Pacific Highway Bypass of Coffs Harbour

[MarkGU]

I am amazed they have left the M1 as they have.  I would have thought connecting the M1 to the A1 and have a decent interchange between the M1, A1, and the New England.  It should have priority.

Al.
see, your thinking common sense with that post, give yaself an uppercut mate. 

[MarkGU]

Grafton is like Sydney, places I'd rather not go to.  The Bridge will be a major improvement for Grafton, will be able to get in and out a lot quicker without these types of idiots. 

https://www.dailyexaminer.com.au/videos/bizarre-standoff-grafton-bridge/62725/

Al.
The brains trust in the 4wd was issued an infringement after this incident.
Stupid got what stupid was asking for. 

[alnjan]

Al.
The brains trust in the 4wd was issued an infringement after this incident.
Stupid got what stupid was asking for. 

As he should.  The new Bridge will make a world of difference for Grafton. 

Mark, have you heard what, or if, they are doing any thing to upgrade the old Highway, from where the New Highway peels off at the turn to Wooli/Airport to Grafton and onto the Gwydir Highway/Summerland Way or does it stay as is for now as that would still be RMS responsibility?

[Hookie]

They're working on it now, it goes East of Grafton and cuts across 8 mile lane before Wooli rd. It's a fair way along. Not sure where you'll get off to catch the Gwydir though.

[MarkGU]

As he should.  The new Bridge will make a world of difference for Grafton. 

Mark, have you heard what, or if, they are doing any thing to upgrade the old Highway, from where the New Highway peels off at the turn to Wooli/Airport to Grafton and onto the Gwydir Highway/Summerland Way or does it stay as is for now as that would still be RMS responsibility?

I havent really heard of a final plan Al.i reckon they will have to upgrade some of it as there are not only Pearsons trucks will have to access it to get into Grafton but all the other tranport companies like ours as well.


One other thing i found strange/ a massive amount of money wasted is the huge shed the contractors were using to make the new Harwood bridge , was simply pushed over by  couple of excavators and sent to the scrap yard when they finished with it  One would have thought it would have been sold off and removed ? There would have to been a few hundred thousand $ worth of shed there.

[alnjan]

I havent really heard of a final plan Al.i reckon they will have to upgrade some of it as there are not only Pearsons trucks will have to access it to get into Grafton but all the other tranport companies like ours as well.


One other thing i found strange/ a massive amount of money wasted is the huge shed the contractors were using to make the new Harwood bridge , was simply pushed over by  couple of excavators and sent to the scrap yard when they finished with it  One would have thought it would have been sold off and removed ? There would have to been a few hundred thousand $ worth of shed there.

On the RMS website there is nothing about upgrading the road to Grafton itself, just the new Highway Upgrades and Bypasses.  Maybe next time round. 

Would have thought if they were not going to use it again, they would have sold it off to someone to auction it all, like they do at other large construction sites.  Rather then reuse and get everything tagged and inspected sell off the old and get all brand new for the next job. 

[Fizzie]

In all the RMS wisedom, they decided that dangerous goods vehicles were to dangerous to use the tunnels outside Byron Bay.Their wisdom is that they use the old pacific highway which incorporates one of the steepest climbs/ decents on the pacific highway with a speed camera at the bottom of it 

So how about the (admittedly short) tunnels on the Yelgun bypass stretch

Do they still send DG trucks over Burringbar

[Rumpig]

One other thing i found strange/ a massive amount of money wasted is the huge shed the contractors were using to make the new Harwood bridge , was simply pushed over by  couple of excavators and sent to the scrap yard when they finished with it  One would have thought it would have been sold off and removed ? There would have to been a few hundred thousand $ worth of shed there.

with WH&S rules being over the top on some of those big sites, it may have been to much hassle to remove it rather then demolish it. Could also have been they were on a tight time schedule, and the fines for going overtime might have outweighed any money they'd have gotten for the shed maybe.

[Cruiser 105Tvan]

My take is that the shed was factored into the cost to start with.
The Accountants would have made sure that shed was paid for before any profit was considered.
So simple answer is, the shed knocked down and sold as scrap, was profit too.

[tryagain]

with WH&S rules being over the top on some of those big sites, it may have been to much hassle to remove it rather then demolish it. Could also have been they were on a tight time schedule, and the fines for going overtime might have outweighed any money they'd have gotten for the shed maybe.

