SEQNews has moved

When I started this blog it was to become a site full of news clippings about development projects in SEQ. However soon after it became much more than that, looking at the history of SEQ's transport systems as well as news and opinions.

So I've decided to ditch this blog and move to a new one. It's called SEQTION (pronounced like 'section') and it stands for South East Queensland Transport Information, Opinions and News. You can find the new site at:

http://seqtion.blogspot.com/

The new site also has an RSS feed, which will deliver any new posts directly to your RSS reader.

Thanks for visiting,
Trent.

Northern Busway update.

From the Queensland Government (3 Mar):

Less traffic on inner city streets and major time savings for bus commuters will be delivered under an historic agreement signed today to construct the $278 million inner-city section of the Inner Northern Busway.

Transport and Main Roads Minister Paul Lucas and Brisbane Lord Mayor Campbell Newman signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a 1.3 km link of the INB between Queen Street and Upper Roma Street.

The extension will be fully funded by the State Government. Brisbane City Council is contributing the lower two floors of its King George Square car park, valued at $25 million, as the site for a new busway station.

Mr Lucas said construction could start as early as next month and the new busway section from Queen Street underground to Roma Street would be delivered by the end of 2007.

"It will take hundreds of buses off the inner-city streets and put them in their own dedicated corridor on a purpose-built world class busway," Mr Lucas said.

"That means a lot less congestion on city streets. For bus passengers, it will deliver travel time savings of around nine minutes on a normal trip, and up to 20 minutes at times of heavy traffic congestion.

"This will be a magnificent facility for the people of Brisbane and the Smart State. It will link the existing Inner Northern Busway with the South East Busway network at the Queen Street underground bus station," Mr Lucas said.

Lord Mayor Campbell Newman said the INB would provide a vital link in the inner city transport network and would help move bus passengers quickly and efficiently through the city.

"Brisbane City Council is committed to working closely with the State Government to make our public transport system faster and more reliable," Cr Newman said.

"I commend the State Government for their commitment to the busway network, which is proving so successful.

"The South East Busway alone moves thousands of bus passengers from the outer southern suburbs to and from the city everyday.

"Another important outcome of the project will be the re-design of King George Square and the construction of the CBD Bicycle Centre to be equipped with showers and bike storage facilities for cyclists travelling to and from the city, both of which will be funded by Council.

"By signing this MOU today, Council once again demonstrates its commitment to an integrated public transport system," Cr Newman said.

Mr Lucas said the busway would run underground from Queen Street to King George Square and on to Roma Street, with plans to continue on the northern side of the Brisbane Transit Centre.

"While it is just over a kilometre long, it's probably the most important kilometre in our entire busway system, because it links the network and removes hundreds of buses from city streets," Mr Lucas said.

"Above ground there will be significant changes with major beautification works planned around the Albert Street entrance to the new King George Square Busway Station.

"Underground, the King George Square Station will be one of the largest in the busway network, with capacity to load up to 300 buses an hour during peak periods," Mr Lucas said.

He said Queensland Transport had formed an Alliance with Leighton Contractors, Maunsell Australia, EDAW Gillespies, Bligh Voller Neild and Coffey Geoscience to design and construct the Queen Street to Roma Street section.

Queensland Transport, with the Alliance, was also planning the section of the Busway on the northern side of the Brisbane Transit Centre.

Queensland Transport and the Alliance would continue to work closely with Brisbane City Council through the Busways Coordination Group, which consists of representatives from Queensland Transport and the Council.

Mr Lucas said most inner city bus stops would be relocated during construction, and there would be lane closures on Albert, Ann, Adelaide and Turbot Streets. Details would be made public shortly.

He said all businesses and residents affected were being consulted on an ongoing basis and their individual needs were being addressed.

"I appreciate the cooperation of residents and business people in the area while we build this vital link.

"I apologise for any disruption that will occur during construction but the major improvements the busway will bring to the CBD will be worth it."

Tugun Bypass update.

