two distinct memories:

A small patch of snow with kids playing like they never had seen snow before
Multiple signs that appeared permanent saying something like: "Lethal hazard: Possible ice on road". But this being decades ago, maybe it was no more dramatic than this....








Anyway, as a Norwegian I though this was kind of funny, but if you have never driven on ice or snow before, and are not equipped for it either, I guess a warning or two is appropriate!


----------



## Vars

^ That area is high enough to get the occasional snowfall during the colder months. However, many Australians are not accustomed to driving in such conditions, hence the warning signs.

Yes, at just over 1000m altitude, the Blue Mountains and the whole central tablelands are not high by world standards, but I've seen snow falling at Mt Victoria in October, which is spring in the southern hemisphere. 30 years ago I travelled from Sydney across the BMs in August the morning after a cold front had passed through and there was snow on the ground as far east as Wentworth Falls.


----------



## ChrisZwolle

There is also some news from Victoria:

*One step closer to completing Princes Highway duplication between Traralgon and Sale*
_ 
Contracts have been awarded for construction of the final 43 kilometres of the Princes Highway to be duplicated between Traralgon and Sale in eastern Victoria.

The $253.3 million Princes Highway East – Complete the Duplication between Traralgon and Sale project is jointly funded, with the Australian Government committing $202.6 million and the Victorian Government $50.7 million.

The full duplication between Traralgon and Sale project is anticipated to be complete by mid-2024._






One step closer to completing Princes Highway duplication between Traralgon and Sale


Contracts have been awarded for construction of the final 43 kilometres of the Princes Highway to be duplicated between Traralgon and Sale in eastern Victori




minister.infrastructure.gov.au





This is the easternmost duplication of the Princes Highway.


----------



## Stuu

Describing it as "the last 43 km" is pretty over the top even by press release standards - most of the route is already dualled, there's only 11 or so km left to do


----------



## ChrisZwolle

It sounded cheap... Most of the road was already duplicated between 2015 and 2019.


----------



## essendon bombers

The pre budget cash splash has started.



*Federal Budget infrastructure boost to help build Western Australia's economic recovery*


The Western Australia economy will be boosted by a $1.3b infrastructure package, with record funding for major new projects to be announced in next week’s Federal Budget.

Key projects to be funded include:


$347.5 million for METRONET: Hamilton Street-Wharf Street Grade Separations and Elevation of Associated Stations, including Queens Park Station and Cannington Station and an enhanced METRONET Byford Rail Extension project, with new grade separated rail crossing at Armadale Road and an elevated station at Armadale (Perth inner south east)
*$200 million for the Great Eastern Highway Upgrades – Coates Gully, Walgoolan to Southern Cross and Ghooli to Benari*
$160 million for the WA Agricultural Supply Chain Improvements – Package 1 (don’t now if this means road or rail, or both)
*$112.5 million for the Reid Highway – Altone Road and Daviot Road-Drumpellier Drive – Grade-separated intersections (Perth NE suburbs)*
*$85 million for the Perth Airport northern access*
*$64 million for the Toodyay Road Upgrade – Dryandra to Toodyay (east of Perth)*
*$55 million for the Mandurah Estuary Bridge Duplication*, and
$31.5 million towards the METRONET High Capacity Signalling project


Additional funding for the below road improvements:


$48m Great Northern Hwy (Broome-Kununurra)
$44m Indian Ocean Drive (Jurien Bay to Brand Hwy)
$48m Marble Bar Rd
$10m Orrong Rd expressway planning
$7m Wanneroo Rd duplication


----------



## ChrisZwolle

*Planning approval fast-tracked for new M12 motorway in Sydney*
_
The M12 has been given the green light after receiving fast-tracked planning approval under the New South Wales Government’s COVID-19 economic recovery program.

The approval of the motorway as part of the Priority Assessment Program is a major step towards delivering direct access to the new Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport.

“Work on this major project is expected to start in 2022 and importantly, be completed prior to the Western Sydney International Airport opening in 2026, providing safer and faster access to key employment hubs across Western Sydney and around the new airport.”

“The 16-kilometre corridor between the M7 Motorway at Cecil Hills and The Northern Road at Luddenham will not only provide access to the Western Sydney International Airport but will also link residential areas with job hubs and connect travellers with the rest of Sydney,” Mr Toole said.

The project is jointly funded on an 80:20 basis, with the Morrison Government committing over $1.6 billion and the NSW Government over $400 million._

full release Planning approval fast-tracked for new M12 motorway in Sydney


----------



## ChrisZwolle

There is also news from Queensland:

*Preferred northern route for Coomera Connector confirmed*
_
An independent study of potential routes for the Coomera Connector’s northern section has confirmed the corridor already preserved for the future road as the preferred option.

The route is proposed to cross the Albert River east of Eagleby, connecting to the M1 and Logan Motorway at Loganholme.

It was considered in comparison to six other alternative routes by independent traffic planners and environmental specialists.

"Connecting to Beenleigh-Redland Bay Road was also found to not be as effective in reducing M1 congestion, compared to the gazetted alignment which provides a direct connection to the Logan and Pacific Motorway interchange at Loganholme," he said.

“Our focus over the next 18 months on the northern section of the Coomera Connector will be determining the staging plan for future works between Loganholme and Coomera,” he said._

Full statement: Preferred northern route for Coomera Connector confirmed

The Coomera Connector is a planned motorway southeast of Brisbane that would run parallel to the Pacific Motorway to tje Gold Coast area. Construction will start this year on the southern portion.


----------



## 54°26′S 3°24′E

essendon bombers said:


> The pre budget cash splash has started.
> 
> 
> 
> *Federal Budget infrastructure boost to help build Western Australia's economic recovery*


Seems like WA might need some new truck drivers as well....


----------



## essendon bombers

*Budget 2021 - Roads Funding*



Although the Budget is Tuesday night, the road funding announcements have come in early. The news headline is a $10 billion infrastructure cash splash. The WA announcement was last week, refer my previous post.



*Tasmania*


Key projects to be funded include:

$80 million for the Tasmanian Roads Package – Bass Highway Safety and Freight Efficiency Upgrades Package – Future Priorities; (northern Tasmania)
$48 million for the Algona Road Grade Separated Interchange and Duplication of the Kingston Bypass; (SW of Hobart)
$44 million for the Rokeby Road – South Arm Road Upgrades; (SE Hobart)
$37.8 million for the Midland Highway Upgrade – Campbell Town North (Campbell Town to Epping Forest);
$36.4 million for the Midland Highway Upgrade – Oatlands (Jericho to South of York Plains);
$35.7 million for the Midland Highway Upgrade – Ross (Mona Vale Road to Campbell Town);
An additional $24 million for the Port of Burnie Shiploader Upgrade; and
$13.2 million for the Huon Link Road. (SW of Hobart)


*Northern Territory*


$150m NT national highways (Stuart, Barkly & Victoria Hwys)
$173.6m Beetaloo Gas Basin road package (refer my post 2 pages back)


*Australian Capital Territory*


$26.5m William Hovell Drive – finish duplication project (Canberra west)
$2.5m Beltana Rd (near Canberra airport)
extra $5m for Gundaroo Rd duplication


----------



## essendon bombers

*South Australia*


Key projects to be funded include:


