Clem 7 tunnel articles discussion

[ozbob]

From the Sunday Mail click here!

Toll tunnel to open early

Toll tunnel to open early
Article from: The Sunday Mail (Qld)

Kelmeny Fraser

October 10, 2009 11:00pm

MOTORISTS could be driving on Brisbane's first toll tunnel by Easter, six months ahead of schedule, prompting plans for the roll-out of a new safety campaign in the next few months.

The campaign by RiverCity Motorway, builders of the Clem Jones Tunnel, would teach drivers how to safely negotiate the 4.8km stretch between Bowen Hills and Woolloongabba.

But the company has ruled out banning motorists from changing lanes. A similar ban was contemplated in Victoria after the deadly 2007 Burnley Tunnel car pile-up.

The crash in the 3.4km tunnel triggered a multi-million dollar awareness campaign and a safety upgrade.

RiverCity Motorway's campaign will discourage drivers from weaving between the dual lanes of the twin tunnels. It will also share other useful tunnel tips including telling drivers to remove their sunglasses.

RACQ external affairs general manager Gary Fites said the organisation had been in talks with RiverCity about promoting "lane discipline" in the tunnel.

"It is going to be a different driving environment for many motorists," he said.

"(But) I don't at this stage see any need for an absolute restriction on lane changing."

Details of the safety campaign are still being finalised, with no costings released.

The Sunday Mail was on the scene of a minor accident in the tunnel in June. Emergency workers took at least 30 minutes to arrive at the scene within the construction zone.

But a RiverCity spokesman said once in operation, a tunnel master incident management plan would be in force for everything from crashes, breakdowns, fires, traffic congestion, animals in the tunnel and power failure. The tunnel would be fitted with 250 cameras to detect any incidents; speed cameras and, emergency barriers at entry points to close down the tunnel in an incident, he said.

The Sunday Mail's Queensland Speaks survey last month showed three-quarters of respondents would refuse to pay the $4.20 toll to use Clem7. RiverCity has refused to release its advertising budget, but has allocated $5 million for customer incentives to entice drivers into the tunnel.

[ozbob]

From the Courier Mail click here!

Clem7 tunnel labelled a death trap for the disabled

Clem7 tunnel labelled a death trap for the disabled
Article from: The Courier-Mail

By Bruce McMahon

October 25, 2009 11:00pm

BRISBANE'S Clem7 tunnel could be a death trap for the aged and infirm, a disability group has warned.

Queensland's Spinal Injuries Association said the 4.8km-long tunnel's emergency exits were too far apart and too narrow for people with mobility problems to escape an underground disaster.

Clem7 operators RiverCity Motorway say the tunnel is built to national and international standards with state-of-the-art safety systems, emergency response vehicles on hand and more than 250 cameras to monitor the parallel tunnels.

Incident response plans will be prepared in consultation with emergency services, the Brisbane City Council and Main Roads Department. But Spinal Injuries Association community relations manager John Mayo said there was a significant number of Australians ? from pregnant women to people with a medical condition and the disabled ? who could be unable to escape with emergency exits at 120m apart and 1.5m wide.

"Some people would need to seriously consider whether they would feel sufficiently comfortable to be able to deal with an emergency down there," Mr Mayo said yesterday.

Mr Mayo argues there are no design rules for tunnels but believes this infrastructure should follow the Australian Building Code which mandates emergency exits at every 60m in buildings.

He also argues that these exits should be at least 1.8m wide.

"I am not wanting a premier, a minister or a mayor to give me an assurance about their tunnel's performance in the event of an incident ? what I'm looking for is our tunnels to meet compliance with Australian law," Mr Mayo said.

He is concerned, after a 2001 Stanley Street bus tunnel experiment, some people could not make the distance between exits.

Retired mechanical engineer Brian Clark, who worked on the bus tunnel study, agreed that tunnels could be death traps for people with movement liability.

"Our testing showed emergency exits should be at a maximum of 60m for people with disabilities ? that could be a pregnant woman carrying a small child or a man walking with sticks," Mr Clark said.

[ozbob]

From the Brisbanetimes click here!