Might have only be designed as a temporary structure as well, that way it may only need to be designed to cope with a 1 in 25yr event as opposed to a 1 in 100 or 200 and therefore be a lot cheaper to build.

[Bird]

Surprised someone still didnt flog it off, sounds like it would have paid for a good xmas party for the boys.

[DaveR]

Gday Dave, hope all is well with you guys.

Hi Mark, yep we're almost all good, just flat out with that horrible W word and no camping...... So no, we're not all good, but I'm working on fixing that.

[alnjan]

So how about the (admittedly short) tunnels on the Yelgun bypass stretch

Do they still send DG trucks over Burringbar

Yelgen? Or would that be the Cudgen Tunnel?

https://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/projects/northern-nsw/northern-tunnels/index.html

Cudgen Tunnel

"Roads and Maritime Services has responsibility for maintaining the Cudgen Tunnel on the Pacific Highway near Chinderah. Routine maintenance of the tunnel is carried out every six months and involves a range of measures such as inspecting the various operating and safety systems. During maintenance one of the tunnels is closed, with traffic diverted through the other tunnel.

Background

The tunnel was built as part of the Yelgun to Chinderah Pacific Highway upgrade, opening to traffic in 2002. It was the first tunnel to be built as part of a rural road project in NSW.  This alignment of the Yelgun to Chinderah motorway was aimed at avoiding the loss of prime cane land, avoiding flood-prone areas and preserving important local animal habitat.

Key features

Twin-tube road tunnel
134m tunnel passing under the Cudgen Road and the Condong Range."

It is short enough not to have the same infrastructure as the other tunnels.

[MarkGU]

So how about the (admittedly short) tunnels on the Yelgun bypass stretch

Do they still send DG trucks over Burringbar

DG trucks have to exit b4 the Tugun tunnel and take DG thru the middle of town. Doesnt make sense to me

[DaveR]

I'm almost certain they shut the Tugan Tunnel because of certain inbound flights with so called VIP's on it.

[alnjan]

Transport Authority has made application to RMS and which other body deals with Dangerous Goods about allowing small numbers of the lesser Dangerous Goods into the Tunnels.  I doubt that will have much affect outside the capital cities

[Cruiser 105Tvan]

Transport Authority has made application to RMS and which other body deals with Dangerous Goods about allowing small numbers of the lesser Dangerous Goods into the Tunnels.  I doubt that will have much affect outside the capital cities

Only take one incident to stop that too.

[alnjan]

yep pretty strict on tunnels.  Basically any type of tunnel over 120m, I think it was, needs a whole host of infrastructure built into it, eg lighting, ventilation, noise mitigation, fire suppression, electrics and communications etc  including 24/7 monitoring.  With scheduled tunnel maintenance every quarter all at a on going yearly cost.   

[Fizzie]

Yelgen? Or would that be the Cudgen Tunnel?

Yep, that's the one, together with 2 (?) other shorter "tunnels" for animals to pass over the highway.

So DGs would be OK there as it's only short?

Bit OT, but something I noticed on that link: "It was the first tunnel to be built as part of a rural road project in NSW"

What about the "convict" tunnel on the Old Grafton Rd

[alnjan]

Yep, that's the one, together with 2 (?) other shorter "tunnels" for animals to pass over the highway.

So DGs would be OK there as it's only short?

Bit OT, but something I noticed on that link: "It was the first tunnel to be built as part of a rural road project in NSW"

What about the "convict" tunnel on the Old Grafton Rd

The short 'tunnels' also sometimes referred to as 'Land Bridges' they can either be a tunnels driven through the hill or as they want to do in Coffs is a large open cut and then build the tunnels and 'back fill' to create a fresh hill.  These are generally used to provide a animal corridor.  As short tunnels yes the Dangerous Goods can go through them.

I have no idea about the first tunnel but I do know the tunnel on the Old Grafton Road is not a convict built tunnel.  No Convicts were used in the construction of the road, was all contract workers. 

[alnjan]

You will be pleased to know we now have a 'Special' group looking after you all regarding the new Bypass. 
They started as a Facebook Page but now they have gone to a web page. 

https://www.coffsbypassactiongroup.com/?fbclid=IwAR2dsq_j3mdCeLDRsExnNrMlRE-RAH40rxlV3X-HKZCHttJVJKtcWDy4NMw

From their Home page....

