RAIL - Back On Track Forum

Facebook ...

Sent to all outlets:

Centenary Motorway terminal gridlock/congestion not solved by river bridges

27th December 2022

Today the Premier has announced that the Centenary Bridge upgrade has been awarded to Georgiou Group and BMD Constructions, as a joint venture.

This upgrade will see a new three lane Centenary Bridge built in Jindalee, as well an upgrade of the existing bridge.

Centenary Bridge upgrade on the way https://statements.qld.gov.au/statements/96876

The problem with the Centenary Motorway is that there is simply too much traffic, and it is only getting worse month by month.  The bridges will just shift around a few of the road choke points, as far as relieving congestion and gridlock they will not. There is a complete lack of prioritised public transport infrastructure along the Centenary and Western Freeway motorway corridors.

What would relieve congestion is to get mode shift, from private motor vehicles to buses.  This would be achieved by providing bus priority in the form of bus lanes/transit lanes as part of the upgrade.  Unfortunately for Brisbane's West, TMR ruled out bus priority years ago.

In August 2018 it was reported in the Couriermail "Why bus lanes will help horror road" https://www.couriermail.com.au/questnews/why-bus-lanes-will-help-horror-road/news-story/30b5c8f5351eb388ed61f640dcb1f42c following yet another Centenary Motorway shutdown due to gridlock.  A strong case was advanced for bus priority, but ultimately ignored.

The DG of TMR subsequently ruled out any bus priority lines for the Centenary Motorway in Parliamentary Estimates on 11 December 2020.

https://www.michaelberkman.com.au/estimates_hearings_motorway_bus_lanes_20201211

"Mr BERKMAN: So there are to be no priority bus lanes on the Centenary Motorway following that planning study?

Mr Scales: Not that I am aware of, no.

Mr BERKMAN: Thank you. "

So the failure paradigm continues with today's announcement.  No mention of any bus priority, because there is none.

Welcome to more terminal gridlock!

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org
RAIL Back On Track https://backontrack.org

https://twitter.com/railbotforum/status/1607602982543298560

Brisbanetimes --> Work to begin on Centenary Bridge in new year, but not without $50m blowout

QuoteWork will finally begin on the Centenary Bridge duplication in Brisbane's west in the new year, but it will come with a $50 million cost blowout and, according to public transport advocates, will do little to fix the area's growing congestion problem.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk released a statement on Tuesday spruiking her government's agreement with Georgiou Group and BMD Constructions to build the new three-lane bridge between Jindalee and Kenmore, along with an upgrade of the existing bridge. ...

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1607733174276354049

4BC: Opposition criticises delays, cost blow out of major upgrade to Brisbane bridge

> https://www.4bc.com.au/opposition-criticised-delay-cost-blow-out-of-major-upgrade-to-brisbane-bridge/

QuoteA Brisbane bridge that takes more than 85,000 cars daily is finally getting an upgrade, but the Opposition has criticised delays to the major project and a $50 million cost blow out.

A contract has been awarded for almost $300 million worth of works on the Centenary Bridge.

Works include construction of a brand new three lane bridge as well upgrades of the existing bridge.

Shadow Minister for Transport Steve Minnikin said the costings have blown out by $50 million.

He criticised the government "sneaking" the announcement during the Christmas and New Year period to avoid scrutiny. ...

Facebook comment:

QuoteSo let meget this straight: the centenary highway, already a congested sh%t show of a road that is CONSTANTLY backed up past Mt Ommaney shopping centre, is going to get THREE lanes right up to the end of the bridge but they arent expanding the number of lanes PAST the bridge because oh look, the road is actually cut out of the hillside AND theres a bridge already there . . . . . . i cannot WAIT to see the sh%t fight where the three lanes become two . . . . .this is literally the WORST, the ABSOLUTE WORST, construction solution to the ongoing woes of the most overused and inadequate "highway" of the western suburbs. Not only have they failed to take into account the volume of traffic on the highway, they have also failed to think of the future once again and also failed, once again, to include provision of public transport. Three lanes going into two whilst on a bridge at 7am will be an utter f*** ing disaster, ambulances , buses and fire engines will not be able to get through and congestion will last for hours and we know this because ITS ALREADY LIKE THAT NOW !!!