Clem 7 traffic estimates predict 50,000 car shortfall

Clem 7 traffic estimates predict 50,000 car shortfall
TONY MOORE
November 3, 2009 - 5:50AM

The Clem 7 tunnel will carry 54,000 fewer vehicles a day than its builders anticipate by 2026, according to traffic estimates provided as part of the building of the Northern Link tunnel.

If true, this would a mean shortfall in tolls collected of more than $200,000 a day, or $6 million a month.

In 2006, RiverCity Motorway won a 45-year concession to build and run the Clem 7, Brisbane's first road tunnel project, which will run from Bowen Hills to Woolloongabba and is due to open in mid-2010.

Its traffic estimates, provided by private toll company Maunsells, predict an average of 136,188 vehicles each day using the tunnel by 2026.

However, traffic estimates completed by Sinclair Knight Merz and Connell Wagner in June as part of Brisbane City Council's Northern Link tunnel predict only 82,000 vehicles will use the Clem 7 tunnel by 2026.

That is 54,188 fewer vehicles on average each day.

Both companies say they have factored in the impact of the Northern Link tunnel, which runs from Toowong to Bowen Hills, and say it impossible to compare the estimates because "assumptions" for both are different.

But RiverCity Motorway's own financial statements point out the effects differing traffic projections could have on the $2.8 billion Clem 7 tunnel's financial base.

"If traffic assumptions over the entire concession period differed to estimates by +/-5% then the value in use would be impacted by +/- $99 million," its 2009 financial statement states.

The Connell Wagner/Sinclair Knight Merz traffic prediction is 40 per cent lower than RiverCity Motorway's.

Two Sydney tunnels have had troubled histories based on traffic projections that were never reached.

Sydney's Lane Cove tunnel, run by Connector Motorways, originally projected 100,000 vehicles a day by September 2007, but was struggling at 62,364 in February 2008.

By September this year 73,761 vehicles a day were using the tunnel plus the Military Road ramps.

A second Sydney tunnel, Sydney's Cross City Tunnel, was placed in the hands of receivers in April 2007 after projecting 90,000 vehicles a day, but carrying only 30,000.

Maunsell defended its traffic forecasts, saying it had sound forecasts on other tollway projects, such as Melbourne CityLink, and the M2 and WestLink M7 in Sydney.

A spokesman for Brisbane City Council described the Sinclair Knight Merz and Connell Wagner figures as "conservative", and the Maunsells figures as "aggressive".

Maunsells defended its 2006 modelling, describing it as "extremely detailed".

"It is important to note that these forecasts take into account future road network changes, including the opening of the Northern Link tunnel," a spokesman said.

"This forecast was prepared following extensive data collection, modelling of the transport network, consideration of potential network changes, existing and projected population and employment growth, planned urban development, assessment of people's willingness to pay tolls and other economic factors.

"It was a very in-depth study, focussing particularly on the Clem 7."

Brisbane City Council says the estimates by Sinclair Knight Merz and Connell Wagner for the Clem 7 tunnel project were completed in February 2005.

It includes estimates "with" and "without" Northern Link.

RiverCity Motorway refused to comment on the opposing figures when contacted by brisbantimes.com.au.

"RiverCity Motorway is not in a position to comment on the traffic forecasts prepared for the Northern Link EIS process and have no specific detail of the modelling undertaken," it said in a statement.

"Questions regarding Northern Link modelling should be referred to Brisbane City Council."

Brisbane City Council said its estimates for Clem 7 did include traffic projections, but was not as broad-based as the work completed by Maunsells.

The wide variation in the traffic modelling is apparent even earlier in the modelling.

By 2016 Maunsells estimates that 116,384 vehicles each day will use the Clem 7 tunnel, while the Sinclair Knight Merz Northern Link project team estimate 65,900 by 2014, growing at about 1350 vehicles a year.

[ozbob]

From the Brisbanetimes click here!

Ratepayers 'not at risk' in Clem 7 traffic miscount

Ratepayers 'not at risk' in Clem 7 traffic miscount
TONY MOORE
November 3, 2009 - 5:12PM

Brisbane ratepayers are not open to increasing debts if the Clem 7 tunnel numbers do not live up to the "aggressive" projections made by traffic forecasters, the city's deputy mayor Graham Quirk said today.