Queensland Government (23 Feb):

Construction of the Tugun Bypass will begin next month, following final Federal Government approvals and the announcement of the successful contractor today, Premier Peter Beattie said.

Mr Beattie welcomed the news of the Federal approvals and announced that PacificLink Alliance had won the contract to undertake the work.

"This is a green light for work to commence on this vital interstate infrastructure project," Mr Beattie said.

"The project now has the final approvals from the Queensland, NSW and Federal governments.

PacificLink was one of two shortlisted consortia, and consists of an alliance between Abigroup Contractors, SMEC Australia and Main Roads.

"We began the tender process last July so work could start as soon as we received all the approvals," Mr Beattie said.

"The PacificLink Alliance will now work with Main Roads to finalise design work on the project, establish a site office in Tugun and begin preliminary works on Gold Coast Airport land.

"This is a priority road project for the Queensland Government and I'm pleased to say that work is on the way."

The estimated total cost of the project has risen to $543 million, due largely to the rise in construction costs including labour and raw materials during the approval phase; the cost of the approval process itself, including the additional environmental and cultural heritage studies required; and the cost of the stringent measures to protect the environment.

"As I foreshadowed in December the cost has increased but Queensland is committed to getting this road built," Mr Beattie said.

Federal Transport Minister Warren Truss welcomed the announcement of the successful tenderer.

"The Tugun Bypass will improve the capacity and efficiency of the transport corridors around the airport and allows for a future rail line through the airport," Mr Truss said.

The Federal Government is contributing $120 million toward the total project cost.

Minister for Transport and Main Roads Paul Lucas said the seven kilometre bypass would provide a motorway standard traffic link between the Pacific Motorway in Queensland and the Pacific Highway in New South Wales.

He said it would reduce traffic congestion, divert much of the current heavy traffic away from the Gold Coast Highway and slash travel times between Currumbin and the border to five minutes.

"Locals will see movement onsite from as early as next week," Mr Lucas said.

"Main Roads will start erecting site facilities at Tugun next Monday (Feb 27) and work to allow for a tunnel under the extended GoldCoastAirport runway will start on March 17.

"By March next year, the foundations will be laid for the bridge over HiddenValley.

"And work is expected to be finished by Christmas 2008.

"This route was always our preferred alignment, despite the challenges posed by these issues.

"The Federal Government has approved our proposal subject to a set of conditions which are realistic, fair and achievable.

"We have been able to reach agreement on a project which is a win-win-win for safe, reliable and congestion-free interstate transport; for the environment; and for the local community."

NSW Minister for Roads Eric Roozendaal said the project would provide significant benefits to northern NSW.

"The Tugun Bypass will make the Tweed an even better place to live and visit," Mr Roozendaal said.

"NSW has also attached 50 stringent environmental controls to the planning consent to ensure we protect the diverse ecological heritage of the area."

Mr Lucas said an estimated 400 jobs would be created during the peak construction period.

The project cost includes around $13 million for essential works which are necessary for the proposed future rail link between Robina and the Gold Coast Airport,whilst the addition of a vehicle overpass at Boyd Street Tugun will be subject to a separate planning and approvals process.

Caxton St redevelopment

The proposal discussed in the article below is excellent because it finally attempts to fix up an ugly part of the CBD. But bloody hell, do we really need 468 carparks when there are two train stations and a busway station about 300 m from the redevelopment site? In the CBD (and its immediate surrounds), developers shouldn't even have to consider car parking! In fact, there should be restrictions on the number of parking spaces which can be provided for a particular development, not a minimum number of required spaces!

Westside News (Jan 18):

A multi-million dollar injection of funds will turn the Caxton St police barracks into an entertainment mecca to rival James St in Fortitude Valley.

Five cinemas, shops, restaurants, offices, a nightclub, hotel and 468 car parks have all been proposed in the latest development application submitted for the dilapidated barracks site.

But developer Kevin Miller refused to allow a Westside News photographer to take a picture of the development's 3D model.

