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Australia

Bridge upgrade on Centenary Motorway at Jindalee delayed due to contract issues

Bridge upgrade on Centenary Motorway at Jindalee delayed due to contract issues

The construction of a new northbound bridge at the notorious Centenary Bottleneck Motorway over the Brisbane River at Jindalee has been delayed until 2023.

The $244 million project involves duplicating the Centenary Bridge and converting the existing bridge to a three-lane southbound route, with a new three-lane bridge traveling northbound.

Transport Minister Mark Bailey said contract issues had complicated the upgrade’s timeline, with delays due to an alternate bid being submitted for the project that required “thorough due diligence” before work could proceed.

“[The delay is] unfortunate but not a huge delay, so we’re getting it built as soon as we possibly can,” Mr Bailey said.

“We’ll certainly see construction start next year.”

He said the bridge upgrade was a critical part of the Centenary Motorway upgrades throughout the west of Brisbane.

“Without the bridge [upgrade] whatever other work you do is still going to grind to a halt with limited lanes across the river,” he said.

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The Centenary Motorway currently carries 85,000 vehicles daily, with use expected to balloon out to 152,000 vehicles daily by 2036, as the population of Ipswich, Springfield and western Brisbane booms.

Between 2010 and 2016, the motorway recorded nearly 200 crashes.

The RACQ’s monthly travel speed data reported that in May 2022, Brisbane’s slowest inbound morning traffic was just 25 kilometers per hour on the Centenary Motorway from the Ipswich Motorway to Dandenong Road, adding nearly nine minutes to the morning commute.

The bridge upgrade, jointly funded by the federal and state governments, is one of several road upgrades along the Ipswich corridor, including a recently completed $80 million upgrade to the Sumners Road interchange at Jamboree Heights.

Another $10 million in federal funding has been set aside to investigate more upgrades along the Centenary Motorway through to Ipswich.

Mr Bailey said, to date, the bridge upgrade’s budget remained at $244 million, but department planners were closely monitoring the global inflation of construction materials.

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Australia

Canberra’s light rail to become wireless through Parliamentary Triangle with joint federal and ACT government funded contract

An artists impression showing London Circuit and Commonwealth Avenue.

Canberra’s light rail network will become wireless through the Parliamentary Triangle as construction continues into the city’s south, following a joint investment from the federal and ACT governments.

It was announced this morning that a contract had been awarded for early works on stage 2 of the network, with five new wire-free light rail vehicles to be introduced from 2024, while the existing vehicles would be retrofitted with onboard batteries.

In a statement, the ACT government said this would enable the vehicles to operate wirelessly along the route’s extension throughout the parliamentary zone, stage 2A to Commonwealth Park and stage 2B towards Woden respectively.

The government said it would also be expanding its light rail depot at Mitchell to facilitate the ongoing maintenance of the fleet, with construction expected to be completed in mid-2024.

Contract for wireless network a ‘critical milestone’

A light rail vehicle sits at an intersection in Canberra.
Work will be done to expand the light rail depot at Mitchell, before five new vehicles are introduced to the network.(ABC News: Ian Cutmore)

The government said work to raise London Circuit as part of the construction of light rail stage 2A was expected to commence “soon”.

“This will be followed by the submission of an environmental assessment and works approval application for the stage 2A project, so construction of the light rail line can commence soon after raising London Circuit is complete,” the statement said.

“Canberrans will be able to have their say on the final light rail design early next year, when it goes on public display as part of the works approval application.”

ACT Minister for Transport and City Services Chris Steel said the joint contract with the federal government was a “critical milestone” for the delivery of the light rail extension.

“We need to order new LRVs now, and upgrade our existing fleet and depot, to ensure we have enough vehicles manufactured, delivered, tested and ready to start services to Commonwealth Park when construction of the track is completed,” Mr Steel said.

“Moving to retrofit all existing LRVs with onboard energy systems for wire-free running shows our commitment to delivering light rail, not only to Commonwealth Park, but right through the Parliamentary Triangle to Woden.

“The five new vehicles will be built for Canberra’s future light rail system and will support the same high frequency services on the next stage that have been embraced by Canberrans on the first stage.”

Federal Member for Canberra Alicia Payne said the project would boost local employment.

“The LRV modifications and depot expansion will increase the network’s capability to improve connectivity for people needing to travel for work or to access services and events in the southern part of the city,” she said.

“This project and associated works are expected to support up to 1,000 jobs over its life, which is a significant amount of local employment.”

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Categories
Sports

NRL 2022: Jock Madden responds to possible Luke Brooks extension

NRL 2022: Jock Madden responds to possible Luke Brooks extension

Tigers half Jock Madden has dismissed rumors linking him with a move to Penrith and says Luke Brooks’ future plans won’t affect his decision making when his contract expires at the end of the season.

The 22-year-old has been in and out of the team for the past two years but has a clean run in the No.7 jersey with Brooks set to miss the rest of the season with a calf injury.

Madden was the perfect foil for Adam Doueihi on Saturday night when the Tigers shocked the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium, and it’s no coincidence he’s been involved in their two highest scores of the season against Brisbane and the Bulldogs back in round 11 when they scored 36 points .

But Madden is off-contract and there’s no guarantee he’ll stay at the club that handed him his NRL debut, especially after incoming coach Tim Sheens said he wanted Brooks to sign on beyond next year.

“Not at all,” Madden replied when asked if the Brooks news would affect his plans for the future.

“I’m just worrying about my role this weekend for the team.

“I’m just taking it one week at a time and purely focusing on the Knights.

“That’s my manager’s role. I’m just focused on this week and I’ll leave the off-field stuff to my manager.”

The next five weeks can be seen as an audition for Madden, who made the move to the Tigers from Newcastle where he played his junior footy.

His control is exactly what Doueihi needs to play his natural game at five-eighth, and Madden’s own form will only blossom if he’s given the opportunity to keep working under Tigers great Benji Marshall, who will become the coach in 2025.

“You can think of it like that way (an audition), but I’m just purely focused on a week-by-week thing. I’m trying not to get too far ahead of myself,” Madden said.

“When I signed down here at the Tigers, I thought it would be a really good experience for me to learn under Brooksy, Benji, Robbie Farah and Josh Reynolds.

“We had a lot of really experienced players here who played at the highest level. I thought it was a good opportunity to grow my game here.

“I’ve done a lot of work with Benji. My first two years here were with him and I’ve always stayed in contact with him.”

Madden will again get the opportunity to steer the side around the park against the Knights on Sunday, but he’ll have to step up with Jackson Hastings out for the rest of the season with a broken ankle.

Winger Ken Maumalo described Hastings as the “glue in the middle” that holds the team together but backed Madden to shine with the added responsibility.

“Ever since I got here, I knew he was a talent,” Maumalo said.

“The way he trains and the way he carries himself is testament to his character. He just needs an opportunity, and he’s got it now. I know he’s going to grab it with both hands.”

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