Page 1052 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 21 March 2012
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be traffic disruption associated with this project. Overall, it will be a good project for all of us, though—for those who travel from the south who currently use Tuggeranong Parkway and for those from the north and west who use William Hovell Drive and then GDE to get on to Parkes Way.
We all know about the frustrations that roadworks can generate, so it is important that roadworks and the impact of roadworks are managed to minimise to the extent that it is possible the impact on traffic, especially during peak times. The advice I have received today is that by making use of the existing wide sealed shoulder on Parkes Way, it will be possible to maintain two lanes of traffic in both directions through the project while the third lane is being constructed in the grassed median. While traffic will slow as it passes through the work site, as is necessary, I am confident that people will see the long-term benefit of this project.
Having improved the capacity of Parkes Way, the next bottleneck is the exit from Parkes Way to Commonwealth Avenue. As those who travel on this road know only too well, this can be a very slow movement. To address this, improvements to the exit lane from Parkes Way to Commonwealth Avenue are also included as part of the works currently out to tender. People familiar with the area will also know that delays can be experienced by the current arrangements with London Circuit and Commonwealth Avenue, and those works will provide some relief to these delays.
The government is providing road infrastructure right across Canberra which includes not only the Parkes Way widening improvements but in partnership with the federal government the $288 million Majura Parkway project, which will be the biggest road infrastructure program since self-government. This project is well underway, with the construction tender planned to be called in May 2012 and a construction contract to be let in August 2012. We expect construction will be underway in November 2012 with the road to be completed on the current timetable by 2016. Public information sessions have been held for the Majura Parkway project last month, and a DA for the construction work will be lodged with the planning authorities in April.
Construction contracts have been let and are underway, as many members will see, on Barry Drive covering the $7 million upgrade of the Clunies Ross intersection and the $9.4 million contract for the first stage of the Belconnen to city transit way project as part of the transport for Canberra strategy. The planning and design work for the $42 million upgrade of Constitution Avenue is also underway with construction planned to commence later this year.
The government acknowledges that making these prudent investments in infrastructure and responding to the needs of the community is what this government is all about. It is about long-term planning, having a transport strategy that recognises the importance of public transport, our road capacity and the need to move commuters, in particular, through peak traffic periods.
Responding to the clauses in Mrs Dunne’s motion, the government is aware that the traffic flow on William Hovell Drive is impacted by the capacity of Parkes Way and Glenloch interchange. The need to upgrade William Hovell Drive will be monitored by TAMS, and feasibility work will be undertaken to establish the engineering
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