Nailed it!

They will need to do a lot of planning and spend a lot of money to make it three lanes in each direction from the Centenary Bridge past the Moggill Road overpass.

What does 152,000 vehicles per day look like?

All the evidence points to the implied presence of a second project after this one.

TMR are forecasting 152,000 vehicles per day for this road in 2036.

What does that look like? Well, it would look like the Pacific Motorway did in 2019, pre-COVID19.

(And that road has a busway running alongside it)

I have serious doubts about whether improvements to Car Rapid Transport (CRT) can handle this volume of traffic.



Source:
https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/traffic-and-transport/traffic-management/greater-brisbane-key-corridors-performance-report/greater-brisbane-key-corridors-performance-january-june-2019

True

https://twitter.com/_dmoser/status/1609594168757850114

RTI Centenary Motorway Bridge upgrade project modelling

Hello Members.

I found the modelling for the Centenary Motorway Bridge upgrade project(s) (There are a series of them).

It's RTI-2127. https://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/-/media/aboutus/rti/disclog/2021/RTI-2127---Release.PDF?la=en

More detail to come.

The Base Case

The base case is the 'do minimum' or 'do nothing case'. Traffic reaches 152,000 daily trips over the Centenary bridge.

If the current situation is simply carried forward the Centenary Bridge will congest which will cause a spillover to PT. It is not entirely clear to me why that would happen, as buses would be stuck in the same mixed traffic too, and there are no bus lanes on Coronation Drive or Moggill Road that would give a time advantage to PT users.


Image - 40% increase in PT trips with growing congestion. Equal to an annual growth rate of about 2.12% p.a. over the forecast period 2021-2032.

With Project(s)

Now what happens to PT patronage after all the motorway upgrades? Well, starting from the time+cost equivalence concept, two competing modes that give identical overall journey times & costs split mode share equally. Therefore, if one mode becomes faster or cheaper (or both) mode shift will shift in favour of the faster/cheaper mode.

So we would expect to see a fall in PT patronage, which is indeed what we see in TMR's model.

Quote from: TMR_Report"The results suggest a small shift away from public transport use, particularly with the more complete project stages. With the increase in road capacity from the project and the overall improvement in traffic conditions indicated by the general traffic VKT and VHT in Table 5-2, such a mode shift is understandable. The project also delivers user benefits to the passengers who do not change modes."

There is a speed benefit to PT users, but it is small and arises only because the bus is sitting in mixed traffic. If the bus were separated from mixed traffic, the benefit to road users and PT users would become disentangled. The traffic modeller (contractor) writes that the results suggest a small shift. Well, I'm not sure how they labelled that as "small". It is a loss of 1800 PT trips per day in 2036. That is the same as:

1800 PT trips per day x 260 weekdays/year = 468,000 lost trips per year

This volume of loss is similar to losing half a BUZ route of passengers, or 28 full busloads of passengers.
(Calculation: 1800 trips/65 pax per bus = 27.6 buses) .

Miscellaneous

- The project will increase VKT, so more people travelling on the road (I guess this is the induced part). Car users switch from Ipswich Road/Ipswich Motorway to Centenary (as it will be faster) and overall car trips then are modelled to reach 189,000 car trips per day with the motorway in 2036 (cf. 152,000 without the project)(Table 4-4, p.40, not shown here).

(As I demonstrated earlier, if this eventuates then this will be an incredibly busy road at all hours of the day not just peak. See, 3 lanes in one direction can only handle 1800 vehicles x 3 = 5400 vehicles/hr).