*$2.6 billion allocation of funding for the North-South Corridor – Darlington to Anzac Highway*;
$161.6 million for the Truro Bypass; (Sturt Hwy, NE of Adelaide)
$148 million for the Augusta Highway Duplication Stage 2; (Port Augusta)
An additional $64 million for the Strzelecki Track Upgrade – Sealing;
An additional $60 million for the Gawler Rail Line Electrification;
$48 million for the Heysen Tunnel Refit and Upgrade – Stage 2
An additional $27.6 million for the Overpass at Port Wakefield and Township Duplication; (north of Adelaide)
$32 million for the Kangaroo Island Road Safety and Bushfire Resilience Package, and
$22.5 million for the Marion Road and Sir Donald Bradman Drive Intersection Upgrade (Adelaide west)

*
Victoria*

Key projects to be funded include:


*$2 billion for initial investment in a new Melbourne Intermodal Terminal*; ($4b cost)
$307 million for the Pakenham Roads Upgrade; (SE of Melbourne)
$203.4 million for the Monash Roads Upgrade; (Melbourne eastern suburbs)
$56.8 million for the Hall Road Upgrade; (south of Melbourne)
$30.4 million for the Western Port Highway Upgrade; (south of Melbourne)
Additionally:

$10m to start business case for outer Melbourne Metropolitan Ring Road / E6 corridor)
$17.5 million for the Dairy Supply Chain Road Upgrades;
$4m Sunraysia Hwy
$15 million Calder Hwy
$20 million for the Green Triangle (SW Victoria)
$10 million for the Mallacoota-Genoa Road Upgrade. (far eastern Vic; badly hit in the bushfire..)
$10m Nepean Hwy – 2 intersection upgrades (south of Mornington)


----------



## essendon bombers

*New South Wales*


Key projects to be funded include:

*$2.03 billion for the Great Western Highway Upgrade – Katoomba to Lithgow – Construction of East and West Sections*
$400 million for the Princes Highway Corridor - Jervis Bay Road to Sussex Inlet Road – Stage 1 (south of Nowra)
$100 million for the Princes Highway Corridor – Jervis Bay Road Intersection
$240 million for the Mount Ousley Interchange (Wollongong)
$87.5 million for M5 Motorway – Moorebank Avenue-Hume Highway Intersection Upgrade (Sydney south west)
$52.8 million for Manns Road – Intersection Upgrades at Narara Creek Road and Stockyard Place; (NSW Central Coast)
$48 million for Pacific Highway – Harrington Road Intersection Upgrade, Coopernook (NE of Taree)

Additionally:

$25m Stacey Street, Bankstown
Extra $18m Appin Rd (Wollongong to Campbelltown)
$36m Iron Bridge (Forbes, central NSW)
$32m Newell / Oxley Hwys intersection (just outside Coonabarabran)
$35 Moree Intermodal overpass (Moree, northern NSW)
$20m Newell / Mitchell Hwy intersection (Dubbo, central NSW)


----------



## essendon bombers

*Queensland*


Key projects to be funded include:

$400 million for the Inland Freight Route (Mungindi to Charters Towers)
$400 million for Bruce Highway
$240 million for the Cairns Western Arterial Road Duplication
$178.1 million for the Gold Coast Rail Line Capacity Improvement (Kuraby to Beenleigh) – Preconstruction
$160 million for the Mooloolah River Interchange Upgrade (Packages 1 and 2) (Sunshine Coast)
$126.6 million for Gold Coast Light Rail – Stage 3
$35.3 million for the Maryborough-Hervey Bay Road and Pialba-Burrum Heads Road Intersection Upgrade; (Hervey Bay)
$10 million for the Caboolture – Bribie Island Road (N of Brisbane)

Additionally:

$25m Youngs Crossing Rd, Lawnton (NW of Brisbane)
$50m Flinders Hwy (Townsville to NT border)
$12.2m Gregory Hwy (Charters Towers to The Lynd)
$6.3m Gregory & Capricorn Hwy intersection improvement (Emerald)


----------



## ChrisZwolle

*M6 Motorway, Sydney*

Another megaproject is going to get underway soon, the M6 motorway in southern Sydney. A $ 2.5 billion contract has been awarded.









Construction to begin next year on new Sydney motorway tunnel


The NSW government will push ahead with a $2.5 billion motorway tunnel between Kogarah and Arncliffe but doubt remains whether it will ever be extended south.




www.smh.com.au






__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1396659365797679105


----------



## rohjoe

Mordialloc Freeway flyover, project located in Melbourne's south-eastern suburbs.


----------



## mw123

New interchange for Albion Park Rail bypass. The bypass is opening gradually throughout the year and will complete the missing motorway link to Nowra.






_Some aerial progress photos below:_


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## essendon bombers

*Richmond Bypass, New South Wales*


The Commonwealth and NSW governments are committing to a $500m town bypass and new bridge of Richmond and North Richmond, in Sydney’s north west. Project details include:


The existing bridge between Richmond and north Richmond carry 31,000 vehicles per day
A new two lane bridge will be built about 0.5km to the north of the existing bridge over the Hawkesbury River. This bridge will be built 6 metres higher than its near neighbour for flood immunity
The northern bypass of North Richmond will turn into a southern bypass of Richmond with a crossover of the existing main road and intersection upgrade at Yarramundi Lane
The southern Richmond bypass route involves upgrading, widening existing roads of Inalls Lane, Southee Rd, Londonderry Rd and the Driftway.
The bypass will finish at the intersection Blacktown & Racecourse Rds at its closest point to Sydney
Total of six intersection improvements and better connections into each town centre
Expected to support 850 jobs and save 12 minutes over the length of the route for drivers once completed
 The Richmond Bypass is part of the Bells Line of Road, an alternative road over the Blue Mountains from Lithgow into Sydney’s northern suburbs


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## essendon bombers

*Tiaro Bypass, Queensland*


The next stage of the Bruce Highway upgrade north of the Sunshine Coast will be the Tiaro Bypass. This four lane new highway will follow the completion of the Cooroy to Curra project and forms the first part of the four laneing of the Bruce from Curra to Maryborough.

The Commonwealth are tipping in $183 million into this $268 million project. The 10 km bypass runs to the east of the town through a greenfields corridor and is expected to complete in 2024. The town of Tiaro is 226km north of Brisbane.


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## rohjoe

*M12 Motorway (M7 to new Western Sydney Airport)*
M12 Motorway - Projects - Roads and Waterways – Transport for NSW
M12 Motorway Community update (caapp.com.au)


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## essendon bombers

This article appeared in the Melbourne _Age_ the other day.


*West Gate Tunnel workers reach pay deal: $300k a year*

Tunnelling workers on the $6.7 billion West Gate Tunnel will earn more than $300,000 a year after the project’s builders cut a pay deal with one of Victoria’s powerful building unions.
The workplace agreement covering tunnel workers ends an industrial relations stand-off of more than three years between the project’s builders and the Australian Workers Union.
It will set a standard for the industry on future transport projects in Victoria, including the $16 billion North East Link.
Construction workers in Victoria are among the highest-paid blue-collar workers in the country. This has come about because the state has historically been home to the nation’s strongest building unions.
The rates and conditions are broadly comparable with those agreed to on Melbourne’s Metro Tunnel and the Cross River Rail project in Sydney.
The Fair Work Commission approved the West Gate Tunnel deal between the AWU and John Holland last week. It is set to apply to up to 250 tunnel workers.
An entry-level tunneller working an average six-day working week – common on big projects – would be paid an annual salary of $230,000, once travel and site allowances are included. This excludes superannuation.


aud $300K is about usd $230K today


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## essendon bombers

*South Australian State Roads Budget 2021*
_ 

Some of the larger projects will include federal contributions that were announced in their recent budget._