Both Lord Mayor Campbell Newman and Deputy Mayor David Hinchliffe have given the plans their preliminary approval, but they will still need to pass through the council's official channels a process which could take months.

Cr Hinchliffe said he expected the development to be similar in scale, and as significant, as James St in Fortitude Valley.

``This site has been the centre of a lot of controversy and debate for years but I believe this is the best application I've seen,'' he said.

Cr Newman was ``very excited that this large piece of tired land in the Caxton St precinct is finally on the way to being redeveloped''.

``It will enhance the already established entertainment precinct and complement the suburban centre improvement project (SCIP) that I recently initiated,'' he said.

Caxton St Traders' Association president Sarosh Mehta said traders were ``absolutely buoyed and delighted'' that, after 20 years of waiting, the development would come to fruition.

He said the development would bring life to the precinct and would also alleviate ``chronic'' parking problems in the district.

Mr Mehta also said traders were not concerned by the proposal to build a hotel and nightclub, having been told by developers that neither was likely to go ahead.

``We'll cross that bridge when we come to it but we're not too concerned about anything which brings more people to the area,'' he said.

Cameras for trucks... finally

This is an interesting article about a truck surveillance system which is to be installed on the Brisbane Urban Corridor (Metroad 2) of the National Highway (or what's left of it). These cameras were supposed to be installed by last year, to coincide with the removal of tolls for heavy vehicles on Brisbane's orbital motorway system. By the looks of it, the AusLink plan is already falling behind. It's pretty pathetic when the stinking rich Federal Government can't even afford to set aside $5 million for a camera system out of the $10+ billion surpluses which have been recorded every year over the past few years!

Southern Star (18 Jan):

A surveillance system is to be installed along Logan Motorway and the Brisbane Urban Corridor from Rocklea to Mansfield to monitor the movement of heavy vehicles through the southern suburbs.

Federal Member for Moreton Gary Hardgrave said once installation was completed in 2007, the system would give a snapshot of delivery and heavy-vehicle movements on suburban roads from the Ipswich to Gateway motorways.

"The camera-activated surveillance technology will be able to monitor driver behaviour, detect speeding, identify over-dimension trucks and even target those vehicles that emit excessive fumes or noise," he said.

"The captured information can be used to develop awareness and education strategies and allow planners to make better informed decisions for funding road improvements on the Brisbane Urban Corridor."

Mr Hardgrave said on-ground surveys had indicated a large variety of vehicles using the Granard, Riawena Kessels, Mt Gravatt-Capalaba roads corridor, with truck usage spread out across the day and night.

"This latest technology will provide round-the-clock monitoring in conjunction with the trial removal of night-time tolls for trucks on the Logan Motorway," he said.

"Owners might be contacted and asked why they prefer one route over another, or companies with large vehicle fleets interviewed about their special needs."

Mr Hardgrave said the technology was similar to Safe-T-Cam equipment used interstate.

"In New South Wales, for instance, a vehicle entering the surveillance net is deemed to have been speeding for part of the journey if it is detected leaving the net before a preset time, based on posted speed limits.

The $5 million scheme, to be funded under the Federal Government's AusLink Investment Program, will have cameras and associated monitoring equipment located on the Ipswich Motorway west of the Logan Motorway intersection, on the Logan Motorway, two sites on the BUC and on the Gateway Motorway.

Gateway Bridge turns 20

Queensland Government (11 Jan):

Twenty years ago today 100,000 people converged on the Gateway Bridge to celebrate its opening, Acting Premier and Acting Transport and Main Roads Minister Anna Bligh announced today.

"Today is a mark in time for many Queenslanders, as they reflect back on the day they walked the full span of the bridge," Ms Bligh said.

When the $135 million Gateway Bridge was opened, it was heralded as a majestic monument to the progress of Brisbane and a great engineering triumph, Ms Bligh said.

"Famous for its distinctive shape, the Bridge was built to accommodate shipping navigation and air-traffic requirements.