- Although the car trips increase, they are travelling faster, which leads to a net time reduction.

QuoteThe increase in overall VKT with reduced VHT also indicates higher average travel speeds across the network, as would be anticipated from a project which adds significant capacity to a strategic location
...
By 2036, the full medium term upgrade project (Stages 1-5) delivers over 25,000 additional vehicle-kilometres travelled per day and a reduction of almost 18,000 vehicle-hours travelled per day across the metropolitan network.

- The "commercial vehicles benefit" argument.
The modelling gives us insight into this common defensive argument. The problem is that trucks and other commercial vehicles make up a small proportion of overall traffic. The bulk of the benefits of CRT are thus generally going to single-occupant private vehicle users not commercial vehicles.

I also think that commercial vehicle users are also likely to avoid peak, as why would you want to schedule your truck to sit in peak hour traffic? (Bolding added by me)

Quote from: TMR_ReportSimilar statistics for commercial vehicle traffic are summarised in Table 5-4. The overall patterns of change are similar to private vehicle users, although the values are much smaller since commercial vehicles comprise a small proportion of overall modelled demand. As there is no mode choice for commercial traffic in the BSTMMM (between road and rail freight transport, for example) the project does not change the number of modelled trips.

In other words, yes there is a small benefit to them. No, it is not going to increase the number of commercial vehicles as they are already captive to the road network.

I will have some more comments in the next post.

References

APPENDIX E
Centenary Motorway Planning Study - Medium Staged Upgrades (Frederick St to Sumners Rd)
Department of Transport & Main Roads
Transport Modelling Report
IH11700-PE1-CT-RP-0001 | 2
28 September 2018
201/G001/901

https://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/-/media/aboutus/rti/disclog/2021/RTI-2127---Release.PDF?la=en

The problem with this all starts with

QuoteThe base case is the 'do minimum' or 'do nothing case'. Traffic reaches 152,000 daily trips over the Centenary bridge.

The 152k only exists due to induced demand from widening the so has little to nothing to do with growth either population or economy.

Only way the numbers get to 152k is by widening the the bridge! Voodoo maths!

Just as if they removed a lane the traffic would "evaporate".

They need to look at "access" for both people and freight because  predicting trips has proven to be very inaccurate.  Decide (short-term and long-term) how we want to enabled that access and the infrastructure needed.

Comments

- I noticed was there was no modelling of cycling trips at all. I think this is because adding cycling infrastructure to projects is just a standard bolt-on for projects like this. Also, it would likely show negligible impact on 152,000 or 183,000 car trips in 2036.

Here is a time comparison between modes between Mt Ommaney Shopping Centre and King George Square (Google):
Car - 23 minutes
Bus - 35 minutes (not including 5-10 min access walks either side, door-to-door is ~ 45-55 min)
Bike - 60 minutes

Quote from: JonnoThis is due to induced demand from widening the so has little to nothing to do with growth either population or economics. Only way the numbers get to 152k is by widening the the bridge! Voodoo maths!

There is no Voodoo. The model is consistent with what you are saying. Here:

No Project - 152,000 car trips per day in 2036
With Project - 183,000 car trips per day in 2036

So the project induced or added +31,000 car trips per day. There is no contradiction from the model with what you are saying there. Indeed, it confirms what you are saying. However, their finding is that overall traffic is faster network-wide even with the higher induced traffic volume.

Urban Growth

Firstly, if you accept that growth will happen on the outer part of the city (e.g. Ripley) then you would expect to reach that. Ripley etc are growing at 20% p.a., each person generates around 3.3 trips per day. The alternative would be to halt growth in the outer city and accomodate them in the inner city. Even if that eventuated, I doubt that TOD projects around stations in the inner zone could absorb them all, even if we assume zero NIMBY.

Remember, BCC has blocked duplexes etc in the inner zone, and land prices are lower on the fringe. Plus you get a backyard, which families want.