The current projected cost of the north-south tunnels (Torrens-Anzac Hwy-Darlington) is $9.9bn
$202m for the Truro Bypass (NE of Adelaide)
$180m Augusta Hwy duplication (Port Wakefield north to Lochiel)
$15m APY Lands roads (far north of state)
$60m Heysen Tunnels refit (SE of Adelaide)
$40m Kangaroo Island roads (S of Adelaide)
$36m Old Murray Bridge refurb to increase its life by a further 30 years
$80m continue sealing the Strzelecki Track
$105m contribution to the road safety package
$45m Marion Rd & Sir Donald Bradman Drive intersection upgrade (just outside Adelaide Airport)
$6m North East Rd & Nottage Tce intersection

Business cases

$10m Greater Adelaide Freight Bypass. A future north-south road east of the Adelaide hills will divert trucks coming up from Victoria to reach northern Adelaide industrial/ports via the Sturt Hwy, instead of through the city/suburbs.
$5m Augusta Hwy duplication from Port Pirie to Crystal Brook
$2m improve Eyre Hwy to allow access to triple road trains from WA border to Port Augusta


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## essendon bombers

*New South Wales Roads Budget 2021*


Regional NSW


$131.5m Great Western Hwy duplication, Katoomba to Lithgow
$311m continued funding of various Princes Hwy projects, south of Wollongong to the Victorian border
$235m continued funding of various Newell Hwy projects including 40 overtaking lanes, Parkes Bypass and a new Dubbo bridge
$193 Pacific Hwy incl. commencing construction of Coffs Harbour bypass
$70m New England Hwy. Singleton and Muswellbrook bypasses to commence construction in 2022
$52m share of Barton Hwy duplication (NW of Canberra)
$27m sealing of Cobb Hwy (central west) and Silver City Hwy (far west NSW)
$28m continued funding for Pacific Mwy extension to Raymond Terrace

Images of the new Mount Ousley interchange in Wollongong below. It includes a separated southbound heavy vehicle carriageway and exit.


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## essendon bombers

*Sydney*

$1.2bn continued funding Westconnex including the project’s final stages
$1.1bn for Sydney Gateway project and M6 extension
$900m continued funding for Western Sydney growth roads package (in preparation for the new airport)
$454m continued funding for Western Harbour Tunnel & Beaches Link; includes the Warringah Fwy 4km upgrade
$269m to progress the M12 Motorway and The Northern Road between Penrith and Narellan
$202m Pinch Points program
$37m continued funding for the Heathcote Rd duplication from Holsworthy and Princes Hwy at Engadine
$14m Henry Lawson Drive widening
$14m Picton Rd duplication planning

*Public Transport*

$2.9bn continued funding for Sydney West metro
$1.1bn to expand rail capacity and services south of Sydney and the Illawarra
$943m continued funding for Western Sydney Airport rail link
$627m Parramatta light rail stage 1
$30m preparation and planning for Parramatta light rail stage 2 (that will link to the Sydney Olympic Park)
$9.5m to increase the apprenticeship intake for the state’s road & rail projects


The new Spring Farm Parkway, a part of the western growth roads package, will be built over the Hume Fwy south of Campbelltown and about 70km from the Sydney CBD.


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## rohjoe

It's good to see funding flowing for *Sydney Gateway*. Reference material here: Videos and images | Transport for NSW | Community Analytics (caportal.com.au) 

Still image showing the project's connection to St Peters Interchange:


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## essendon bombers

_This week a contract for Melbourne's North East Link was awarded to a consortium. The below I have extracted partly from a Herald Sun article and partly from the minister's media release._


*Major international construction group picked to build $15.8bn North East Link’s tunnels*


A group of building giants from Italy, China and Australia is set to construct Victoria’s most expensive road project — the $15.8 billion North East Link.

The $15.8 billion North East Link’s tunnel and interchanges are set to be built by a group of international and Australian companies that have won the right to negotiate a contract.

The Morrison and Andrews governments have announced on Thursday morning that they will work with the group on final designs for the major project, which will connect the Eastern Freeway to the M80 in Greensborough, in the coming months.

The leading consortium is Spark, which comprises of several companies including Italian giant WeBuild, China Construction Oceania, GS Engineering and Construction, CPB Contractors, Ventia, Capella Capital, John Laing Investments, DIF and Pacific Partnerships.

The contract, which is one of five packages of works for the project, would be for building twin three-lane tunnels under Bulleen as well as key interchanges.

Construction is expected to begin this year. 


Once the tunnelling package is awarded, the project will go out to market for other key elements of North East Link including a massive overhaul of the Eastern Freeway, Melbourne’s first dedicated busway, the completion of the M80 Ring Road and more than 25 kilometres of new and upgraded walking and cycling paths. 

North East Link will connect the M80 Ring Road to an upgraded Eastern Freeway, slashing travel times by up to 35 minutes, taking 15,000 trucks off local roads.

It will link key growth areas in the north and south-east, providing an efficient connection for up to 135,000 vehicles each day and allowing travel from Melbourne’s south-eastern suburbs to the airport without stopping at a single traffic light.

A big focus is on creating local jobs for local people, with more than 10,000 jobs on the project and 10 per cent of total work hours to be done by apprentices, trainees or cadets as part of the Victorian Government’s Local Jobs First Policy.


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## rohjoe

*West Gate Tunnel digging to start next year (Australian Financial Review)*
Jenny Wiggins Infrastructure reporter
Jun 25, 2021 – 10.52am

Transurban should be able to start tunnelling on its troubled West Gate Tunnel project in Melbourne by early 2022 after the tollroad group signed a contract with a recycling hub to take contaminated soil removed during construction.

The $6.7 billion tollroad, which was supposed to open next year but is not expected to be finished until at least 2024, has been delayed by the difficulty of getting approvals for a suitable site to take soil contaminated with per-and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) – toxic chemicals used in fire-fighting foams – that will be extracted by tunnel boring machines.

Tunnelling on Melbourne’s West Gate Tunnel project should be able to start by early 2022 after a site to take contaminated soil was finally chosen.

Tunnelling on the 17-kilometre motorway, which includes twin tunnels connecting the West Gate Freeway and the Port of Melbourne precinct, could not start until a soil disposal site was found and approved by state environmental authorities.

The Hi-Quality Group’s Sunbury Eco-Hub, which is about 40 kilometres north-west of the Melbourne CBD, has been chosen by Transurban’s builders, CIMIC and John Holland, from three possible sites to receive, manage and dispose of soil from the tunnels.

The Eco-Hub, which is already used for recycling, landfill and processing of contaminated and non-contaminated materials for infrastructure projects, will receive, treat and dispose of all the soil excavated by the project.

About 1.5 million cubic meters of soil will need to be dug out and the construction of a purpose-built soil disposal facility is expected to take about six and a half months.

Transurban said the establishment of the facility was “a significant step forward” for the project. 

The Victorian government said it was pleased Transurban and its builders had finally made a decision on a soil disposal facility, but that it needed to “get on with setting up the site and getting the tunnel boring machines going.”

A dispute over who will pay for the additional costs of soil disposal and treatment and delays in the tunnel project, which are speculated to have reached some $3 billion, is unresolved.

Transurban’s builders argue they were not responsible for policies introduced by the state environmental protection authority on the handling of PFAS substances after contracts were signed.

Transurban signed a fixed-term, fixed-price contract for the project in December 2017 with the Victorian government after making an unsolicited proposal.

