16 June 2011

Glenloch interchange road closure

| johnboy
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Territory And Municipal Services advise that they’re closing the William Hovell Drive southbound on ramp to the Glenloch interchange from 8pm Tuesday 21 June to 5am Wednesday 22 June as part of the Gungahlin Drive Extension.

Well you did ask them to get on with it.

glenloch interchange

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Felix the Cat said :

I wonder why it seems neccessary to make a drain along the middle of GDE when there wasn’t one previously…

There was a drain there previously, but since the flow of water is no longer tempered by the grass median it probably required some upgrades to cope.

Felix the Cat said :

The Tuggeranong Parkway doesn’t have a drain in the middle…

Drive south up the hill towards Hindmarsh Drive during heavy rain and you’ll wish it did!

Felix the Cat said :

…rather than an expensive wire rope fence…

Installation costs of wire rope barriers are less than concrete ‘jersey’ barriers and, for cars, their crash performance is arguably superior.

Still, I agree that the works could/should have been finished months ago – literally NOTHING has happened in some parts for several months. Seems like a poorly sequenced project to me.

Felix the Cat said :

…And also the wire rope fence in the middle seems an unneccassary expense and probably dangerous to motorcyclists.

The Tuggeranong Parkway doesn’t have a drain in the middle and has large concrete blocks as dividers between the two sides of the road rather than an expensive wire rope fence and it seems to have coped for 20 odd years without any dramas, so why not do the GDE the same way?

While I concede the point for motorcyclists, the use of wire rope crash barriers reduces the amount of damage to the occupant of a vehicle compared to that received when colliding with a less forgiving block of concrete.

Felix the Cat10:11 am 29 Jun 11

I wonder why it seems neccessary to make a drain along the middle of GDE when there wasn’t one previously for however many years it was open before they started ripping it up to make another lane?

And also the wire rope fence in the middle seems an unneccassary expense and probably dangerous to motorcyclists.

The Tuggeranong Parkway doesn’t have a drain in the middle and has large concrete blocks as dividers between the two sides of the road rather than an expensive wire rope fence and it seems to have coped for 20 odd years without any dramas, so why not do the GDE the same way?

We could have had the new lanes opened months ago (and saved tens, if not hundrerds of thousands of $$) if it wasn’t for these unneccassary additions.

Well, this work was completed as stated. And kudos to them for getting it done that day/night as it was freezing and bleak!
Of course, the southbound side of GDE, which is now basically completed, still has no line markings, and still has one lane blocked off with roadwork speed limits still in place (up until the ‘Forest drive’ aboretum overpass!). I can handle that as according to the GDE website, the glenloch bit should be finished in July 2011, so after all these years surely we only have a month left to wait?

Anyway, what is intriguing me at the moment is the northbound side of the glenloch works, which is also due to be completed next month. Two recent bits of work have me a bit confused:
1) The left lane of the northbound glenloch road heading from the parkway towards Aranda has been completed (and of course closed off!) for months. But why is it that they chose now (when it is within a month of completion) to dig a dirty big trench in this brand new (never used) road to seemingly lay some sort of utility pipe under it? And,
2) Further up towards Aranda the other week they drilled holes and concreted in the posts for a wire divider fence between the north and south GDE roads. However, why have they this week removed all the posts and stuffed sponge in all the holes to stops dirt/rocks going in them?

There may be really good explanations for these acts, but it kinda looks like they really don’t plan the work all that well. Is there someone from the Govt asking them what they are doing (with our tax money)? e.g. Surely they should plan in advance and lay all the under-road pipes BEFORE finishing the road?? Is the wire divider fence staying or going??
Does anyone here on RA know anyone involved in the works? I’d love to know explanations for these two examples (i’m sure there are others people have seen, perhaps we should start a list)!

Just gotta hope they actually do what they are suposed to. The number of times I’ve driven through this section, and not a skerrick of work going on. Yet restrictions remain in place 24/7.

Wonder how many idiots will travel a few hundred metres down Parkes Way then try to do a u-turn over the median strip just past the last merge? Seen a few cars do that without any road closures and it is bloody scary when you come around the bend at 80km/h and see a car more or less stopped in the RH lane.

Serious question though, wonder what the detour will be. About the only way would be into the city, exit at Edinburgh Ave and then back down onto Parkes way.

“Well you did ask them to get on with it.”

For sure! That should be the last bit of bitumen work for the southbound side at Glenloch. After some subsequent line marking I’d expect the southbound Glenloch bit to be fully open soon after….? Here’s hoping.

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