Secondly, we have switching from Ipswich Road, Ipswich Motorway and Seventeen Mile Rocks Road. As this road gets faster it pulls in traffic from competing routes (Time+Cost equivalence principle again - also works between competing routes of the same mode as well as between them).

Third, there are people who are mode-switched from PT who now drive because its faster. They have been pulled off buses.

The model has an appendix where observed vs actual traffic counts are done to match prediction with observation. There are pages of that.

Summary

Overall, the modelling is consistent with what you are saying. Yes it will pull people out of the PT network. Yes it will increase car trips from 152k (no project) to 183k per day (with project).

QuoteJust as if they removed a lane the traffic would "evaporate".

I understand this, and you are correct. However, the scenario with the least amount of traffic would be to close the bridge altogether and turn it into a Green Bridge like the Eleanor Schonell Bridge.    I don't think that is possible given that the bridge is already there. I also note that Car Trip Time > PT Trip Time. This is because the bus has a 10-20 min access walk time that the car does not have, and the bus makes pickup stops which the car doesn't do. Former car users will be faced with a slower but more reliable trip.

A lot of people - former car users - would therefore be made worse off. Speeding up the PT and leaving car to do its own thing might be better then.

Some Thoughts

CentenaryGlider or Brisbane Metro BRT
Bus lanes/Metro lanes along Centenary Motorway, Moggill Road and Coronation Drive. This will open up a wider time gap between car and bus in favour of PT, which will pull the mode shift balance back towards PT.

Conception of the lane itself needs to be thought about carefully. In the inner city exclusive lanes are probably justified, but in the outer part it might be harder to justify due to 'Empty Lane Syndrome'. People would complain about the empty lane, leading to the lane being ultimately removed. DG TMR Neil Scales has mentioned that. How to fix that? 🤔

- A peak hour T2 lane in the outer part could work. Similar to Waterworks Road.

- Camera-enforced express toll lane is another option. You would protect against lane removal by letting some cars - but not all of them - into the lane for a fee. Any vehicle could use the express lane during peak hour, for a fee. You would adjust the fee up or down to maintain the bus speed (buses would be toll exempt) on the additional lane and control the level of congestion within it.

I don't think this has been tried in Queensland before. But it is conceptually similar to how some BCC express buses dive into the AirportLink tunnel or use Legacy Way during peak hour to escape congestion. Except much simpler as its only a lane, not a whole tunnel.

A Brisbane Metro BRT or CentenaryGlider would have a peak frequency of 3 minutes. The frequency of a car is 2 seconds. In that 180 second block you can run 2 CentenaryGliders or Brisbane Metro BRT buses, and 88 cars. In a 1-hour peak 20 buses would run, and between those buses 1760 cars would be run in the gaps. With a $1 charge you would generate $1760, and with a $2 charge $3520 which you would hand over to TransLink.

That way, you would circumvent the 'Empty Lane Syndrome' plus generate a revenue stream that could be used to offset the bus. In the off-peak when congestion falls, you would drop the toll and it would be free. If congestion built in the off-peak as well, you could extend the tolling period for the lane. The other general traffic lanes would be toll free at all times.

 

Quote from: #Metro on January 03, 2023, 09:28:49 AM

QuoteJust as if they removed a lane the traffic would "evaporate".

I understand this, and you are correct. However, the scenario with the least amount of traffic would be to close the bridge altogether and turn it into a Green Bridge like the Eleanor Schonell Bridge.    I don't think that is possible given that the bridge is already there. I also note that Car Trip Time > PT Trip Time. This is because the bus has a 10-20 min access walk time that the car does not have, and the bus makes pickup stops which the car doesn't do. Former car users will be faced with a slower but more reliable trip.

A lot of people - former car users - would therefore be made worse off. Speeding up the PT and leaving car to do its own thing might be better then.