"In 1986, the Gateway Bridge boasted the longest cantilevered box girder mainspan in the world, measuring 260 metres from end to end," Ms Bligh said.

"The Bridge, as the Gateway to Queensland, has and continues to contribute significantly to the development of south-east Queensland," Ms Bligh said.

"It provides essential access for commercial and freight traffic to the Australia TradeCoast, including the Port of Brisbane and the Brisbane Airport.

"Currently accounting for more than 40% of the traffic on the Gateway Motorway, this region's contribution to Queensland's economy is forecasted to be 16.3 billion by 2014," Ms Bligh said.

When the Gateway Bridge first opened it saw 12,500 vehicles per day, which increased to 17, 000 per day after its first year. In 2006, more than 100,000 vehicles travel across the Bridge each day.

"This significant growth has meant the Bridge is approaching capacity.

"This year, the Beattie Government will begin the delivery of the $1.6 billion Gateway Upgrade Project that will see the duplication of the Gateway Bridge and the upgrade of 20 kilometres of associated motorway," Ms Bligh said.

"The road component alone for the Gateway Upgrade Project is in excess of $900m in 2005 dollars and should be funded by the Commonwealth Government.

"The Gateway Motorway is part of the national highway and in the past the Commonwealth has met the full cost of work on the motorway, other than the bridge itself which is financed by tolls.

"When completed in 2011, the duplicate bridge will provide six additional lanes, and tolling on both Bridges will be fully electronic, allowing traffic to flow freely.

"The original 1.67km bridge took four years to construct, however the entire Gateway Upgrade Project will be completed in time to celebrate the silver anniversary of our iconic Gateway Bridge," Ms Bligh said.

Queensland Motorways, the owners and operators of the Gateway Bridge, and also the company tasked with delivering the Gateway Upgrade Project, has planned a number of events to celebrate the bridge's 20th anniversary including bridge site tours and commemorative souvenirs.

"The company will be working with the community throughout the year to relive and share their experiences of the historical Bridge opening," she said.

Da Vinci Centre Update

Queensland Government (13 Jan):

Brisbane's cutting edge aviation training and development precinct the Da Vinci Centre was today described by Acting Premier Anna Bligh as Queensland's launch pad into the multi-million dollar industry's future.

Ms Bligh today also announced Brisbane Airport's stellar employment growth has breached the 10,000 barrier - with 10,700 full-time employees in 120 companies on the precinct.

Based at Brisbane's old international airport, the Da Vinci Centre is the country's first airport-based education and training precinct and one of very few in the world.

Launching the Da Vinci Centre today, Ms Bligh said careful planning had enabled Queensland's aviation industry to take off to new, unchartered heights over the past seven years.

"In 1998 Queensland had virtually no aviation sector to speak of but now we can boast a cutting edge industry employing about six thousand people," Ms Bligh said.

"But the best news is that this industry is continuing to grow.

"We've seen major aviation players like Boeing, Virgin Blue, and EADS subsidiary Australian Aerospace already establish at Brisbane Airport, while just a few weeks ago the Australian Defence Force announced it would base a $145 million Unmanned Aerial Vehicle fleet at Enoggera in Brisbane.

"Major aviation contracts are being won by Queensland companies and we are winning them because we have the skilled workers and technology to carry out the work.

"The Da Vinci Centre will ensure that this emphasis on education and training continues so Queenslanders in the future will secure high-tech, well paying jobs within the growing aviation industry."

Ms Bligh said the State Government had committed over $16 million to establish Aviation Australia, which had now become the nation's leading aviation technical training organisation.

"This facility, based at the Da Vinci Centre, has already provided training to over 1,000 people from 50 organisations and 20 countries, in addition to students from all Australian states and territories.

"No matter what aspect of the aviation industry you look at here in Queensland, it's growing, it's going global and it's creating highly-skilled jobs."

She said the Da Vinci Centre also included the Virgin Blue-Alteon Training Centre as well as the $12 million Australian Research Centre for Aerospace Automation, which is to be developed as a centre of excellence for research into the use of unmanned aircraft in civil commercial applications.

