We’re building a better Pacific Highway, but we’re doing it on the cheap
The long, hard, deadly road that is the Pacific Highway is inching its way towards dual lane carriageway from Hexham to the Queensland border. Progress is being made, but we’re still looking at ten years, at least, before the job is done.
Still, if you’re heading north from Sydney, there’s now only 27 kilometres of old highway remaining between the start of the F3 at Wahroonga, and Taree.
That’s now being converted to dual lane carriageway; work is also about to start on the next part of the northern link, from Coopernook to Heron’s Creek. When that’s done, you’ll be able to reach Port Macquarie from Sydney in about three and a half hours.
Fifteen years ago, it took nearly six hours.
But it’s obvious that safety is not the highest priority in the highway upgrade. Drivers wishing to enter or cross the dual carriageway from many side roads are now faced with an even more dangerous situation, because highway traffic is going faster, and there are four lanes to negotiate if they are crossing the intersection.
Where these intersections have been retained, the RTA has in some locations reduced the speed limit on new dual carriageway sections to 90 km/h, rather than doing the job properly and achieving the best safety outcome by building an overpass with entry and exit ramps.
They build proper motorways in the rest of the developed world. Why not here?
September 18th, 2007 at 9:01 am
Yes, they do it much better in the rest of the world. Why do Australians have to re invent the wheel.
My main gripe is truck drivers. Even the local pollies praise their courtesy etc. I am still waiting to experience this for myself. Its about time the rail network was up graded to take these monsters off the roads. I have one that passes about every 24 hrs. and sounds a fanfare no matter what time of the day it is. It would appear that I will have to suffer this as noone appears able to do anything about it.
September 19th, 2007 at 2:32 pm
You would think that when the Germans were making highways the right way back in 1930s that we could have learned from them. If you want to see a road that is designed for accidents come to Brisbane and go for a drive on the gateway Arterial North from the river . There is probably not one straight stretch until it joins the main road North at Bald Hills. Every day it gets blocked with accidents and the traffic gets worse every day.
WE need to get a few Roman road builders onto the job. Its not even as if they had to dodge houses as its out in the swamp land past the Airport.
I think the builders got paid by the number of bends.
September 19th, 2007 at 9:00 pm
Yes, they are cheapening the Pac Hwy upgrade to get kilometres on the board. Look at the newer sections completed, many of which have pathetic barriers instead of true carriage way separation. A B-double requires at least its length between carriageways to avoid collision when it jacknifes. Imagine the mayhem triples will cause! We must never allow triples on our roads under any circumstances. Be prepared for a bitter battle with the trucking industry.
September 20th, 2007 at 8:11 am
All tardiness/ineptness from governments in road building and aside, we do have a very large country for our small population and its a relatively big impost on our economy to be able to afford the funds for road construction. I was only just reading some piece of trivia about Australia having the most train track per capita and I’m sure its close to that with roads.
September 20th, 2007 at 8:11 am
I don’t have a problem with the slow pace they are upgrading the highway, as long they don’t slap us with another toll to pay for the roads we have already financed with our registration fees and 3 x 3 Fuel tax. We have the highest fees and yet some of the worst roads. Our governments answer is to privatise. No thanks.
September 20th, 2007 at 11:26 am
It really makes me angry to see the lack of funding for this road over many years which has to be one of the busiest and most dangerous in Aust. Especially during holidays when tourists drive the same way at 110km plus as they do in the city at 60km by tailgating etc. $3 billion a year in NSW GST revenue is being diverted to other states for policital gain by the Howard goverment. The Federal Government raises 80% of all tax revenue and yet funding to the States has been declining for years. By all means get trucks off the road with better rail, but also a safer wider road would help people avoid the idiots.
September 20th, 2007 at 12:27 pm
Without a doubt we need the dual carriageway from Brisbane to Sydney and yes I agree it is being done slowly. What concerns me is the total disregard for public transport on this route. Other developed countries have superior roads but those countries and lesser developed countries have rail systems within cities and between cities that make ours look less than third world. A very fast train system and an upgraded frieght system will have 2 outcomes - less cars on this road and less trucks.
Good grief we might even assist the environment!
September 26th, 2007 at 2:50 pm
The reason why the freeway is costing more but we are getting a lessor standard of road is because more than 30% of the cost is going to protect every ant and bee found along the route. I am most disapointed at the loss of the wide vegetated median strip now disappearing on naerly all future sections because of the impact on ‘native vegetation and wildlife’. Why is it that as a community we now place a higher price on saving a few possums than on saving human lives. The aerial wires installed at Karuah for possums to cross cost over $100,000! Just think, if it wasn’t for NSW Government environmental controls aimed at protecting every tree in the State, there would be over 100 kilometres more of the freeway completed by now.
September 27th, 2007 at 10:08 am
As long as the focus of our traffic engineers remains on speed and not safe driving conditions and practices they will continue to take short cuts and introduce unsafe road designs. Time is long overdue that our authorities come to realise that speed is only one component of safety on our roads, road design and sound driving practices are far more important. It is really time for a total rethink. In order for this to happen it will be necessary to introduce a new culture of thought in the near moribund RTA organisation from the one that rules and has ruled for the past several decades. An opportunity to introduce new ideas was lost when the last CEO left earlier this year and was replaced from internal sources. But then what can we expect from a state government that also has been in power too long and has cleaLY run out of ideas… and cash. Still that is another issue!
January 28th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
It’s easy to build them like they do in the rest of the Western World. Either charge $4 per litre for petrol (as they should), or raise taxes (effectively subsidising road tansport). You can’t have it boths ways!