[COM] M2 Northern Connector | 15.5km | $867m

[Norman]

Conlon already said it won't be a toll road.

[jimmy_2486]

and you believed him??...........

[AtD]

If it were, it'd be the most pointless toll in history.

[jimmy_2486]

If the northern and southern expressways were joined with the northern and north/south corridor then the whole thing could be tolled to reduce the possibility of excessively high traffic volumes and to encourage more PT use. The funds could goto improving the PT system which could make a toll a good thing considering apparently we don't have any money for improvements in that area.

[adam73837]

Hold on a minute. We are talking about a tolled north-south corridor alongside South Road, when there are a few points to be considered first.

• Why build this if we are already spending millions on underpasses and overpasses? If we're going to build this corridor, STOP BUILDING UNDER/OVERPASSES!!!

• Doesn't the majority of peak hour traffic go onto Anzac Highway after travelling along South Road?...

• If there's freight coming from PA and from the north bound for the SE of the state, once they get off of South Road, they need to travel up Cross Road. Isn;t another option to do the A17, A16 route?...

Have a think about it. I'm not saying that the corridor's a bad idea, but just have a think about these points.

[Norman]

Hold on a minute. We are talking about a tolled north-south corridor alongside South Road, when there are a few points to be considered first.

• Why build this if we are already spending millions on underpasses and overpasses? If we're going to build this corridor, STOP BUILDING UNDER/OVERPASSES!!!

• Doesn't the majority of peak hour traffic go onto Anzac Highway after travelling along South Road?...

• If there's freight coming from PA and from the north bound for the SE of the state, once they get off of South Road, they need to travel up Cross Road. Isn;t another option to do the A17, A16 route?...

Have a think about it. I'm not saying that the corridor's a bad idea, but just have a think about these points.

Anzac Highway is 3 lanes.

[rhino]

[quote="adam73837"]Hold on a minute. We are talking about a tolled north-south corridor alongside South Roadquote]

Who is?

We're talking about a freeway next to the Port Wakefield Road between the South Road/Salisbury Highway and Taylors Road, to join the Port River Expressway with the Northern Expressway (hence the name "Northern Connector").

[drsmith]

I like it but I have doubts that it will be built by 2017, particurally if the economic situation becomes more challenging over the next few years.

As for tolls I can see a time when all freeways in Australia will be tolled. In the late 1980's there no tolls on any of Melbourne's freeways.

[drsmith]

When looking at images of the New Northern Gateway and the Northern Connector I am suprised at the extravagance of some of the interchanges. While free flowing high speed interchanges are essential where the new roads connect to the Gawler Bypass and with the Port River Expressway, I would have thought that minor variations to the standard diamond interchange would be sufficient for access to the local road network inbetween.

Looking more specifically at the interchange between the Northern Connector and the Port Wakefield Road I notice that while it is free flowing, there is no carrigeway (bridge) for northbound traffic along Port Wakefield Road. To me a more functional interchange would be one that is essentially the same as current Port Wakefield Road/Port River Expressway diamond. This would allow movements both southbound and northbound along Port Wakefield Road. While this would result in traffic lights on Port Wakefield road, it would only be a two phase signal.

Local road access to the Northern Connector between Port Wakeifield Road and the Port River Expressway also strikes me as overkill given the access the existing Port Wakefield Road will provide for local traffic to the Port River Expressway and the New Northern Gateway.

[Cruise]

New Northern Gateway?

did i miss something?

[drsmith]

Given that the two projects essentially comprise two different sections of one road I was looking at it as a whole and specifically where cost savings could be made on local road access.

[Wilfy 2007]

Has anybody considered that the Northern Connector could the SA Governments return to resurrecting Railways in SA.
If the Rail Side of the Northern Connector goes ahead, there are opportunities for new rail to Buckland Park, the Mid north and the barossa.
A new Rail line could be built beside the Northern expressway to connect to the Roseworthy and possibly on to Truro or perhaps further north for a connection to the Hills Bypass if it ever goes ahead.
Regards,
Wilfy 2007
http://www.freewebs.com/saroeight/

[Ho Really]

There are several aspects about this Northern Connector and the railway down the middle that has me thinking. What would happen if there was a train accident or derailment? Where would the jack-knifed freight carriages go? If there was a major road accident could vehicles end up on the railway lines? In the brochure there is a cross-section showing the carriageways and rail lines, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of distance between them. It is also mentioned that there won’t be any level crossings. Where would emergency vehicles cross the tracks if they were required to? What about bridges? Would they cross narrowed sections of the corridor or would they all have longer than usual spans, something similar to a Victoria Bridge on the Torrens? I hope those planning the corridor have considered these issues (risks) in their assessment.

Cheers

[AtD]

Ho Really: Perth does it.

[Shuz]

No offence, but just because someone else does it doesnt mean its always right.