8 August 2019

Northbourne Avenue road works to continue to mid-2020

| Lachlan Roberts
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Northbourne Avenue will be the scene of more road works until the middle of next year. Photo: Region Media.

Motorists will have to wait until the middle of next year for all three lanes of Northbourne Avenue to be open, with asphalting, re-sealing and pavement rehabilitation works expected to take place over the next 10 months.

The ACT Government is expecting roadworks to continue on the busy thoroughfare till the middle of next year, with the northbound lanes between MacArthur Avenue, O’Connor and Antill Street, Dickson to be repaired.

A Transport Canberra and City Services spokesperson said the road works will commence following the completion of light rail activities along Northbourne Avenue but expected the works to be completed by the middle of 2020.

The spokesperson said Canberra Metro is currently finalising construction works which were not essential to be completed prior to the launch of the Gungahlin to City light rail in April, as per its contract with the ACT Government.

“It is expected that all remaining works within the light rail corridor associated with asphalting and re-sealing of roads will be finalised by the end of September [2019],” the spokesperson said. “Some of the current works include finalising intersection and road works and the installation of wayfinding signs at the MacArthur Avenue stop.”

After the asphalting and re-sealing is completed next month, “pavement rehabilitation works” will be undertaken to reduce the need for regular maintenance.

“The completion date for the pavement rehabilitation works is dependent on the start date – but we expect to be completed in mid-2020,” the spokesperson said.

“Northbourne Avenue is a heavily trafficked road, this constant flow of traffic has a wear and tear effect on the road and these works were always expected to be undertaken following light rail construction.

“Rehabilitation of the pavement on this section of the road will improve skid resistance, remove defects and reduce the need for regular maintenance.

“As well as benefiting motorists, the many cyclists who use this section of road will enjoy a smoother journey.”

The pavement rehabilitation works will be undertaken lane by lane with two lanes remaining open at all times, with speed limit reductions in place whilst the road works are undertaken.

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letterboxfrog8:57 am 11 Aug 19

Fixed rail is absolutely essential along that corridor – its great to see. I do wonder though if it was the right type noting all the challenges it created in terms of other works, hold ups, etc. Could monorail, with a factory in Mitchell or Hume building the track and stations, been a better option? Plonk it in place at night with minimal disruption.

With stage 2 for Light Rail being more challenging, and the route beyond Parliament being further from places of employment / traffic, could monorail be a better option. At bridge level across the lake, following a similar proposed route to Adelaide Avenue, but from there, going through the Health and Commercial precincts in Deakin then Canberra Hospital, before Woden? You cannot do that economically with Light Rail.

rationalobserver12:21 am 11 Aug 19

Made worse due to schedule slippages with the toy train construction, this work will now cost more and take longer than it should have.
It should be noted that they built the road from Sydney to here in a shorter time frame using only men and horses. So much for progress.

Whilst I appreciate roads being made better for cyclists, because they’ve been diverting and building there for so long (much longer than promised) I just avoid Northbourne.

Plus, the pedestrian/cycle crossings are slow because you need to wait for two switches of lights, and hard to manoeuvre. All the more reason to use another road.

Capital Retro8:32 am 10 Aug 19

Even with the speed restrictions the road journey still beats the tram.

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