Midland Highway 10 Year Action Plan

Transcription

1 Midland Highway 0 Year Action Plan

2 Midland Highway 0 Year Action Plan The Midland Highway 0 Year Action Plan sets out key priorities for investing $500 million over 0 years to upgrade the highway and improve road safety on Tasmania s key north-south freight route. We will improve road safety and decrease driver frustration by providing a safer road with more overtaking opportunities. A star safety rating for the Midland Highway The objective of our 0 year investment in the Midland Highway is to deliver a minimum star rating for the highway s entire length. The Australian Road Assessment Program (AusRAP) is part of the International Road Assessment Program (irap) that uses star ratings to measure the safety of a road s infrastructure. Each road is assigned a star rating which tells us how safe the road itself is and allows road safety improvements to be identified and costed. The AusRAP Star Rating Australia s National Network of Highways 0 report found that the majority of the Midland Highway rated either only or star, in its 5 star safety rating scale. How will we achieve a star rating? Narrow median with flexible barrier Upgraded junctions To achieve the safety benefit, a number of road treatments can be applied. These include: Lane separation with flexible safety barriers can achieve a 90% reduction in serious road trauma caused by head-on and run-off road crashes. Audible edge lines (rumble strips) alert drivers when they wander towards the edge of the road and provide time to recover. Extended sealed shoulders prevent loss of control when a vehicle crosses the edge line. Clearing roadside hazards or providing roadside barriers where hazards can t be removed. Improving skid resistance of road surfaces. Upgrading junctions by providing turning lanes to allow turning vehicles to move out of the traffic flow. Alignment upgrades to smooth out tight corners and blind spots. Constructing + lane arrangements to improve overtaking opportunities and avoid driver frustration. The Midland Highway upgrade will use the Safe System approach, which has been adopted by all Australian state and territory road authorities. The approach recognises that people will make mistakes which result in crashes and road infrastructure needs to be designed to take account of these errors. For the majority of the length of the Midland Highway, the predominant crash type is loss of control, most of which are single vehicle crashes with some resulting in head-on crashes. Audible edge lines (rumble strips) + configuration Dual carriageway Dual carriageways are provided at locations where traffic volumes are higher, generally near Launceston and Hobart. This Action Plan includes the construction of a dual carriageway from Perth to Breadalbane in northern Tasmania. The provision of a four lane highway will remain a long term goal which will be achieved by upgrading in a staged process as traffic volumes increase.

3 Midland Highway map of proposed works Hobart brooker hwy east derwent hwy lyell hwy boyer rd Brighton 6 elderslie rd black brush rd ballyhooly rd Bagdad Kempton clifton vale rd mud walls rd stonor rd Tunnack rd highland lakes rd muddy plains rd lower marshes rd jericho rd Oatlands Tunbrid sorell springs rd glen morey rd mon List of actions Road safety improvements have been identified to deliver a star safety rating. These include projects at specific sites as well as treatments along the entire highway corridor. Specific safety treatment locations are shown on the map. Dual carriageway between Perth and the Breadalbane Roundabout Alignment upgrades at identified crash black spots: Mona Vale Junction White Lagoon South of Tunbridge curve improvements and wide central median Perth Link Roads construction of a southern link from the South Esk River crossing to Illawarra Main Road to take heavy vehicles travelling to Burnie out of the town. We will also plan for the longer term western Perth link road, connecting Illawarra Road to the Perth-Breadalbane section. Additional + overtaking facilities between; White Lagoon and Mona Vale Kempton and Muddy Plains Road Jordan River Bridge and Lemon Hill Lemon Hill and York Plains Road Macquarie River and Campbell Town Campbell Town and Conara Epping Forest and Powranna Symmons Plains and Perth Upgrading of existing overtaking facilities to accommodate central median barrier between Dysart and Kempton, north and south of Spring Hill. Junction upgrades at: Mudwalls Road Sorell Springs Road Esk Main Road Kings Meadows Connector Roundabout Safety improvements between Mangalore and Bagdad. St Peters Pass- safety improvements will include junction upgrade, sight distance improvements, safety barrier and shoulder sealing.