The Grattan Institute, a think tank, said in May that governments should not accept unsolicited projectsand should instead run open tenders to create more competition and lower the risk of problems on projects cost blow-outs.

Because the West Gate Tunnel was Transurban’s idea, rather than the government’s, the project was not put out to a competitive tender like most other public-private partnerships.

Transurban is facing headwinds on another big project, a $5 billion proposal to build a new US tollroad in partnership with Macquarie Infrastructure.

The project, which will cost between US$3 billion ($4 billion) and $US4 billion, involves expanding the 10-lane American Legion Bridge, which opened in 1962, across the Potomac River between Maryland and Virginia, and adding tolled lanes.

It requires environmental approvals but was removed from the national capital region’s transportation planning board’s long term transportation plan at its June meeting.

The board is the federally designated planning organisation for metropolitan Washington and works with local, state, regional, and federal partners.

The removal, which comes as the board toughens its climate change commitments, followed requests from some board members, who raised concerns over the project’s environmental impacts, including air quality.

Board members questioned whether less costly options to improve transportation networks should be considered.

The project continues to be backed by the Maryland Department of Transportation, which is pushing for the road expansion to continue.

West Gate Tunnel map:


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## SydneyWorks

Elizabeth Drive doesn’t have access to the new M12?


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## mandonov

SydneyWorks said:


> Elizabeth Drive doesn’t have access to the new M12?


The latest design change in May added ramps at the M7 end to Wallgrove/Cecil Rd, and there’s access at the Airport side too where Elizabeth Drive intersects with the M12 leading into the airport.












https://roads-waterways.transport.nsw.gov.au/projects/01documents/m12-motorway/m12-motorway-community-update-2021-03.pdf


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## SydneyWorks

Thanks for the info.


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## mw123

*Princes Highway - Berry to Bomaderry upgrade *


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## TheLakes

Sydney's Westconnex link project is about 150m away from breaking through with the first of the tubes from the existing M4 and M8 tunnel projects as part of the entire Westconnex project.








When complete this 22km continuous bypass tunnel will also connect with the city and the future Western Harbour Tunnel through the underground interchange at Rozelle.


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## rohjoe

*Monash Freeway Upgrade, Melbourne*: new connections at Police Road and Jacksons Road in Mulgrave. Construction is scheduled to be completed during 2022.

Cool video showing how the new connections at this location will work:


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## TheLakes

Nearing a breakthrough on the Sydney Westconnex project's twin 22km tunnel tubes.


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## essendon bombers

*Western Australian State Budget 2021*



Continued funding and new projects in Perth and the regions:


Major projects funded and under construction in the 2021-22 State Budget include:

Tonkin Gap works, supporting 1,050 jobs, as part of the $1.39 billion Tonkin Corridor Upgrades
$320 million for the Great Eastern Highway Bypass Interchanges, with works to commence later this year
$232 million for the Mitchell Freeway Extension (Hester Avenue to Romeo Road)
$76 million for the Mitchell Freeway widening southbound from Hodges Drive to Hepburn Avenue
$140 million for transforming freeways through the Mitchell Freeway corridor
$138.6 million for the Stephenson Avenue extension
$259 million for the Armadale Road Bridge - North Lake Road Flyover
$852 million for the Bunbury Outer Ring Road
$175 million for the Albany Ring Road
$98 million for upgrades to Great Northern Highway at Ord River in the Kimberley
$36 million for Port Hedland Airport deviation; and
$52 million for Coolgardie Esperance Highway at Emu Rocks.

Funding has also been allocated to projects under procurement or in planning, including:

$49.8 million for the Causeway Cyclist and Pedestrian Bridge over the Swan River as part of the Perth City Deal
$230 million for the Swan River Crossings Project, to replace the outdated Fremantle Traffic Bridge
$225 million to prepare for the construction of grade separated interchanges on Reid Highway at Altone Road, Daviot Road and Drumpellier Drive
$110 million to prepare for the duplication of the Mandurah Estuary Bridge
$27.5 million for construction of Pinjarra Heavy Haulage Deviation
$120 million to upgrade and seal 100 kilometres of Marble Bar Road
$380 million to construct and seal Manuwarra Red Dog Highway Stage 4
$250 million for upgrades to Great Eastern Highway at Coates Gully, between Walgoolan to Southern Cross, and between Ghooli to Benari
$55 million to upgrade Indian Ocean Drive between Jurien Bay and Brand Highway


As part of the McGowan Government's continued commitment to road safety, funding has been allocated for the following programs over 2021-22 and forward estimates:

$16 million for the Safer Roads and Bridges Program in Perth and Peel
$104 million for the Resealing Program in Perth and Peel.


A record $265 million has been allocated over the next four years to upgrade cycling and pedestrian infrastructure throughout WA including:

$105.6 million to deliver active transport infrastructure for major projects, including the replacement of the Fremantle Traffic Bridge and the Tonkin Highway extension;

$64 million for the Principal Shared Path Expansion Program including the completion of the Fremantle Principal Shared Path and Kwinana Freeway Pedestrian and Cyclist Path;

$16.7 million to deliver priority projects including Railway Avenue in Kelmscott, expand the Hillarys Cycle Network, the Koondoola-Wanneroo Bike Plan, Gnangara Shared Path, Rosedale Road Shared Path, the expansion of the Geraldton Cycling Network, and the Soldiers Road Principal Shared Path in Byford.


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## essendon bombers

A couple of pictures for WA projects in the budget.



Great Northern Hwy at Ord River, located 2769 road kilometres from Perth and 1078 road kilometres from Darwin.












The Manuwarra Red Dog Hwy involves the staged sealing of 276km of dirt track to a new road. The road runs loosely parallel with rail tracks that serves the mining town of Tom Price and the nearest port at Karratha / Dampier.


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## SydneyWorks

The 'M6' in southern Sydney serves a narrow purpose. IMO there should always have been provision for a more direct north-south route connecting to the M5 and then one day travelling north through the middle of Sydney. 

This would offer all road-users connections throughout Sydney. 

I honestly can't understand this 'M6' except mostly as an exercise in funnelling traffic into Westconnex for toll $$.


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## SydneyWorks

Here we go, I spent 45 minutes drawing up what I consider to be a far more strategic long-term strategy for north-south main road connectivity through Sydney. Can the M6 and start working on this instead. Pic and link:


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## SydneyWorks

Link to map: Quick Sketch - North-South Main Road Links thu Sydney Metro.


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## ChrisZwolle

*CIMIC's CPB wins Sydney's Warringah Freeway Upgrade*
_
CIMIC Group company CPB Contractors, in a joint venture with Downer, has been selected by the NSW Government to deliver the Warringah Freeway Upgrade. 

The Incentivised Target Cost style contract has a total value of $1.18 billion and will generate revenue of approximately $800 million for CPB Contractors. The agreement allows for extensive collaboration between the contractors and the State, supporting better outcomes for all parties. 

The project involves upgrading approximately four kilometres of the Warringah Freeway and associated works, including a dedicated bus lane and active transport links for cyclists and pedestrians. 

Main work will start early next year and is expected to take approximately five years to complete, subject to the detailed design and construction program. _

Press release: CIMICs CPB wins Sydneys Warringah Freeway Upgrade


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## ChrisZwolle

How fast do the floodwaters rise in Australia:


__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1501294218559512580


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## Bulbous

ChrisZwolle said:


> The cost of paving this road appears to be low (especially compared to the usual high cost of Australian road projects).
> 
> From what I've read in Africa, paving a road (including earthworks, drainage, small bridges, culverts, etc.) usually costs around US $ 1 - 1.5 million per kilometer.