Instead, the risk was borne by RiverCity Motorway, the toll consortia that has won the 45-year licence to build and operate Brisbane's first traffic tunnel, he said.

Traffic forecasters Maunsells, now part of the larger company AECOM, predict the Clem 7 tunnel would carry an average of 136,188 vehicles per day by 2026.

However, estimates completed by the firm Sinclair Knight Merz provided different figures for Brisbane City Council, which are used in the June 2009 Environmental Impact Study for Brisbane's third tunnel, the Northern Link.

They predict only an average of 82,000 vehicles a day in 2026, a difference of 54,000 vehicles.

Cr Quirk said the two traffic estimates we based on different modelling assumptions.

But he said Council's traffic estimates for Clem 7 in their original business case before it went out to tender in 2006 contained similar traffic estimates for Clem 7 contained in the Northern Link EIS study in June 2009.

Cr Quirk said Brisbane City Council had no influence over the bids by the private sector traffic forecasters.

"We do our work, based on our research," he said. "What bidding consortia bid is a matter for them," he said.

He repeated that there was no extra risk to ratepayers because of the way the project is structured.

"If the numbers don't come in that is a risk absorbed by the consortia, by the companies," Cr Quirk said.

"The predictions made by the companies are at their own risk. That is the competitive nature of the private sector."

Cr Quirk said the high traffic estimates provided a higher toll revenue for RiverCity Motorway, allowing for a lower "share" of the construction cost to be carried by ratepayers.

In his Brisbane City Council 2008/09 Budget speech Lord Mayor Campbell Newman said the total cost to Brisbane ratepayers for the Clem 7 tunnel was set at $770 million.

"That includes the $503 million to be paid to RiverCity Motorway once the the tunnel is opened to the public in the 2009-10 financial year," he said on June 11, 2008.

RiverCity Motorway shares are today selling for about 15 cents a share. RiverCity Motorway CEO Flan Cleary was unavailable for comment this morning.

[ozbob]

From the Brisbanetimes click here!

Brisbane's Clem7 tunnel could open in January

Brisbane's Clem7 tunnel could open in January
Article from: The Courier-Mail

By Bruce McMahon

November 10, 2009 11:00pm

THE Clem7 tunnel - Brisbane's first under-river road link - could be open for traffic by late January about nine months ahead of schedule.

Due to be completed by October, 2010, RiverCity Motorway has now finished most of the 6.8km project linking Bowen Hills in the north with the Pacific Motorway and Shafston Avenue in the south.

RiverCity Motorway chief executive Flan Cleary yesterday said the project was well ahead of schedule.

Left to complete were tidying-up work and commissioning of the centre's tollway control centre.

"Commissioning and testing of all tunnel safety systems and operating plans will be a major focus in the transition to operations over the next few months," Mr Cleary said.

Contractors had advised that Clem7 could be completed as early as January 24.

"While it is too early to endorse the January 24 opening date we are optimistic that the tunnel is likely to be open before the end of April 2010," Mr Cleary said.

The three-storey control centre at Bowen Hills will house up to 40 personnel monitoring 250 cameras in the tunnel with automatic traffic incident detection, fire safety systems, variable speed and directional signs, plus radio broadcasts in case of emergencies.

"As Australia's newest tunnel we are determined it will also be Australia's safest," Mr Cleary said.

[Derwan]

Went on the tour through the tunnel yesterday.  Everyone was interested to know when we were actually under the river.  It's an interesting concept being underneath the river.

[Jon Bryant]

Hope you enjoyed the only time the tunnel will have flowing traffic.  Plan to never use it!

[#Metro]

We should all be happy!

What this shows is that ridiculously long tunnels under the city are possible, and
are cheaper than what they would have cost a long time ago. The timeline for delivery are also appeared to have improved.

Now how to make this idea work for PT: Time to push for underground rail/metro tunnels and possibly and underground busway (or busway link).
If they can do it for cars...