Some Thoughts

CentenaryGlider or Brisbane Metro BRT
Bus lanes/Metro lanes along Centenary Motorway, Moggill Road and Coronation Drive. This will open up a wider time gap between car and bus in favour of PT, which will pull the mode shift balance back towards PT.

Conception of the lane itself needs to be thought about carefully. In the inner city exclusive lanes are probably justified, but in the outer part it might be harder to justify due to 'Empty Lane Syndrome'. People would complain about the empty lane, leading to the lane being ultimately removed. DG TMR Neil Scales has mentioned that. How to fix that? 🤔

- A peak hour T2 lane in the outer part could work. Similar to Waterworks Road.

- Camera-enforced express toll lane is another option. You would protect against lane removal by letting some cars - but not all of them - into the lane for a fee. Any vehicle could use the express lane during peak hour, for a fee. You would adjust the fee up or down to maintain the bus speed (buses would be toll exempt) on the additional lane and control the level of congestion within it.

I don't think this has been tried in Queensland before. But it is conceptually similar to how some BCC express buses dive into the AirportLink tunnel or use Legacy Way during peak hour to escape congestion. Except much simpler as its only a lane, not a whole tunnel.

A Brisbane Metro BRT or CentenaryGlider would have a peak frequency of 3 minutes. The frequency of a car is 2 seconds. In that 180 second block you can run 2 CentenaryGliders or Brisbane Metro BRT buses, and 88 cars. In a 1-hour peak 20 buses would run, and between those buses 1760 cars would be run in the gaps. With a $1 charge you would generate $1760, and with a $2 charge $3520 which you would hand over to TransLink.

That way, you would circumvent the 'Empty Lane Syndrome' plus generate a revenue stream that could be used to offset the bus. In the off-peak when congestion falls, you would drop the toll and it would be free. If congestion built in the off-peak as well, you could extend the tolling period for the lane. The other general traffic lanes would be toll free at all times.

 

The Centenary glider is not needed as the Centenary suburbs have access to a train line which is underutilised. The best option in the interim is to provide a regular service to Darra station  that connects most residents in the area. This can be done with the Riverhills express. If needed the River Hills express timetable can be improved. 

In other news regarding the Road Safety Round Table

The Government can include the topic of improving modal shift to Public Transport  in this round table and consider the reintroduction of Daylight Saving.

We know that Daylight Saving can improve public transport patronage in the early evening when its still light with natural daylight due to Daylight Saving up until 8 pm during mid summer.

We also know that female patronage drops right off at dusk and during the night hours.

That said most vehicle accidents occur in the afternoon and evening peak. (not implying that females are the cause of accidents, just that there are more accidents around this period and that later natural light can prevent them).

In addition there is evidence that Daylight Saving can reduce vehicle accidents and increase pedestrian and cyclist safety through increased natural daylight throughout the afternoon peak until 7.45pm.

The modal shift towards Public Transport especially (trains and trams) with the assistance of Daylight Saving can reduce accidents when they mostly occur in the afternoon evening peak.

https://twitter.com/abcnews/status/1612172161518809089

https://twitter.com/_dmoser/status/1614546458685874176

Your Neighbourhood--->https://yourneighbourhood.com.au/construction-update-centenary-bridge-upgrade-jindalee/

QuoteThe State Government has announced that the Centenary Bridge upgrade is a step closer with the awarding of the construction contract.

Quote from: ozbob on January 16, 2023, 04:32:46 AMhttps://twitter.com/_dmoser/status/1614546458685874176

The Car lane is so inefficient it clearly needs the most investment to get people moving.  Look at public transport...spend nothing and it moves 1000's.   

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1621512546749657089

https://statements.qld.gov.au/statements/97111

Expressions of interest called to update Ipswich Motorway masterplan

4th February 2023

JOINT STATEMENT

Premier and Minister for the Olympic and Paralympic Games
The Honourable Annastacia Palaszczuk

Minister for Transport and Main Roads
The Honourable Mark Bailey

Expressions of interest have opened to update the Ipswich Motorway masterplan and develop a business case to upgrade the Oxley Interchange.

