| SkyLife
Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Adelaide, Australia
Posts: 468
Thanks: 0
Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts
Rep Power: 4  |  Approved: Adelaide's South Road Superway
$2bn super road link Quote: The Advertiser
July 18, 2007
A $2 BILLION plan to transform South Rd into a north-south freeway is being pushed to the Federal Government by a high-powered group of state transport leaders.
The group is seeking federal funds for a 22km non-stop route stretching from the Southern Expressway at Darlington to the Port River Expressway at Wingfield.
A freeway of this nature would almost certainly require significant tunnels and underpasses, similar to those being planned for the Anzac Hwy and Port Rd intersections. Backers of the plan for a non-stop South Rd, who have approached federal Transport Minister Mark Vaile, include the State Government, RAA, the South Australian Freight Council, Business SA and the SA Road Transport Association.
State Transport Minister Patrick Conlon yesterday said he and the key transport groups had asked for all of South Rd to be included in the national AusLink network, which would unlock significant federal funding.
The plan has been resisted by Mr Vaile's office, which yesterday said the Federal Government was "not currently proposing" to extend the AusLink network, despite numerous requests. But Mr Conlon said there were "no other options" to dramatically improve the efficiency of Adelaide's transport network.
"We've set out with a plan to fix all of South Rd," he said.
"It's very expensive and will take a long time - it will be a lot easier to have the Commonwealth chip in."
Mr Conlon said a non-stop South Rd would help spur economic growth.
"We've got better plans than we have money . . . that's why we're off to the Commonwealth Government, talking about this," he said.
He did not say whether federal Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd had been involved with the plan, and Mr Rudd's staff did not return calls yesterday.
The RAA estimates a South Rd freeway would cut north-south travel times by up to 16 minutes and eliminate 25 traffic lights.
Funding has not yet been determined. However, Mr Conlon and key stakeholders have asked Mr Vaile to include up to 10.5km of the road as part of the AusLink network.
That would qualify projects on that road section for the pool of $22.3 billion in federal AusLink funding to be dispersed between 2009 and 2014.
The SA transport delegation has requested that the AusLink network be extended from Sir Donald Bradman Drive south along South Rd "at least to the corner of South Rd and Cross Rd, and along Cross Rd to Portrush Rd".
"The RAA thinks it should go further (to the Southern Expressway), but the rest of us would be very happy if it was extended to Cross Rd," Mr Conlon said. "The important thing is that we've got all of the major lobby groups in SA saying the same thing."
Mr Vaile's spokeswoman, Tanya Cleary, yesterday confirmed the request.
"But (the Federal Government) is not currently proposing to extend the network, despite many requests from around Australia," she said.
Mr Vaile is expected to soon announce up to $200 million in federal funding for the Northern Expressway, through the key federal seat of Wakefield.
Transport and business lobby groups say an efficient north-south traffic corridor through Adelaide is "the most crucial project" for the state's ongoing economic growth.
The route would benefit wine exports from the McLaren Vale region and Langhorne Creek, while also significantly helping Mitsubishi and automotive component suppliers south of Adelaide establish stronger export programs.
A non-stop north-south expressway would enhance SA's bid to win a greater share of the $22.3 billion in AusLink Round 2 funds, the SA Road Transport Association says.
The association's executive director, Steve Shearer, said early indications of the dispersal of the funds showed SA was likely to be "short-changed" by up to $500 million.
Mr Shearer said the state's fair share of the next round of AusLink funds was at least $1.96 billion - 8.8 per cent of the available funds, in line with the state's 8.8 per cent of national freight traffic.
SA received a total of $967.5 million in AusLink funds from the 2004 (Round 1) purse of $15.7 billion - or just 6.14 per cent. Mr Shearer said that amount fell $500 million short of what the state deserved.
|
__________________
I've been to cities that never close down, from New York to Rio and old London town.
But no matter how far or how wide I roam, I still call Australia home.
Someday we'll all be together once more, when all of the ships come back to the shore.
I'll realise something I've always known, I still call Australia home. |
18th July 2007, 03:55
Linear Mode