My crews were reconstructing and realigning 10-15km long stretches of rural roads with a 9m wide sealed surface on an 11m wide lateritic basecourse (including drainage works and small bridge replacements) for under $500k (AUD) per kilometre five years ago ($368k USD per km). This would likely be an 8m wide seal with minimal shoulders - two 3.5m lanes and two 0.5m sealed shoulders, then surface drainage largely from in-situ materials. This road will not have the same base preparation throughout (likely 200mm depth of local-gravels for pavement, over in-situ subgrade, versus 400m depth of select subbase and basecourse materials on the heavier trafficked roads further east/west), and the sealing costs are minimal for a two coat seal (possible single coat rubber, maybe). The sealing costs are around one quarter of that price.

Current value of $678k AUD ($498k USD) per kilometre is a reasonable figure, especially as it is likely the tier three construction companies will bid and win, not the bigger tier ones. That price in Africa reeks of money disappearing elsewhere, 

Cheers,

Matt.


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## essendon bombers

Below are some pictures of the extent of flooding along Australia's east coast in the past two weeks. Brisbane, Lismore then Sydney were badly hit.

Brisbane / QLD.




















Lismore, northern NSW


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## ChrisZwolle

Unbelievable! It hasn't made the news a whole lot over here, due to Ukraine dominating the news cycle over the past few weeks.


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## ChrisZwolle

*VINCI awarded two major infrastructure projects in Australia*
_
Seymour Whyte, an Australian subsidiary of VINCI Construction, has been awarded two new contracts in the country. 

In *Sydney*, Seymour Whyte, in a joint venture with BMD, has been awarded a contract for landside civil and building works for the future Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport (WSI) in Australia on track to open in 2026, catering for up to 10 million passengers annually.

The works, worth approximately AUD 380 million (EUR 243 million), include the integration of the new M12 motorway, which will link the airport to the Sydney motorway network, and the airport's two metro stations.

In *Melbourne*, Seymour Whyte has been awarded the Healesville-Koo Wee Rup Road upgrade in the East of the city by Major Road Projects Victoria (MRPV).

The project, worth AUD 148 million (€95 million), involves a 5 km road duplication, two new bridges, and a new 5.5 km shared user path. Starting early 2022 for a duration of approximately two and a half years, the upgrade will improve travel times, reduce congestion, and boost safety along Healesville-Koo Wee Rup Road for more than 15,000 drivers that rely on this route each day._

Full press release: https://www.vinci.com/vinci.nsf/en/press-releases/pages/20220317-0830.htm


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## geogregor




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## essendon bombers

*Bethungra Rail Spiral, NSW*

Beside the Olympic Hwy and just outside the town of Bethungra in central NSW is a rail quirk. This 8.9km spiral sits roughly half way in a passenger rail journey from Sydney to Melbourne. Built in the 1940s to assist the trains of the day climb over a local ridge, it has resulted in the Sydney bound train to travel 5 kilometres longer in its journey compared to its opposite Melbourne bound service.

The Sydney train initially crosses to the right of the Melbourne bound train than loops around a small mountain gaining elevation, crossing over itself and deviating before eventually crossing back to the left of the Melbourne line. A few kilometres further on the Sydney train deviates again at a place called Frampton. In the spiral the Melbourne train has a straight downhill run.

This site has unexploited local tourist value; only locals, rail enthusiast and passengers would be aware of this place. From the Olympic Hwy it is not signposted and no off road parking or viewing area however passing motorists will at one point see three rail lines at three different heights. The top and bottom being Sydney bound and the middle being Melbourne bound.

I stopped to take a photo of the tunnel from the back end of the spiral, via a local unsealed access road. The same train would a few minutes later goes over the top.

Bethungra lies in between the larger towns of Junee and Cootamundra.


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## essendon bombers

ChrisZwolle said:


> Unbelievable! It hasn't made the news a whole lot over here, due to Ukraine dominating the news cycle over the past few weeks.



Looking at those flood pictures reminds me of a photo I took years ago of a flood water marker beside the Flinders Hwy, about 100km from Townsville. The marker is a top a riverbank and begins at 13.5 metres and marks as high as 25 metres. At the time of the picture taken there were already about 25 markers dating as far back as 1870.

The highest water mark is at 23 metres in 1946 followed by 20 metres in 1870 and in 1998.


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## mw123

New road upgrades to service a new port in Perth.


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## ChrisZwolle

*New Echuca-Moama river crossing opening ahead of schedule*
_
The new $323.7 million Echuca-Moama Bridge project, the largest transport infrastructure project in northern Victoria and southern NSW, is set to open to traffic before the Easter holidays – months ahead of schedule.

Locals and visitors are being invited to enjoy an early viewing of the new river crossing which will connect the Murray Valley Highway in Echuca with the Cobb Highway in Moama at a special community event on Sunday, 10 April 2022._






New Echuca-Moama river crossing opening ahead of schedule


The new $323.7 million Echuca-Moama Bridge project, the largest transport infrastructure project in northern Victoria and southern NSW, is set to open to tra




minister.infrastructure.gov.au


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## essendon bombers

*Commonwealth Government Road Funding Allocations 2022-23*

In this week’s Commonwealth Budget, the Infrastructure pipeline was increased from $110 billion to $120 billion. The pipeline included an enhanced focus on regional infrastructure in a Regional Australia Statement.

Below are the budgeted road projects and highway improvements by state/territory.

*Northern Territory*

$55m Tiger Brennan Drive & Berriwah Road intersection upgrade (Darwin)
$132m _Central Australia_ tourism roads package

*Australian Capital Territory*

$46m Athllon Drive duplication
$2.8m Kent St & Novar St intersection upgrade

*Tasmania*

$336m northern Tasmania roads package
$100m Great Eastern Drive (Tasman Hwy, east coast)
$56m Tasman Hwy at Sideling (NE of Launceston)
$96m Tasmanian Freight Revitalisation program
$24m connection into the Bell Bay port
$14m Melba Line Bulk Minerals rail hub
$13m Hobart northern transit corridor


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## essendon bombers

*South Australia*

$200m Marion Road (Anzac Hwy to Cross Rd)
$120m Adelaide Hills productivity package
$60m SE Fwy managed Motorways
$60m targeted investments for national supply chain resilience
$16m Main South Rd productivity package
The budget includes $2.264bn next block of funding for the Torrens-Darlington corridor tunnels and $40m additional funding for the Horrocks Hwy (Adelaide-Wilmington).
I hope they build a long flyover on Marion Road. 2 major intersections and a rail crossing in a shot distance.


*Western Australia*

$145m Thomas Road dual carriageway (South Western Hwy to Tonkin Hwy, Byford)
$50m Tonkin Hwy new interchange to serve Ellenbrook North
$140m rural road safety projects
$48m Moorine Rock to Mt Holland Rd (east of Perth)
$40m Great Northern Hwy (far north WA)
The Bunbury Ring Road gets $320m additional funding and Tonkin Hwy gets $200m additional funding. The Pinjarra heavy haulage deviation has $178m continued funding.

Metronet projects:

$100m Morrison Rd level crossing removal (Midland)
$135m continued funding Thornlie-Cockburn link
$116m high capacity signalling
$90m Yanchep rail extension


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## essendon bombers

*Victoria
*
Victoria’s theme is building two new intermodal freight terminals; the first one at Beveridge which is located on the Hume Hwy north of Melbourne. This sits on the Melbourne-Sydney rail line and on the Melbourne-Brisbane inland rail corridor. The second terminal will be located at Truganina in Melbourne’s west and will within the Melbourne-Geelong and Melbourne-Adelaide envelope.