An updated masterplan for the remaining three-kilometre section of the Ipswich Motorway between Oxley and Darra, along with a business case for the first package to upgrade the Oxley Interchange, will assist in delivering safer and more reliable travel times.

Planning is expected to be complete in mid-2024.

The $25 million planning phase is joint funded by the Australian and Queensland Governments on a 50:50 basis.

The $400 million Ipswich Motorway Upgrade – Rocklea to Darra (Stage 1 Granard Road to Oxley Road) opened April 2021.

For more information, call 3066 4338 or email metropolitanregion@tmr.qld.gov.au.

Quotes attributable to Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk:

"The Ipswich Motorway is an important connecting road for many South East Queenslanders, and we want to make sure it continues to function as our population grows.

"The updated masterplan for the final stretch, which will build on previous plans, will aim to make the motorway easier for motorists in the corridor between Oxley and Darra."

State Minister for Transport and Main Roads Mark Bailey:

"Getting on with this planning is another example of the Palaszczuk Labor Government's commitment to improving transport in Queensland.

"We're delivering better roads and services right across the state, helping Queenslanders spend less time behind the wheel and more enjoying our great lifestyle."

Quotes attributable to Speaker of the House of Representatives and Federal Member for Oxley Milton Dick:

"When complete, these upgrades will make the Ipswich Motorway much easier and safer to use, and I'm looking forward to seeing it progress further."

"The first stage of these Ipswich Motorway upgrades were delivered in April 2021, so it's great to see we're moving forward with the next three-kilometre section."

Quotes attributable to State Member for Mount Ommaney Jess Pugh:

"Demand for the Ipswich Motorway is only going to increase as our population continues to grow, so moving towards making it safer and more efficient is great news.

"The masterplan comes as part of the Palaszczuk Labor Government's almost $3.9 billion, four-year road and transport plan for Greater Brisbane, supporting 3,280 good, secure jobs.

"In 2021 we completed the $80 million Sumners Road Interchange upgrade on the Centenary Motorway and this year work is starting on the $298 million Centenary Bridge duplication."

ENDS

Why building wider roads is a waste of money Chris Cox

https://twitter.com/railbotforum/status/1626278121115885568

HOW DO YOU GET INVOLVED?

Go to the Centenary Motorway Corridor Upgrade page:

https://www.yoursay-projects.tmr.qld.gov.au/centenary-motorway-upgrade-darra-toowong

1. Register
2. Add pins on the Interactive Map asking for a busway, better bike connections, better cross-motorway bike and pedestrian connections etc
3. Complete the survey
4. Turn up at the in-person consultation sessions if you're in Brisbane

Centenary Bridge Business Case:
https://www.statedevelopment.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0022/54445/Centenary_Bridge_CBA_Summary.pdf

Facebook ...

TMR--->https://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/projects/centenary-motorway-planning-australian-government-funding-commitment

Consultation now open for the upgrade and widening of the Centenary motorway from Toowong to Wacol

You can have any mode of transportation you like, as long as it's Car Rapid Transport (CRT). 

Proper approach would be to view the funds spent on a future project as contestable between different mode choice alternatives and then decide which or what gets built. This would be unbiased and even-handed. It would also incorporate the possibility of mode-shift.

Unfortunately, by pre-selecting the appropriate mode as CRT in the first place, the conclusion can only be then because CRT capacity would be too low it needs more lanes.

I've also noticed that the information material for projects of this type tend to avoid or omit side-by-side metrics. For example, on PT projects you will often see the number of passengers moved per hour, but on a road project they will avoid mentioning that and instead focus on the speed aspect or a daily vehicle throughput.

The effect of reporting daily vehicle throughput or speed, and not hourly throughput is to conceal the peak hourly throughput, which is low and bad optics.