Our Mission Statement


We are a Community group which represent both residents and visitors in their wish to have the best possible outcome for the Coffs Harbour Bypass.   

We insist on tunnels, asphalt road surface, and an 80kph speed limit along the entire route as the minimum requirements acceptable for this project. 

Tunnels would ensure the minimisation of noise, particulate pollution and visual impacts on the valley.     We believe cuttings would be detrimental to resident’s social amenity, destroy our natural backdrop of the Great Dividing range perceived by tourists as being one of the attractions of Coffs Harbour, and impact on business prosperity.


I just wish they knew what a Bypass was.

On their facebook page I  said if they want 80km/h they don't want a Bypass for road users.  Their response wasn't much better. 

"An 80km/h speed limit compared to 110km/ 100km(for trucks) for a 14km stretch of residential road will add an extra 2.5-3mins onto a journey. It will also drop the noise pollution by approximately 30%...... this road is not all about the road users. We are also talking about the impact to thousands of residents of Coffs Harbour. 3mins extra for a 30% less noise pollution... 80km/h yep!"

The route was selected in 2004, 14 years ago, construction isn't antisipated until after 2020 with a 3 and 4 year construction of the two stages in the Bypass.  Residences, like Council have not accepted it will happen and no plans in place for when it happens.  Going to be interesting

[Troopy_03]

Hahaha... there are some brain dead people in the world eh....

[alnjan]

You will be pleased to know we now have a 'Special' group looking after you all regarding the new Bypass. 
They started as a Facebook Page but now they have gone to a web page. 

https://www.coffsbypassactiongroup.com/?fbclid=IwAR2dsq_j3mdCeLDRsExnNrMlRE-RAH40rxlV3X-HKZCHttJVJKtcWDy4NMw

From their Home page....

Our Mission Statement


We are a Community group which represent both residents and visitors in their wish to have the best possible outcome for the Coffs Harbour Bypass.   

We insist on tunnels, asphalt road surface, and an 80kph speed limit along the entire route as the minimum requirements acceptable for this project. 

Tunnels would ensure the minimisation of noise, particulate pollution and visual impacts on the valley.     We believe cuttings would be detrimental to resident’s social amenity, destroy our natural backdrop of the Great Dividing range perceived by tourists as being one of the attractions of Coffs Harbour, and impact on business prosperity.

It seems they either made some inquiries or a little birdie may have spoken to them, but they have now dropped their insistence on 80km/h speed limit.

Their Mission Statement now reads

" Our Mission Statement


The Coffs Bypass Action Group (CBAG) is a community-based organization whose mission is to:

Ensure the best outcome is achieved for the Coffs Harbour Bypass for the benefit of the community at large.   As a minimum the Bypass should:

1.      Incorporate Tunnels at Roberts Hill, Shepards Lane Hill and Gatelys Road Hill to achieve an acceptable environmental and noise pollution mitigation outcome;

2.      Incorporate noise and pollution considerations to include road surfaces, innovative elevated land bridges and other engineering noise buffering considerations."

[gronk]

CBAG    Fair dinkum.....tunnels are very expensive....won't happen.

Noise buffering.....a couple of noise barriers to keep a couple of residents happy.

[Hairs]

Why have tunnels at all??
They need to be shut for maintenance.
https://m.dailyexaminer.com.au/news/highway-tunnel-will-close-this-week/3573423/

"MOTORISTS are advised of changed traffic conditions this week on the Pacific Highway at the St Helena Tunnel for essential maintenance work to be carried out.

The north and southbound lanes of the tunnel will be closed between 7pm and 6am on Wednesday and Thursday.

Northbound and southbound traffic will be diverted onto the Hinterland Way, between the Byron Road interchange at Bangalow and the Ewingsdale Road interchange at Ewingsdale.

Motorists are advised to allow an additional five to ten minutes travel time for the diversion.

Routine maintenance of the St Helena Tunnel is carried out every three months and involves a range of measures, including inspecting the various operating and safety systems.

Roads and Maritime Services thanks the community for its patience while this essential maintenance work is carried out. "


Sent from my SM-P585Y using Tapatalk