$3.1bn Melbourne Intermodal Terminal Package, including:
$1.2bn Beveridge Intermodal Terminal
$280m new road connections from Hume Fwy to the new Beveridge Terminal
$740m Western Interstate Freight Terminal
$920m for Outer Metropolitan Ring – South Rail connection to the new Truganina terminal

Outside of intermodal terminals; funded projects include:

$109m for Mickleham Rd (NW Melbourne)
$45m Sunraysia Hwy (Ballarat to Ouyen)
$23m additional funding for Canterbury Rd (MEL eastern suburbs)

*New South Wales*


$336m Pacific Hwy upgrade through Wyong town centre
264m Newell Hwy heavy duty pavement (north of Moree)
$232m Mulgoa Road (Penrith area)
$100m Jindabyne southern connector road (southern NSW)
$95m Picton Bypass (SW of Sydney)
$352m continued funding for Milton-Ulladulla Bypass
$65m M5-Moorebank Avenue-Hume Hwy (Liverpool)
$75m Wakehurst Parkway (Sydney northern suburbs)
$300m rural road rail grade separations, mainly in support of the inland rail corridor.

Rail projects include:

$1bn Wyong to Tuggerah rail upgrade to enable faster train services
$77m to start planning stage 2 of Sydney Metro-WSA rail line


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## essendon bombers

*Queensland*

Queensland’s budget was geared more towards rail and preparing the state for the Olympic Games.
Road projects:

$27m Bruce Hwy (focusing between Anzac Ave and Bribie Island Rd) (N Brisbane)
$20m Brisbane Valley Hwy safety improvements
$68m continued funding Cooktown to Weipa corridor (far north Qld)
$36m Gore Hwy (Millmerran-Goondiwindi)
$96m Capricorn Hwy pavement strengthening (Rockhampton-Mount Isa)
$51m Flinders Hwy Townsville-Tennant Creek)

Rail & City projects:

$1.6bn new rail line to connect Sunshine Coast to Brisbane (Beerwah-Maroochydore line)
$1.12bn Kuraby to Beenleigh rail upgrade to enable faster trains between Brisbane and the Gold Coast
$150m Brisbane Metro – Woolloongabba Station connection
$396m Brisbane city deal urban projects


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## essendon bombers

*Regional Statement*

The regional Australia Statement included $7 billion in new funding for regional infrastructure projects, some of which include roads. Focusing on four geographic areas: Northern Territory, north and central Queensland, the Pilbara region of Western Australia and the Hunter region of New South Wales.

Road Projects include:

$678m for the Outback Way
$180m level crossing upgrades and safety program
$268m New England Hwy upgrade between Singleton and Muswellbrook, NSW. (I hope this means a dual carriageway!!..)
$400m to completely seal the WA section of the Tanami Road (Halls Creek to Alice Springs)
$110m to continue sealing the NT part of the Tanami Road (unsure how far this covers..)
$400m additional funding for the Inland Freight route in Queensland (Mungindi to Charters Towers)

The rest of the funding in the regional statement go towards projects in other sectors such as port infrastructure, energy development and security, supply chain resilience, water supply and dams.


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## 54°26′S 3°24′E

Out of curiosity, having enjoyed driving in the remote Australian outback, I tried to find information about the Tanami road. The distance between Alice Springs and Halls Creek is 1052 km, but after Tilmouth Well, 186 km from Alice Springs, there is not a single road house, i. e. opportunity to refuel. So carry a lot of fuel (EVs mostly out of the question) and water when traveling there! In 2019 Tanami Road had an ADT at Tanami of 154. 

It is interesting that the Australians are putting that much resources into such a remote road, although I guess it can be important for freight from the populous south-eastern Australia to the mining and oil and gas industry of the northern Western Australia, and there could also be some tourist potential with improved road standard.


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## mw123




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## essendon bombers

*Dubbo Bridge*

The central NSW town of Dubbo will get a new bridge over the Macquarie River for the Newell Hwy located to the north of the existing bridge. The bridge will cost $220 million including a few km’s of new road and local street modifications.

The town of Dubbo is well known for hosting an open plains zoo, is located 396km west of Sydney via the Mitchell Hwy and 120km north of Parkes via the Newell Hwy, which in a previous post outlined is getting a new bypass.


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## essendon bombers

*Muswellbrook Bypass*

NSW & the Commonwealth are planning to build the 9.1km bypass of Muswellbrook, situated in the Hunter Valley. The estimated cost of the project has gone from $266 million in 2019 up to $320 million this year. The existing highway through town is a two lane road carrying between 11,000 to 20,000 vehicles per day, around 13% heavy vehicles.

The bypass will be a two lane road with centre wide median and full access interchanges with the local road network at each end. Planning work will also start for the duplication of the New England Hwy between Singleton and Muswellbrook, a distance about 49km. Construction works will begin early 2023 and finish in 2027.

Muswellbrook is located 125km from Newcastle and 250km from Sydney.

Video: Muswellbrook bypass - interactive portal | Transport for NSW | Community Analytics


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## rohjoe

*M80 Edgars Road Interchange Ramps (Greensborough-bound)*
Video explains how to use new braided ramps on M80 at Edgars Rd in northern suburbs of Melbourne.


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## geogregor

Plans confirmed for Australia's longest road tunnel


Australia’s longest road tunnel is to be built in the Blue Mountains, the New South Wales (NSW) government has announced.




www.theconstructionindex.co.uk







> An 11km toll-free tunnel from Blackheath to Little Hartley has been chosen as the preferred option for section of the Great Western Highway following feasibility analysis and investigations.


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## mw123

geogregor said:


> Plans confirmed for Australia's longest road tunnel
> 
> 
> Australia’s longest road tunnel is to be built in the Blue Mountains, the New South Wales (NSW) government has announced.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.theconstructionindex.co.uk


It has just been announced that this is still in the pipeline however it has been delayed to relieve pressure on other infrastructure projects.


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## mw123

Also not too sure why the media keeps labelling the Blue Mountains tunnel as the longest in Australia. It won't be.

The actual longest road tunnel in Australia will be Westconnex in Sydney and is due to open next year. Some photo updates from their facebook:




















































_Westconnex Facebook_


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## Outlooker

mw123 said:


> Also not too sure why the media keeps labelling the Blue Mountains tunnel as the longest in Australia. It won't be.
> 
> The actual longest road tunnel in Australia will be Westconnex in Sydney and is due to open next year. Some photo updates from their facebook:
> View attachment 3297676
> View attachment 3297679
> View attachment 3297682
> View attachment 3297683
> View attachment 3297688
> View attachment 3297691
> 
> View attachment 3297686
> 
> 
> _Westconnex Facebook_


This should open in December all going to current plan. Fit-out is tracking well and no rain disruptions when you are underground!!


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## ChrisZwolle

*New toll relief for drivers *
_
*NSW drivers will save up to $750 a year on tolls under a new relief package to ease cost of living pressures.*

The new scheme is a broad-based toll rebate scheme where, every quarter, eligible non-business and small business customers will receive a 40 per cent rebate for every dollar spent on tolls once they have reached a minimum spend of $375.

The maximum annual benefit available to each eligible customer is $750. _

More info: New toll relief for drivers


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## mw123

Sydney Gateway flyover into T2/T3 at Sydney Airport.


