Contractor announced for ‘congestion-busting’ Kingsford Smith Drive upgrade
Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk last week announced Lendlease has been selected as the preferred contractor to design and build the council’s ‘congestion-busting’ infrastructure project, the Kingsford Smith Drive upgrade.
Cr Quirk said the appointment would deliver the best outcomes both for Brisbane motorists, public transport users, pedestrians, cyclists and the local community.
“This new contract will not only tackle congestion by delivering travel time savings of up to 30 per cent but will also create an estimated 3,000 much needed jobs for our local economy,” he said.
“There is no denying the delivery of key infrastructure such as the Clem7, Go Between Bridge, Airport Link and Legacy Way is delivering travel time savings for motorists right across our suburbs.
“Council is confident Lendlease will deliver an iconic project for Brisbane, expanding one of our city’s most important traffic corridors to help future-proof Brisbane for generations to come.
“It will also serve as a wonderful gateway for the millions of tourists, visitors and residents who enter the city along this route every year.
“The Lendlease bid was chosen because of the outstanding value for money it provides for ratepayers by combining innovative design with strong community outcomes.”
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Warren Truss welcomed the announcement and described the upgrade to Kingsford Smith Drive as an investment in Brisbane’s future.
“As one of Australia’s fastest growing cities, Brisbane needs well-planned infrastructure to meet the future demands of residents, businesses and industry,” Mr Truss said.
“The Australian Government is investing in key infrastructure to keep the south east corner moving, and this upgrade to Kingsford Smith Drive will have a key role in cutting congestion and improving productivity for the city, the state and the entire nation.”
Cr Quirk said the $650 million upgrade would boost business and economic development by increasing capacity on one of Brisbane’s busiest roads.
“Kingsford Smith Drive is one of the most significant routes in the city for Brisbane’s economic prosperity and has been operating at capacity for several years, with peaks of up to 70,000 vehicles a day,” he said.
“By 2031, the Airport, Port of Brisbane and major growth areas including Northshore Hamilton and the Australia Tradecoast are expected to generate about 30,000 additional vehicle trips per day.”
Cr Quirk said the upgrade would form a key part of Council’s balanced approach to managing growth and tackling traffic congestion.
“The upgrade provides travel time savings of up to 30 per cent in 2031 for an inbound trip in the AM peak between Theodore Street and Breakfast Creek Road,” he said.
“However, the Kingsford Smith Drive upgrade will be much more than just a road project.
“In addition to providing increased road capacity to accommodate future traffic volumes, the upgrade will also deliver significantly improved public transport, pedestrian and cycle facilities for both existing residents and the developing Northshore precinct.
“Our Kingsford Smith Drive upgrade allows for a high frequency bus service to be introduced to meet demand from Hamilton Northshore and we will discuss this with the State Government as the Hamilton Northshore development expands and be seeking a meeting with the State Government about this as soon as possible.
The Kingsford Smith Drive upgrade will see the road widened from four to six lanes between Theodore Street at Eagle Farm and Cooksley Street at Hamilton. It will also include improvement works between Cooksley Street and Breakfast Creek Road at Albion.
Preliminary works on the upgrade are expected to start later this year with construction beginning in early 2016 and completion expected in 2019.
Source: News Release, Urbanalyst, 23 November, 2015
http://www.premier.vic.gov.au/victorias-economic-growth-more-than-doubles-in-a-year