Article: Libs ramp up priority for freeway

[ozbob]

From the Melbourne Age click here!

Libs ramp up priority for freeway

Libs ramp up priority for freeway
Reid Sexton and Clay Lucas
November 17, 2011

A CONTROVERSIAL freeway through inner Melbourne and a new underground rail line have again topped the state's wish list for funding from Canberra, with the Baillieu government saying it wants to proceed with a series of major transport projects first proposed by Labor.

The government today will unveil its submission to the federal government's advisory body Infrastructure Australia. It marks the first release of the Coalition's transport proposals since coming to office last November.

However, the submission does not say when any of the projects detailed would be built, or what they would ultimately cost. Premier Ted Baillieu said yesterday he did not want to make these predictions until more planning had been done.

The government has backed an 18-kilometre ''inner urban freeway'' that would link the Eastern Freeway in Clifton Hill to the Western Ring Road in Sunshine. The freeway would travel via CityLink and the Port of Melbourne. It is based on a plan put forward by Sir Rod Eddington in 2008 in a report for the Brumby government. Sir Rod is now chairman of Infrastructure Australia.

This freeway plan was partially adopted by Mr Brumby's government later in 2008, when it announced plans for WestLink, a $2.5 billion tunnel linking the inner west to the port.

Public transport advocates attacked the road tunnel plan, which has been in limbo since Labor's defeat last year, saying it would only add to road congestion.

Federal Greens MP Adam Bandt vowed to fight ''tooth and nail'' to stop the freeway gaining money from Canberra. State Labor MP Richard Wynne - whose electorate the freeway would slice through - also attacked the idea. ''When Eddington first looked at this freeway, it was neither economically or environmentally sustainable. It's the same today,'' he said.

But the government's submission to Canberra argues booming traffic on the West Gate Bridge and Hoddle Street means the project is now justified. It has requested $30 million to fund a two-year planning study. ''This is a once-in-a-generation project that would transform the way people move around Melbourne,'' Mr Baillieu said.

The government's submission says the private sector may help fund construction of the freeway, raising the possibility it may be a toll road.

The submission also puts a new rail tunnel under inner Melbourne back on the agenda. Labor's 2008 blueprint detailed a plan for a 17-kilometre track from Footscray to Caulfield via Parkville, with its first stage to cost $4.5 billion. Its future was put in doubt after the election but the Baillieu government is now seeking a further $130 million for pre-construction work. While the new proposal follows much the same route as Labor's plan, it will stretch only nine kilometres. Other requests include $120 million to expand the Port of Hastings in preparation for when the Port of Melbourne reaches capacity, and $10 million for a new truck-to-rail freight interchange in Truganina. In all, the government has requested $640 million from Canberra.

Transport expert Paul Mees, from RMIT, said the submission was the government's attempt to create the illusion it had a plan to cope with Melbourne's transport issues. ''If I was the federal government I would tell them to go away, develop a transport plan first, and then ask for money. They are asking Canberra to do their job for them.''

Labor's public transport spokeswoman, Fiona Richardson, said Mr Baillieu's party had been ''bitter critics'' in opposition of government proposals for new rail lines, but had now adopted Labor's ideas.

''It begs the question: where does this leave the Liberals' plans for Doncaster, Tullamarine and Rowville rail links?'' she said.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/libs-ramp-up-priority-for-freeway-20111116-1njco.html

[ozbob]

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danielbowen Daniel Bowen
Blog: Some reasons why the east-west road Eddingtunnel makes no sense http://t.co/qaOE9t74
25 minutes ago

[colinw]

I predict a huge interstate catfight over a limited funding pool for inner city rail megaprojects.

In the left corner: QLD's CRR.
In the right corner: Victoria's Metro Tunnel

Failed to show: NSW.

[Stillwater]

If the Queensland Government's expectation is that the federal government will pay 100 per cent of the cost of CRR, you may well be right, colinw.
This is where the business case is all important.  If it shows that the project is financially attractive, then the private sector will be running to get on board, so there would be less need for public money to shore up a deal.  Any project that will make money (not just from the rail component, but from the land use concessions around the new track) will attract the white shoe brigade.  A dodgy project, with false assumptions, rubbery figures etc will keep the private sector away, because it would not want to take the financial risk, preferring governments to do so instead.

The other thing to consider is that, while CRR might be a very good project, its massive cost just might not be within IA's budget.  When one of us has plans for a massive new extension to the house, but have just enough money for the ensuite conversion, we put the available money into the ensuite conversion (read Melb. metro) for the time being, while continuing to hold hopes of getting around to the massive extension (read CRR) at some stage in the future.  That is the sort of thinking behind the Queensland Government's Connecting SEQ 2031 document and the placement of all the big-ticket items in the final five years of a 20-year plan.

[colinw]

CRR is eminently fundable by the state, if taken a $1 billion bite at a time while holding off on equally expensive motorway projects.