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## essendon bombers

*Pinjarra Heavy Haulage Deviation, WA*


The Pinjarra Deviation is a small bypass around the small town of Pinjarra, located on the South Western Hwy about 83km south of Perth. It consists of a 1.5km extension of Greenlands Rd south of the township and 2.2km upgrade of Pinjarra Williams Rd of the east side. The bypass is a shared commitment between Commonwealth and WA governments at a cost of $250m.

Prior to the opening of the nearby Forrest Hwy, the SW Hwy through Pinjarra once carried 10,000 vehicles per day including roughly 350 large trucks. Upon opening of the Forrest in 2009; the traffic count dropped to 5000 per day. Since then it has grown again to 14,000 as a result of town renewal and expansion of nearby industry. The north south running Forrest and SW Hwys run parallel and come closest to each other at Pinjarra, just a few kilometres apart.


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## essendon bombers

*Moorine Rock to Mt Holland Mining Road*

The Moorine Rock to Mt Holland mining road is an upgrade of existing track to a sealed road that will serve the new Covalent lithium mine at Mt Holland. The upgrade will cost about $120m shared between commonwealth and state governments.

Moorine Rock is located on the Great Eastern Hwy 347km east of Perth. Mt Holland is about 110km south of Moorine Rock.

The refinery for the mine, located at Kwinana in Perth, is expected to produce nearly 50 kilotonnes of lithium hydroxide per year.


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## essendon bombers

*Bits and Pieces


Tanami Rd & Carpentaria Hwy, NT*
Two contracts have been awarded for upgrades of these highways in the NT.

*Tanami Rd* – 150km of sealing works from chainage 270km (Yuendumu community) to chainage 420km (Chilla Creek). Sealing to a one lane road (I think..). The first 60km expected to complete by Sept. 2023

*Carpentaria Hwy* - 140km of sealing works through the Beetaloo sub basin to a normal two lane road with improved flood immunity and adding culverts to improve cross drainage where needed. (chainage 0km to 140km starting from the Stuart Hwy) The project will support 135 jobs and target for 29% indigenous employer and supplier use content.


*Main South Road, SA* – a commitment to the full duplication of Main South Rd as part of the Fleurieu Connections package between Seaford and Sellicks Beach has been reinstated. Previously the project would duplicate from Seaford to Aldinga and then three lane single carriageway from Aldinga to Sellicks Beach (7km). Now the full length (17km) of the project will become dual carriageway. Sellicks Beach is about 50km south of central Adelaide.

Further up towards town, new on off ramps will be built from the Southern Expressway at Majors Road that serves the suburbs of Hallett Cove and Flagstaff Hill.


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## essendon bombers

*NSW State Budget 2022 for Roads & Transport

Big Ticket Items*

Road projects to receive significant funding include:
• $4.1 billion over four years for planning the Western bypass, Harbour tunnel and Beaches Link
• $2.3 billion over four years to upgrade the Princes Highway around Mt Ousley, Jervis Bay and Milton
• More than $885 million over four years for improvements on the Newell Highway including 40 new overtaking lanes, flood mitigation and the Parkes Bypass
• $1.2 billion towards completing the M4-M5
• $3.2 billion over four years to upgrade the Great Western Highway between Katoomba and Lithgow, and Kelso and Raglan

Major investments in public transport in the 2022-23 NSW Budget include:
• $12.4 billion over the next four years in the coming Metro that will link Parramatta to the Sydney CBD in about 20 minutes
• $5.1 billion over the next four years towards the Metro City and South West between Chatswood and Bankstown to provide a direct link with a new tunnel under the harbour
• $8.4 billion over the next four years to deliver the Sydney Metro to Western Sydney Airport comprising six new stops between St Marys railway station and the coming Nancy-Bird Walton Airport.


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## essendon bombers

*Sydney Metropolitan*

Additional infrastructure commitments for wider Sydney include:

• $1.5 billion in capital expenditure ($3.7 billion over four years) to continue construction of the Sydney Gateway project and M6 Stage 1 Extension
• $557 million ($4.1 billion over four years) to progress the Western Harbour Tunnel
• $116 million in capital expenditure ($357 million over four years) for pinch points
• $79 million in capital expenditure ($243 million over four years) to continue planning the duplication of Heathcote Road between The Avenue and Princes Highway, start construction between Infantry Parade and The Avenue, and start early works for Woronora River Bridge
• $17 million ($108 million over four years) for the construction of Henry Lawson Drive widening between Tower Road, Georges Hall and Auld Avenue, Milperra (Stage 1A) to double capacity and reduce congestion and continue development of Stage 1B between Keys Parade and the M5 Motorway
• $12 million ($124 million over four years) for the Epping Station Bridge Widening
• $25 million ($340 million over four years) for the Mona Vale Road West Project
• $40 million ($150 million over three years) for Wakehurst Parkway
• $30 million ($144 million over four years) for King Georges Road Stage 1 and 2a
• $74 million ($243 million over three years) for Prospect Highway, Reservoir Road to St Martins Crescent widening
• $4 million ($32 million over three years) for the Jervis Bay Road Intersection (State and Commonwealth funded)


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## essendon bombers

*Western Sydney*

The Government’s commitment to Western Sydney includes:

• $866 million in capital expenditure ($1.2 billion over four years) to continue construction of the WestConnex Motorway, including delivery of the final stages of the project, the M4-M5 Link Tunnels and Rozelle Interchange by 2023
• $206 million in capital expenditure ($1.2 billion over four years) for NSW and Commonwealth Government-funded road upgrades to support the Western Sydney Airport at Badgerys Creek, including The Northern Road between Narellan and Penrith, and the M12 Motorway
• $31 million ($614 million over four years) of State and Commonwealth government funding for the Mulgoa Rd Upgrade Stages 1, 2, 5A and 5B
• $2.6 million ($223 million over four years) of State and Commonwealth Government funding for M5 Motorway - Moorebank Avenue - Hume Highway Intersection Upgrade
• $10 million ($50 million over three years) of State and Commonwealth Government funding for Richmond Road Stage 1 - Elara Boulevard to Heritage Road, Marsden Park


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## essendon bombers

*NSW Regions*

Regional road investment highlights from the 2022-23 NSW Budget includes:

• $308.3 million for the continued commitment for Newell Highway upgrades including the jointly funded delivery of 40 new overtaking lanes, Parkes bypass, new Dubbo Bridge, and heavy-duty pavement upgrades
• $245.9 million for the jointly funded delivery of the Coffs Harbour Bypass
• $163.2 million to continue the joint $4.5 billion commitment to duplicate capacity on the Great Western Highway between Katoomba and Lithgow
• $117.9 million to continue planning the jointly funded M1 Pacific Motorway extension to Raymond Terrace and commence early works construction on widening Hexham Straight
• $100.8 million to continue upgrades along the Princes Highway, including construction on South Batemans Bay Link Road, and on the jointly funded new Nowra Bridge
• $91.2 million to continue construction on the Belford to Golden Highway duplication along the New England Highway, along with early work on Singleton bypass and continued planning for Tenterfield bypass
• $69.0 million to continue planning and delivery of road projects in the Central Coast area including Pacific Highway, Parsons Road to Ourimbah Street, Lisarow, jointly funded Wyong Town Centre and Manns Road intersection upgrades at Narara Creek and Stockyard Place
• $52.5 million to continue the transformation of the Princes Highway from south of Nowra to the Victorian border, along with jointly funded planning and delivery to improve safety, travel times and freight efficiency of Jervis Bay Road Intersection, Jervis Bay to Sussex Inlet Upgrade and the Milton-Ulladulla Bypass
• $45.1 million towards planning for the jointly funded upgrade of Picton Road
• $38.4 million to continue construction of the Nelligen Bridge Replacement project on the Kings Highway over the Clyde River
• $24.2 million to continuing improvements on the jointly funded Barton Highway duplication
• $14.2 million for the NSW and Commonwealth governments’ joint commitment for early work on the Muswellbrook Bypass
• $13.9 million to upgrade Nelson Bay Road, duplicating road from Williamtown to Bobs Farm
• $11.5 million to continue construction on the Monaro Highway upgrade program

