27 April 2009

Truck bypass for Canberra Airport

27 April 2009 | johnboy

The ABC brings word that the gradual unravelling of the traffic snarls surrounding the airport is set to continue with construction scheduled to start in September on a truck bypass for the facility.

Canberra Airport managing director Stephen Byron says the truck bypass will help ease traffic congestion around the site.

“This is good news that the Federal Government has now made this money available, and the ACT Government can move ahead with delivering the project,” he said.

Join the conversation

All Comments

All Comments
Website Comments
Facebook Comments

LatestOldest

ant3:51 pm 28 Apr 09

I dunno if that expansion would be all airport, Cessnas notwithstanding! Looking at how they’re squishing buildings into eveyr square inch along the Pialligo Ave frontage, that Majura Valley frontage is doomed.

Postalgeek3:16 pm 28 Apr 09

dosomethinguseful said :

Because it sound like once Majura Rd is no longer needed they can get rid of it and then expand the ‘International’ airport in that direction

And fair enough. Those Cessnas from Hobart need a good run-up.

ant2:27 pm 28 Apr 09

Hmmm. Interesting point, Mr/Ms Useful. Hadn’t thought of that, but land grabbing is something they have form for.

dosomethinguseful1:27 pm 28 Apr 09

Felix the Cat said :

Seems like a bit of a waste of money and resources duplicating in part a road that already exists (Majura Rd). Why not just upgrade it to a 4 lane road? How much will it cost ($$, not even taking into account the environmental issue) to reclaim farming land?

Because it sound like once Majura Rd is no longer needed they can get rid of it and then expand the ‘International’ airport in that direction

VYBerlinaV8_the_one_they_all_copy10:07 am 28 Apr 09

If they could build a proper dual lane section to join the Monaro to Majura rd (via the bit past Duntroon that already exists), they could probably get away with just building a few decent overtaking lanes on Majura rd. Much of Majura rd is uphill (although you wouldn’t necessarily notice this). It’s not a problem for most cars, but loaded trucks can struggle to maintain 90km/h along there. You also get the odd car (maybe with caravan) wanting to do 70km/h. If we removed the choke point past Duntroon and made it easier to overtake up Majura, I think traffic would flow significantly better than it currently does.

ant9:50 am 28 Apr 09

Another interesting thing is the mystery lights that are sitting just before one of the airport roundabouts. They only apply to traffic heading from teh city toward Qbn, there aren’t any on the other side of the road, so they’re not for BBP staff trying to walk to Rodneys.

The lights aren’t on at the moment, and one local speculant has suggested that it might be for situations where BBP traffic are trying to exit on that roundabout, but are being prevented by traffic heading to NSW, so the lights might be activated to give the BBP people a go.

These lights weren’t in the original plan, but given this section of the project was run by the airport, I guess it didn’t need to be. It’ll be interesting to see how they’re used.

JC4:55 am 28 Apr 09

You really have to wonder about some of the “improvements” they have made, in particular the removal of the roundabout where this new extension will travel over. Probably would have not have been needed if the fly-over was built first.

ant11:03 pm 27 Apr 09

at some point, that mess around Pialligo/Moreshed/Fairbairn was going to be a sort-of ring-road, with traffic going in one direction. I’m not sure if they retained that in teh final plan or not.

This mess, it should be remembered, did not exist until Snow built a CBD at the airport.

bd848:58 pm 27 Apr 09

Well the monaro hwy to federal hwy is needed, I doubt the Government has used their brain and included the duplication of the Monaro Hwy bridge over Canberra Avenue in the works which should have been done when the original duplication was done.

The extra extension of Morsehead drive between the Monaro Hwy and new Fairbairn Ave (i.e. the yellow part in the middle) seems to be a pointless waste, it doesn’t go anywhere!

Felix the Cat8:04 pm 27 Apr 09

ant said :

I had a look at the map. Tehy seem to be talking about a whole new road, which will be a northern extension to the Monaro Highway. It seems to be the new bit they put along Dairy Flat, and rather than linking up with Majura Road as it does currently, it seems to cut through the Duntroon playing fields, go through the Fairbairn horse paddocks, and up the Majura Valley. So it appears that what they’re doing is making a more direct route from the Federal Hwy to the Monaro, missing Majura and the roads around Moreshead and Pialligo.

Two roads up Majura Valley. What a shame. Carving up more productive farming land.

Seems like a bit of a waste of money and resources duplicating in part a road that already exists (Majura Rd). Why not just upgrade it to a 4 lane road? How much will it cost ($$, not even taking into account the environmental issue) to reclaim farming land?

View more conversations

Featured Businesses

Insurance Brokers

allinsure

Allinsure has been a trusted insurance advisory to thousands of Australian business owners for almost 20 years.

Find out more

Professional Services

RSM

We share skills, insight and resources, as well as a client-centric approach that's based on a deep understanding of your business.

Find out more

Electricians

True Connection Electrical

Since 2014, True Connection Electrical have been servicing residential and small commercial clients with reliable, trustworthy and top-quality electrical work.

Find out more