"Unmanned Aerial Vehicles are the next big thing in international aviation and Queensland is taking a leading role into the research and development of this new frontier which could possibly be used in remote area farming, fisheries and wildlife surveillance, emergency service and coastal surveillance," She said.

Send me stuff!

If there's an article you've found on the internet that would go well on this site, then please send it to me by clicking the e-mail link in the sidebar (on the left). You can also use this email address to send me any comments or suggestions you may have.

Thanks,
Trent.

Ipswich Mwy update.

South-West News (Jan 4):

Gailes residents will be able to drive to Goodna without having to use Ipswich Motorway from April or May.

A $3.1million bridge over Woogaroo Creek is on target to be completed in three or four months.
Ipswich City councillor Paul Tully (Division 2) said the bridge's pylons were finished and construction was on schedule.

Construction work started on the bridge in July last year, Cr Tully said.

When completed, it will link Bertha St to an Ipswich Motorway service road and, ultimately, Old Logan Rd.

It will be four lanes wide, allowing it to be used as a detour while the motorway undergoes its major upgrade later in the year.

``Initially, it's going to be the bypass to enable the Ipswich Motorway to be constructed,'' Cr Tully said.

The bridge was ``significant'' in that it would then provide permanent access between Gailes and Goodna, he said.

``It saves a bit of time but it's a major safety issue,'' Cr Tully said.

He said there would also be a walkway on the southern side of the bridge.

This will get rid of a few thousand cars per day, and the new Ipswich Mwy/Logan Mwy interchange will reduce accident rates significantly. Good to see some progress being made.

M1 surveying

From the State Government (22 Dec 2005):

Transport and Main Roads Minister Paul Lucas has announced that Main Roads was conducting aerial surveys of the Pacific Motorway between the Gateway Motorway and the Logan Motorway from today.

The Minister said the work was part of the planning and design phase of the Pacific Motorway upgrade between Eight Mile Plains and the Logan Motorway interchange.

"The aerial surveys are part of the Pacific Motorway Transit Project - a suite of projects on the Pacific Motorway between the Gateway and Logan motorways to which the government has allocated $390 million by 2015,'' he said.

The aerial surveys will collect information to update the three-dimensional terrain model for the project.

Aerial photography will be carried out between 9am and 3pm from today till next Thursday (29 December), subject to the weather.

A helicopter will fly low over the suburbs of Eight Mile Plains, Underwood, Rochedale, Springwood and Slacks Creek to complete the work.

The helicopter will momentarily hover over certain structures along the motorway.

This is to avoid shutting down the motorway and having surveyors survey the pavement at ground level.

The survey is expected to cause temporary noise for adjacent residents due to the low traveling height of the helicopter. However, this is necessary to ensure the accuracy of information.

Main Roads appreciates residents' understanding and patience while this work is being conducted.

Good to see some solid work start on this bit of road. I've been wondering why there have been helicopters hovering over southern Brisbane over the past couple of weeks, but that article just solved that one.

Logan MPs keep calling that stretch of motorway a death trap but that's not true. And the accident statistics would back me up on that statmeent. The Western Freeway, however, is a death trap -- that freeway is probably even worse than the Ipswich Mwy, but the Ipswich Mwy just carries more traffic. The Springwood-Loganholme stretch of M1 was upgraded just over 10 years ago and there's nothing really wrong with it. The surface is a bit bumpy (because it has been patched up) and a couple of offramps could be a bit longer, but south of Springwood the road rarely comes to a stop during severe peak hour traffic. The bit between the Gateway Mwy and Springwood, though, is another kettle of fish. No shoulders and there aren't enough lanes. There needs to be at least five lanes in each direction through here, so that traffic has a chance to sort itself out before/after the Gateway Mwy interchange. Also, the Gateway Mwy interchange needs to be demolished and replaced with a stack interchange of some sorts, so that traffic from Browns Plains can transfer directly onto the Pacific Mwy without having to use Logan Road.

Trent.