4 Region map Launceston Hobart BARTON RD Perth 7 5 ILLAWARRA RD bass hwy Kings Meadows Connector Launceston ge tier rd a vale rd auburn rd Ross stony gully rd ashby rd Conara Campbell Town GLEN ESK RD ESK MAIN RD Map key Epping Forest VUE RD Road work key Midland Highway Lane separation Existing -star rating Additional lanes Proposed road work Junction improvement Major intersecting road Alignment upgrade Major town 5 Dual carriageway City 6 Safety improvements Completed works 7 New link road Safety improvements to the junction of Mud Walls Road and the Midland Highway includes a new deceleration left turn lane for south bound traffic turning into Mud Walls Road allowing them to move out of the flow of through traffic. Road widening to install safety barrier at sites both south and north of Spring Hill has been completed, resulting in improved safety. A new roundabout at the Kings Meadows Connector is improving safety by addressing queuing onto the Midland Highway.

5 Federal Minister s message The Midland Highway has been one of Tasmania s vital transport arteries for more than two centuries. It is essential to Tasmania s future that the highway is transformed and fully modernised. A better Midland Highway will greatly improve road safety, reduce travel times for drivers and boost the State s economic growth. To achieve these essential goals the Australian Government is investing $00 million in projects that will regenerate the Midland Highway along its entire length. These projects will ensure the highway meets the safety standards and the quality Tasmanians have every right to expect of a key part of Australia s national highway network. We are pleased to partner with Tasmania in making this investment and I congratulate the Tasmanian Government for its development of the Midland Highway 0 Year Action Plan. The Action Plan details a comprehensive range of works which will make the Midland fit for future needs. These include the Southern Perth link road which will take heavy vehicles travelling to Burnie out of the town; duplication from Perth to the Breadalbane roundabout; three alignment upgrades; eight new + overtaking lanes and upgrades to three existing overtaking lanes; and four junction upgrades. These works will vastly improve the experience of driving the Midland Highway and create better links between Tasmania s two largest cities and the State s regions. Infrastructure is the bedrock of economic growth and a better society. The Australian Government is investing a record $50 billion in transport infrastructure projects from 0- to 09-0 onwards. Our investments in critical infrastructure throughout Australia, such as the Midland Highway and other Tasmanian projects, will help create prosperity throughout the nation. I look forward to the benefits that the revitalised Midland Highway will bring to Tasmania and to Tasmanians. State Minister s message The Midland Highway 0-Year Action Plan sets out key priorities for investing $500 million over 0 years to upgrade the highway and improve road safety on Tasmania s key north-south passenger and freight route. This Action Plan forms an important part of the Tasmanian Government s Roads for Our Future program, which brings together all the investment in the road network we manage. As a vital link for road freight to transport goods between Tasmania s two major cities, and an important social link between regions, there is a mix of vehicle types on the road. In recent years, the tragic fact is that it has witnessed catastrophic casualty crashes, many of the head-on type. The Midland Highway Partnership Agreement signed between the previous Government and the seven stakeholder local councils, reflects the policy objective of the new Liberal Government that the entire route should become a four-lane, separated highway. This objective informs this Action Plan. While this remains our long-term goal, we must act now and use known road safety engineering treatments, like flexible barrier, to make the Midland Highway safer. From a Safe System approach, a key safety priority for the Midland Highway is the separation of opposing traffic flows. The Australian Road Assessment Program (AusRAP) 0 Star Rating Australia s National Network of Highways report found that 86% of the Midland Highway is rated either only or -star, in its 5-star safety rating scale. This is unacceptable and must be improved. We will use the AusRAP safer roads methodology, an international road safety audit approach developed by the Australian Automobile Association, to underpin our investment thinking. A key metric for this Action Plan is to significantly improve safety to a minimum AusRAP star rating over the entire length of the highway. We will make the Midland Highway safer through the installation of the successful flexible safety barriers, by introducing wider medians, removing roadside hazards, investing in junction upgrades, widening lanes and adding additional overtaking opportunities. This Action Plan outlines our priority road safety objectives for the entire length of the Midland Highway over the next decade to improve safety for all road users. We ve listened to the community and we will make the Midland Highway safer. Warren Truss Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Rene Hidding Minister for Infrastructure

6 Contact For further information, contact the Department of State Growth Phone: Web: