U/C: Dukes Highway Duplication

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rhino
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U/C: Dukes Highway Duplication

#1 Post by rhino » Mon Sep 17, 2007 9:50 am

Alan Scott is calling for a duplication of the Dukes Highway between Tailem Bend and the Victorian border. He and the RAA say it should be funded by Auslink (federal funds). Both sides of SA govt say other projects already underway are more important.

What do you think? Is duplication of the Dukes Highway warranted?

BRYAN LITTLELY, NICK HENDERSON
September 17, 2007 02:15am


SOUTH Australia's richest man, trucking magnate Allan Scott, wants a dual carriageway linking Adelaide and Victoria.
He says the move could curb road carnage and boost freight movement.
In a rare interview, the Mt Gambier-based chairman of the Scott Group of Companies called for the Dukes Highway to be duplicated from Tailem Bend to the border.
Motoring body the RAA is backing Mr Scott and campaigning for a $400 million duplication of the road, which it is has branded unsafe.

"I think what they should be doing is building a dual highway from Tailem Bend down," Mr Scott said. "Even if it takes five years, they should build it all the way . . . all the way to Bordertown.
"We waste a lot of money on jobs that really don't need doing instead of getting into the infrastructure of main roads . . . and that's where we have our accidents. You look at that road from Tailem Bend to Bordertown, the accidents are terrible.
"I think if we had better roads we would have fewer accidents."

Mr Scott, who has an estimated wealth of $515 million, according to this year's BRW Rich List, said the Hume Freeway - a 290km non-stop dual carriageway between Melbourne and Albury-Wodonga - was an example of the road South Australia needed.
The RAA wants the Federal Government to commit to the duplication a slice of $22.3 billion in Auslink funds being distributed between 2009 and 2014.
The latest RAA statistics show there were 274 crashes on the road between 2001 and 2005, resulting in 22 deaths and 203 injuries.
The cost of those crashes is estimated to be about $77 million.
RAA traffic and safety manager Rita Excell said the duplication of the highway must become a long-term project for the Federal Government.
She said Victoria was bidding to have the Western Highway - the continuation of the Dukes Highway in Victoria - duplicated as part of AusLink network funding.

"We would like to see that strategy continued for the South Australian side of the road.
"In the short-term, we think there should be a lot of safety improvements on the roadside."
An RAA report predicts the amount of road freight along the road will have doubled between 2000 and 2020 - from 3305 kilotonnes to 7355 kilotonnes.
"Longer-term planning must consider reconstruction to a four-lane divided carriageway, bypassing minor towns, to complement plans to duplicate more of Victoria's Western Highway," it says.

Mr Scott, 84, said the State Government ignored regional areas, believing "South Australia ends at the foothills".
"I don't know why it is, but this Government doesn't like the South-East," he said.
"There's a lot that's needed down here. We do have some bad accidents down here . . . it's not all to do with the roads, a lot is to do with incompetence, but the roads aren't good."

Transport Minister Patrick Conlon said it was not the State Government's responsibility - but that of the Federal Government - to spend more money on the Dukes Highway. "Overall I believe that the Commonwealth needs to take a greater responsibility when it comes to road funding in the South-East," he said.

Opposition transport spokesman Duncan McFetridge said upgrading the road to a dual-lane highway would be an important project but said there were other roads which needed more urgent attention.
"A higher priority would be the north-south corridor, the Victor Harbor Rd and the Northern Expressway," he said.

Mr Scott also criticised the State Government over the condition of the Riddoch Highway, from Keith to Mt Gambier, which he said desperately needed to be upgraded.
"The road from Adelaide to here, once you turn off at Keith, it's bloody awful and even from Keith up (to Adelaide) the road's not very good," he said.
He argued poor planning by previous state governments was to blame for the state of SA's roads, also citing this as the reason water supply infrastructure had failed.
cheers,
Rhino

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Re: Dukes Highway Duplication

#2 Post by Ho Really » Mon Sep 17, 2007 10:18 am

Yes and no. I used to use this road a fair bit years ago and never had any major issues. Doubling would solve a lot of problems for the inexperienced users who find heavy trucks daunting. Would be best to get trucks and heavy traffic off the highway and put it on an improved rail service. Maybe they should double up on rail instead?

As for accidents, we know why they happen on country roads and it usually isn't the condition of the road itself.

Anyone know the actual condition of the Dukes Highway these days? Don't tell me that trucks have ripped it open!

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Re: Dukes Highway Duplication

#3 Post by Cruise » Mon Sep 17, 2007 10:53 am

sounds great for all those travelling to melbourne for the footy!

i would love to see this happen

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Re: Dukes Highway Duplication

#4 Post by Norman » Mon Sep 17, 2007 10:59 am

I'm going to be driving on it in about a month or so, so I can give you info then.

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Re: Dukes Highway Duplication

#5 Post by Cruise » Mon Sep 17, 2007 11:07 am

ill be driving on it in a fortnight to watch the power play in the grand final!! (fingers crossed)

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Re: Dukes Highway Duplication

#6 Post by stelaras » Mon Sep 17, 2007 12:40 pm

I drive on it frequently as i travel between MElbourne/Adelaide..

Parts of the Dukes Highway has been re-surfaced over the last 2-3 years which is nice and smooth. However, most of it is pretty shocking, bumpy, torn up, undulating, narrow and if your behind a truck god save your car as they kick up a shit load of stones/rocks when they veer off road (no matter what distance you are behind them).