A genuinely neutral or objective analysis would recognise that cars like buses or trains have a frequency, which is about 2 seconds between vehicles in heavy traffic. Ultimately, they are all vehicles that can all be treated using the same approach.

As shown elsewhere, it is possible to derive the capacity of a single road lane as holding a maximum of 1800 vehicles under ideal conditions. With some further simple assumptions, it is also possible to show the throughput the same way as for PT. For the CRT mode (cars) this is 2160 pphd/lane.

This is a ridiculously low added peak hour volume for very high cost.

Brisbane Metro could carry that capacity with a bus every 4 minutes in peak hour.

Couriermail --> Traffic is worse post-Covid-19 on Brisbane and Gold Coast roads $

QuoteTraffic is worse than it was before Covid-19 on many major roads across Queensland, a new report has revealed, but one road expert says it's only going to increase.

Data analysed by RACQ and collected by the Department of Transport and Main Roads showed 71 out of 132 road sections in Brisbane were slower post-Covid-19 in the morning while 87 were slower in the afternoon.

On the Gold Coast, 68 out of 97 road sections were slower in the morning than before Covid-19 while 69 were in the afternoon. ...

====

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1629829721516306432

https://twitter.com/7NewsBrisbane/status/1629767287954866177

Brisbanetimes --> City's biggest roadworks project on track to free up Moggill Road

QuoteMotorists in Brisbane's western suburbs face a further 12 months of traffic disruptions from Brisbane's biggest road project – the $183 million Moggill Road overpass at Indooroopilly.

Each weekday, about 38,000 vehicles drive west past the Indooroopilly Roundabout up Moggill Road. Even more – 47,000 vehicles – travel east along Moggill Road towards the city.

The complex Moggill Road Corridor Upgrade involves replacing the roundabout and building an overpass for better traffic flow along the major thoroughfare. ...

Why do we have to argue with DTMR that flyovers are needed at busy rail junctions?

We are dealing with idiots!!!

Quote from: ozbob on March 14, 2023, 23:49:17 PMBrisbanetimes --> City's biggest roadworks project on track to free up Moggill Road

QuoteMotorists in Brisbane's western suburbs face a further 12 months of traffic disruptions from Brisbane's biggest road project – the $183 million Moggill Road overpass at Indooroopilly.

Each weekday, about 38,000 vehicles drive west past the Indooroopilly Roundabout up Moggill Road. Even more – 47,000 vehicles – travel east along Moggill Road towards the city.

The complex Moggill Road Corridor Upgrade involves replacing the roundabout and building an overpass for better traffic flow along the major thoroughfare. ...

Why do we have to argue with DTMR that flyovers are needed at busy rail junctions?

We are dealing with idiots!!!

why are we building freeway style flyovers in urban settings in the futile attempt to "bust" congestion.  The Congestion Con is all we have for transport planning in QLD.            

This one was a BCC project and went through extensive community consultation. There were two options and this one came out on top.


While it may look like a freeway overpass it's just an arterial road underpass improving the intersection with Coonan street. This will inadvertently improve bus running times while also improving active transport safety outcomes.

https://statements.qld.gov.au/statements/97593

Works underway on new Centenary Bridge

20th April 2023

JOINT STATEMENT

Premier and Minister for the Olympic and Paralympic Games
The Honourable Annastacia Palaszczuk

Minister for Transport and Main Roads
The Honourable Mark Bailey

. Work begins on $298.5 million Centenary Bridge Upgrade
. Delivering a new three-lane bridge over the Brisbane River at Jindalee
. Supporting 240 good local jobs

Today the first sod on a new Centenary Bridge at Jindalee has been turned, marking the start of works at the site.

The congestion busting project is jointly funded by the Albanese Federal Government and Palaszczuk State Government.

Initial works will include underground services investigations, establishment of site compounds, impact surveys and construction of a temporary jetty to enable bridge works. Following this, construction activities will ramp up.

