13 November 2008

Work complete on Lake Northbourne?

| Hercsie
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Cudos to the company resurfacing Northbourne Avenue between Ipima st and Girrawheen st in Braddon.

The new asphalt doesn’t match up to the guttering on the inside lanes.

So prepare for some hydroplaning when it next rains then.

[ED – Spare a thought for your intrepid RiotACT editor who diced with death on Northbourne to bring you this photo]

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Holden Caulfield10:17 am 17 Nov 08

The local council must have read your original post. 🙂

Noticed this morning that the section we were discussing has in fact been resurfaced up to the level of the gutter.

Gungahlin Al10:32 pm 15 Nov 08

To be fair, they are just prepping that long stretch of Northbourne for total resurface, and the gutters protruding will likely be flush with the road surface when that’s done.

Rat – If you think the Athlon section at the back of the Hyperdome is bad check out the new duplication at the Bonython end – I’m praying to God it’s still a work in progress because if that’s the finished product someone needs to hold off on payment until it’s done properly.

The roadworks are still going on on Northbourne, with the token 50 metres notice with the roadworks ahead and lane closure signs.

Desperately need to do most of the Parkway, particularly southbound, and London Circuit has that many cracks in it and breaking up near Rydges that it could almost be classified a dirt road.

Felix the Cat8:16 pm 13 Nov 08

Maybe we should have a special thread dedicated to the dodgy roadwork around the place. Moreshead Dr is a classic, how much time, money and inconvenience to motorists has there been just to widen the road for two lanes each way but for only part of the length of road! Across the new intersection onto the Monaro Hwy (near the Molongolo River waterski area) they have done the same thing – widenened the road to two lanes for 100m and then narrow down to one for another 100m until it goes back into two lanes again. What a fcuk up, what is this going to do for traffic flow?

What’s the bet the new ramps and roads on Pialligo Ave at the Airport will be a fcuk up too, a la Gungahlin Dr (’nuff said about that already).

It’s a bit hard to work out what exactly they are doing at Hume, I thought they were duplicating Lanyon Dr but it looks like all they are doing at the moment is putting in traffic lights at the intersection of Shepperd St and Lanyon Dr. I think they are putting another set of lights at the intersection of Monaro Hwy and Lanyon Dr too. I wonder if a roundabout might have been cheaper and easier (though I guess a lot of Canberrans don’t know how to negotiate a roundabout correctly so this may be why they decided on lights).

Even though Anzac Pde is well overdue for resurfacing I think it might of been a better idea if they had postponed it until the airport roads were finished as it can be a main thoroughfare to and from the airport/Fyshwick and I think delays are bad enough now.

Then there is the work going on at the intersection of Glenora Dr and Pialligo Ave (entry to the RAAF base), not quite sure what is going on here, probably another set of traffic lights.

Another fcuk up is the new on-road cycling lane on Cotter Road, Weston. Great, except it half way up Cotter Rd (should start at Streeton Dr) and it is quite bumpy and covered with lose gravel so cyclists are forced to use the car lane – defeats the purpose of having a cycle lane if they are going to do such a sh!t job of it that no one uses it.

I was under the impression that’s just the first layer, and once that’s settled they’ll finish it off? I mean the alterations to the roundabout at Moreshead drive are the same, with those extra cm below the gutter line, so…

Hercise – it’s not just Northbourne – the whole place seems to have the problem that the line markers disappear in the wet.

tylersmayhem3:26 pm 13 Nov 08

Seems to be a bit of dodgy roadwork going on at the moment.

Can I take a wild guess here and bet that Leighton did the road work, and as much of a sterling job as their recent building construction collapse.

Trained monkeys could………

Ah yes pug – cudos also to the contractors involved in narrowing Northbourne Ave lanes originally – when they removed the original raised lane markers they did not remove the residual glue so that when you are driving in the wet with high ambient light, you can’t tell if you are driving over the new lane markers or the old glue.

Although I guess when a prime mover wipes out the side of your car you would have an idea..

I’m blaming the road markings for Canberra drivers’ bad wet weather antics. I’m absolutely sure whatever paint they use in NSW is actually more visible in the rain than the mix of paint and raised markers we have here.

Meanwhile, playing chicken on Northbourne? Summernats is months away!

Holden Caulfield11:16 am 13 Nov 08

Zoom envy? :p

caf said :

(Can’t RiotACT Inc. spring for a zoom lens for their intrepid editor? Or at least a fluro vest if he’s going to be playing in traffic 😉

My zoom lens is just fine, but the photo needed context.

Yeah, we actually used to do this down at Wanniassa shops roundabout. Then we realised people were fanging it out just cuz we were there. Saw quite a few young guys come to grief tho.

The best wet weather spectating is at the intersection of Anzac Pde and Parkes Way, where the roundabout contains a gently sloping grass runway leading perfectly into a water feature. Once a car gets onto that wet grass, not much will stop it executing a graceful descent into the pond.

(Can’t RiotACT Inc. spring for a zoom lens for their intrepid editor? Or at least a fluro vest if he’s going to be playing in traffic 😉

yup, quality work. It would almost be worth getting a fold out chair, umbrella & six pack next downpour and watched the drivers iceskate into the back of the car in front. Any Takers?

I have to say, canberra drivers are bad wet weather drivers as it is.

Ah, the joys of outsourcing to the more efficient private sector.

Gungahlin Al9:43 am 13 Nov 08

I think it is entirely unreasonable for you all to expect road construction folk to have an eye for levels. Sheesh you’re demanding…

Back in Qld, I learnt 3 things about all engineering our good roads crews did. Everything took 3 times as long as I figured. Everything cost 3 times as much as I figured it would. And engineers can’t tell up from down without equipment.

In my largely flat and flood-prone coastal electorate, I constantly had drainage lines dug by the crews that anyone could see went uphill at both ends, resulting in wonderful mossie breeding grounds. I quickly learnt that I had to insist (and cop the extra costs of) the crews always use laser levelling to ensure all new drains, well, drained…

Stainless Steel Rat9:40 am 13 Nov 08

Seems to be a bit of dodgy roadwork going on at the moment. Anyone know what is going on with the new bit of road on Athlon Dr at the back of the hyperdome? The road leveling and surface changes are terrible.

Holden Caulfield9:07 am 13 Nov 08

Hercsie mustn’t go past Macarthur Ave, the resurfacing between Antill and Macarthur, on the far right hand lane, has been like this for quite some time.

I thought that was always the case.

Northborne is supposed to be Griffin’s ceremonial ‘gateway’ to the city; but the lanes are too narrow for any visitor to pay attention to anything other than keeping the car inside the lines.

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