I would be in favour of a dual freeway system over this stretch of road! It would curb lots of nasty accidents and do away with the amount of police radar guns on that stretch of road either side of bordertown.

With the amount of money that goes to national highway maintenance from petrol taxes there should be no reason why the whole of AusLink road system cant be 2 lanes freeway.

That would reduce fatalities by a big shot!

You have no idea how many idiots take risks overtaking 3, 4 or even 5 cars in the one go. When i was a kid ide count the amount of cars ide see on the road, their makes and models etc etc, no i count the amount of idiots that risks, or fly past on bumpy undulating roads at over 130Km/h

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Re: Dukes Highway Duplication

#7 Post by crawf » Mon Sep 17, 2007 1:07 pm

Build a north-south freeway, Northern Expressway and duplicate the Southern Expressway first.

I really don't think the Dukes Highway needs to be duplicated. Maybe down the track, but not now.

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Re: Dukes Highway Duplication

#8 Post by Cruise » Mon Sep 17, 2007 1:16 pm

crawf wrote:Build a north-south freeway, Northern Expressway and duplicate the Southern Expressway first.

I really don't think the Dukes Highway needs to be duplicated. Maybe down the track, but not now.
You only think that because you wont use it

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Re: Dukes Highway Duplication

#9 Post by UrbanSG » Mon Sep 17, 2007 1:46 pm

I recently used the highway on a trip to Melbourne and parts of it are okay, others are shocking. I think there are more important upgrades needed such as the Victor Harbor to Adelaide Road amoung others.

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Re: Dukes Highway Duplication

#10 Post by crawf » Mon Sep 17, 2007 1:51 pm

Cruise Control wrote:
crawf wrote:Build a north-south freeway, Northern Expressway and duplicate the Southern Expressway first.

I really don't think the Dukes Highway needs to be duplicated. Maybe down the track, but not now.
You only think that because you wont use it
Actually I do use it, but there is already a long list of roads that need attention

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Re: Dukes Highway Duplication

#11 Post by Will409 » Mon Sep 17, 2007 3:39 pm

While I havn't been down the Dukes Highway for a good couple of years, I can say that it does need some work done on it. However, I wouldn't go to the effort of making it a dual carriage way just yet. I would personally like to see a great deal more over taking lanes installed because they are few and far between. The northern highway (name slips me at the moment) between Port Wakefield and Port Augusta does have a reasonably good spacing of over taking lanes with one every 15kms or so give or take 5kms each way. A resurfacing for the rest of the road wouldn't go astray either. In some of the narrower sections (if there are any), they sould be widened as well. I agree, something should be done but perhaps not to the scale proposed, yet.

However, more freight should go by rail between the two capitals. While road haulage of freight is good for short 'door to door' and some short country runs from the city (say Adelaide to Murray Bridge or Truro), long intra and interstate hauls (especially in bulk consignments) should go by rail. Most trains now run at up to 1800m in length with as many as 90 wagons attached. Ever stopped to think how many trucks have been taken off the roads? Not only that but if more long haul freight goes on rail, there is less likely chance of having a sleepy truck driver hitting a car. You hearing Alan?
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Re: Dukes Highway Duplication

#12 Post by Shuz » Mon Sep 17, 2007 3:55 pm

Other projects have higher priority, especially Victor Harbor Road. I think the cost of fatalies on that road alone outweigh the cost of fatalies on any other road to warrant a desperately needed duplication or dual carriageway conversion.

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Re: Dukes Highway Duplication

#13 Post by AtD » Mon Sep 17, 2007 7:23 pm

Truck magnate wants more trucks. This is front page news why?

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Re: Dukes Highway Duplication

#14 Post by Ho Really » Mon Sep 17, 2007 8:19 pm

Will409 wrote:...Most trains now run at up to 1800m in length with as many as 90 wagons attached. Ever stopped to think how many trucks have been taken off the roads? Not only that but if more long haul freight goes on rail, there is less likely chance of having a sleepy truck driver hitting a car. You hearing Alan?
Absolutely correct! Also Alan Scott could capitalise on rail too.

Cheers

P.S. Will409, how often do freight trains run on the Adelaide-Melbourne line?
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Re: Dukes Highway Duplication

#15 Post by Will409 » Mon Sep 17, 2007 8:29 pm

Ho Really wrote:
Will409 wrote:...Most trains now run at up to 1800m in length with as many as 90 wagons attached. Ever stopped to think how many trucks have been taken off the roads? Not only that but if more long haul freight goes on rail, there is less likely chance of having a sleepy truck driver hitting a car. You hearing Alan?
Absolutely correct! Also Alan Scott could capitalise on rail too.

Cheers

P.S. Will409, how often do freight trains run on the Adelaide-Melbourne line?
The amount of trains a day on the Adelaide - Melbourne line does vary during the year because you have the high traffic levels needed to meet the christmas rush and also the grain season. The christmas rush does see extra services by all operators put on. On a typical day though between Tailem Bend and Adelaide, you will see between 7-10 trains a day. The line is soon set to get busier with a mineral sands train from Mindarie (on the Tailem Bend to Loxton branchline) to Port Adelaide set to run very soon. The main operator on the line is Pacific National (which ironically is owned by Toll). SCT, QRNational and GWA also operate on the line. SCT and QRNational mainly handle intermodal traffic as does PN while GWA mainly focus on bulk haul such as grain.

Unlike the road through the hills, the track is still on the same alignment as it was when it opened in 1887 with 1 in 45 gradients. No real way that the line can be re routed though. All the better for railfans though, get to hear the locos working, HARD.
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