Funding commitments to regional public transport in this year’s Budget includes:

• $510.1 million for regional bus services, including dedicated school services
• $399.1 million to deliver a modern new Regional Rail Fleet to replace the XPT, XPLORER and Endeavour trains, which will be maintained at a new purpose-built facility in Dubbo 2
• $95 million to continue detailed planning and start early work on the Fast Rail network, to deliver fast, frequent and reliable connections between Sydney, the Central Coast and Newcastle in collaboration with the Commonwealth Government
• $42.5 million for the Fixing Country Rail Program to provide improved capacity, access, efficiency and reliability of the regional rail network and to improve movement of freight in and out of regional areas
• $10.0 million for a state-first trial of hydrogen-powered electric buses on the Central Coast


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## mw123




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## ChrisZwolle

*Contract signed and work to start soon on new Bridgewater Bridge – July 2022*
_
Work to build the new Bridgewater Bridge will start in coming months after a Design and Construct contract for the $786 million project was signed today.

Construction company McConnell Dowell, who was announced as the preferred contractor and awarded an Early Activities Agreement in December 2021, has spent the past six months further developing their chosen design and preparing to start work on what will be the state’s biggest transport infrastructure project.

The new four lane bridge will fix the missing link in Tasmania’s National Highway, while also improving connections at Bridgewater and Granton and catering for cyclists and pedestrians with a safe shared path.

The project will remove the notorious bottleneck at the Granton roundabout, providing the 22,000 vehicles that use the bridge each day with free-flowing access to the Brooker Highway, Lyell Highway and Midland Highway._

Full release: https://bridgewaterbridge.tas.gov.a...tart_soon_on_new_bridgewater_bridge_july_2022

This is considered to be the largest transport project in Tasmania.


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## ChrisZwolle

*First section of $1 billion Gold Coast M1 upgrade now open*
_
Traffic is flowing on six lanes of the Pacific Motorway (M1) between Varsity Lakes and Burleigh, with the first package of works of a $1 billion project now open.

The works in this section included extending and relocating the Exit 85 northbound off-ramp by 250 metres, adding a fourth northbound lane between Reedy Creek (Exit 85) and Burleigh (Exit 87), and installing smart motorways technologies to help reduce 'stop-start' travel.

When widening the M1, the concrete surface was also replaced with stone mastic asphalt for a quieter and more easily maintained surface.

"The opening of three lanes between Varsity Lakes and Burleigh and the fully functioning diverging diamond interchange is the start of a transformation of the M1 for Southern Gold Coast communities,” Ms King said.

The diverging diamond interchange opened to motorists four months ago. It is now fully operational and all permanent traffic signals switched on.

The Australian Government and Queensland Government have committed a total of $1 billion ($680 million Australian Government and $320 million Queensland Government) to plan and build the Pacific Motorway (M1) Varsity Lakes to Tugun upgrade._



First section of $1 billion Gold Coast M1 upgrade now open


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## Blackraven

How is strict is the speed limit enforcement in Australia?

I ask because I was checking a YouTube video of someone driving along NorthConnex






Stated limit is 80 km/h..............but it look liked the driver was just driving at exactly the limit.........which felt so slow.

My question is:
Would the driver have been caught / penalized if they did 90 at an 80 zone?


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## Outlooker

Blackraven said:


> How is strict is the speed limit enforcement in Australia?
> 
> I ask because I was checking a YouTube video of someone driving along NorthConnex
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Stated limit is 80 km/h..............but it look liked the driver was just driving at exactly the limit.........which felt so slow.
> 
> My question is:
> Would the driver have been caught / penalized if they did 90 at an 80 zone?


There are speed cameras in the the tunnel so people generally stick to the speed limit.


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## Blackraven

Outlooker said:


> There are speed cameras in the the tunnel so people generally stick to the speed limit.


Ah I see.
With that in mind, I guess it can be bearable if you have people with you inside the vehicle.

But man, that has got to be such a sleep-inducing drive if you are the only person in the vehicle.

P.S.
Out-of-curiosity:
Can they raise the max speed limit of that place from 80 to 90?

I know that places in Europe, Hong Kong and Singapore, similar tunnels allow up to 90 kph.

After all:
Less congestion ; less travel time = better economic + time efficiency impact


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## AlphaBravo

Blackraven said:


> P.S.
> Out-of-curiosity:
> Can they raise the max speed limit of that place from 80 to 90?
> 
> I know that places in Europe, Hong Kong and Singapore, similar tunnels allow up to 90 kph.
> 
> After all:
> Less congestion ; less travel time = better economic + time efficiency impact


The speed limit in all Sydney tunnels is no greater than 80km/h and I expect it will stay that way with no change for quite some time. All Sydney Tunnels have warnings that they are equipped with Speed Cameras which means any motorist that goes over the speed limit will get caught and sent a fine in the email which will result in $$ and demerit points. So its very rare to see people speeding through tunnels.


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## essendon bombers

some pictures snapped the other day of the Westgate Tunnel project, mainly the elevated highway part along Footscray Road.


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## ChrisZwolle

Contracts have been signed for the Pacific Highway straightening west of Newcastle. This is a design-build contract of two segments, with 15 kilometers in total.

The estimated cost is a staggering $ 2.1 billion. Completion is forecasted for mid 2028.









M1 Extension to Raymond Terrace Gains Momentum with Contractors Signed


The start of major construction is edging closer for the new M1 Pacific Motorway extension to Raymond Terrace, with the Australian and NSW governments




www.miragenews.com


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## ChrisZwolle

Cyclone Ellie has dumped humongous amounts of rain in The Kimberley in Western Australia.

The Great Northern Highway has been cut at the Fitzroy River in Fitzroy Crossing.



















Normal dry conditions:


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## ChrisZwolle

Update:


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## ChrisZwolle

They claim the return trip from Perth to Fitzroy Crossing is now a 12,000 kilometer detour for road trains.


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## essendon bombers

It would only be a 12,000km return detour trip if the truck driver wishes to use only sealed roads; typically road trains use unsealed roads too. This would bring in the Outback Way and the Tanami Road as shortcut routes and cut the mileage in half.

Western Australia - east coast traffic has had a tough time of it during the past year. The Sydney-Perth rail line has been cut off for a few months now, thanks to flooding around Condobolin in central New South Wales. It should reopen soon. The rail freight task was shifted to road or to rail via Melbourne. Let's not forget the flooding parts of inland South Australia either.


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## ChrisZwolle

I'm reading that a lot of flooding is forecasted for Queensland this week and into next week. The same tropical cyclone Ellie moves east.









Ex-Tropical Cyclone Ellie lashes Australia with record-breaking flooding, setting its sight on Queensland with widespread severe storms and heavy rainfall over the next week


Whilst a new year has arrived, northern Australia is still feeling the influence of a 2022 event. Ex-Tropical Cyclone Ellie has been wreaking havoc across northern Australia over the past few weeks with heavy rainfall and record flooding.




www.severe-weather.eu


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