The project will deliver:

. A new three-lane northbound bridge.
. Widening of the existing bridges to create three southbound lanes.
. Upgraded active transport facilities for pedestrians and people who ride bikes, with improved . connections to the Western Freeway Bikeway and local destinations, including retention of the Jindalee Skate Park.
. Greater efficiency and travel-time reliability.

This will improve safety and efficiency for more than 85,000 vehicles using the bridge over the Brisbane River every day.

The new bridge is due for completion in late-2025, with new traffic to switch to it while the existing bridge is upgraded, with the entire project completed in 2027.

Quotes attributable to Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk:

"I'm pleased to see works get underway on this congestion busting project, for our growing community.

"More than 152,000 people will use these bridges by 2036 - showing just how important it is to deliver this upgrade now.

"Our government will back big upgrades like this to create hundreds of jobs and supply chain opportunities for local workers and businesses."

Quotes attributable to Federal Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Minister Catherine King:

"Widening the Centenary Bridge from four to six lanes will ensure residents spend less time on the road by making it easier to get between work, home and school.

"The Australian Government is committed to working in partnership with state, territory and local governments, including Queensland, to deliver infrastructure projects that make a real difference – getting the community home safer and sooner."

Quotes attributable to Federal Member for Oxley Milton Dick:

"This project is a game-changer that will bust congestion on the Centenary Motorway – a well-known bottleneck in Brisbane.

"The bridge upgrade will get traffic moving more safely and efficiently – helping families get their kids to school faster in the mornings and allowing residents to get home safer in the evenings."

Quotes attributable to Member for Mount Ommaney Jess Pugh:

"Today's milestone is something I have backed since I was first elected.

"Now, we have a reliable, Queensland based contractor on the ground delivering the upgrade our community has been calling for.

"I'm excited to see the new bridge and surrounding areas come together before our eyes."

Quotes attributable to Transport Minister Mark Bailey:

"We are getting on with the job of delivering the infrastructure to make travel safer and easier for locals to support the rapid growth of the western suburbs.

"I thank drivers for their patience ahead of ramped up construction works in the area."

Further information:

. The construction contract was awarded in December 2022.
. Queensland-based companies Georgiou Group and BMD Constructions, through a joint-venture, will deliver this project.
. The project team can be contacted at (07) 3066 4338, or via email metropolitanregion@tmr.qld.gov.au

For more information, visit www.tmr.qld.gov.au/projects/centenary-bridge-upgrade.

"I love the smell of freeway widening in the morning      It smells like More Congestion"

Quote"More than 152,000 people will use these bridges by 2036 - showing just how important it is to deliver this upgrade now.

This is really a self-fulfilling prophecy. They are treating the growth as external. Their own modelling shows that the number of people using the road will be higher with the upgrade than without it. Any gains are going to be eaten up by growth in suburbs such as Ripley etc.

In any case, where is the busway or bus lane? Left it out? Why?? They remembered people who walk and ride a bicycle...

I've shown elsewhere on this forum that the road will not be able to support the traffic volume of 152,000 under the assumptions that it is running full blast for 2-hours in peak times and then at 50% volume at all other times.

I will retrace my steps on those to confirm.

... by 2036 all gains would have been lost and it will return to where it started from. No doubt a trigger for the next stage of widening...

https://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?msg=266134

Brisbanetimes --> RACQ identifies missing link in Brisbane's road network

QuoteBrisbane has a missing link in its road network that could seriously interrupt traffic flow if a new tunnel isn't built, the state's chief transport body argues.

The RACQ says the decision to instead duplicate the Centenary Bridge and eventually widen the Centenary Motorway exposes serious questions about Brisbane's missing western bypass road. ...

Billon-dollar bungle on Toowoomba bypass causing chaos for Queensland drivers | 7NEWS

https://twitter.com/7NewsToowoomba/status/1666716699402330112