Tag: traffic

Centenary Highway Traffic Flow Back to Normal After Sewer Main Burst

The Sinnamon Rd onramp and all inbound lanes of the Centenary Highway have reopened, after the completion of repairs to a burst sewer pipe and related road restoration works.

Northbound traffic on the Centenary Highway had been reduced to one lane for two days, after a sewer main burst that resulted in a sinkhole in Jindalee. One inbound lane of the highway was reopened at around 9:00 a.m. of 7 February. The Sinnamon Road onramp was opened at 7:00 a.m. although diversions remained in place until the road restoration works were completed before midday of 8 February.

In a statement, Urban Utilities revealed that the Jindalee repair is a complex job as it involves a large pipe under the medium strip, 7.1 metres below the ground.

Despite the ongoing repairs, Urban Utilities said that there is no interruption to sewerage services and that customers can continue to use their toilets and showers as normal.

“We’re managing flows by diverting wastewater through other local sewer pipes and are supporting the network with tankering.”

Overnight torrential rains may have contributed to the sewer main burst beneath the Centenary Highway, although authorities are also looking into other possible causes to help prevent similar instances from occurring in the future.

Read: Wagners Will Supply Tunnel Segments for Cross River Rail

Left Out of State Budget, Centenary Motorway Will Continue Peak-Hour Crawl – RACQ

“Always the bridesmaid, never the bride,” that’s how RACQ spokesperson Renee Smith described Centenary Motorway as it once again missed out in this year’s State Budget.

The state’s peak monitoring body was calling on the Palaszczuk Government to make the Centenary Motorway a priority before the 2017-18 State Budget was announced. But the State Budget turned out to be a disappointment to Centenary when the major highway did not receive funding for upgrades.

Because of the budget snub, motorists would have to wait yet another year for their hope of improvements to the main thoroughfare.

The RACQ spokesperson noted how for several years, there have been planning studies but no money for actual construction.

“Since 2004, there has been money put aside for planning for the major thoroughfare but the State Government has fallen short of providing significant funds to improve choke points along this vital road,” said Ms Smith.

The government allocated $700,000 for planning research that started in 2016. By the looks of it, that would continue up to this financial year.

RACQ stressed that leaving Centenary Motorway as is would mean that drivers will continue with the crawling speed during peak hours.

Latest studies from RACQ revealed that some section of Centenary Motorway registered the slowest traffic speed during peak hours in Brisbane. Motorists are travelling way below the average speed compared to last year. From Warrender Street and Sumners Road, for instance, traffic speed dropped by as much as 26 percent in the hours between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m.

“It’s waited long enough – let’s reward the Centenary and its thousands of commuters for their patience, with actual funding commitments to improving this major corridor,” Ms Smith said.

Mount Ommaney Ignored

Mount Ommaney MP, Tarnya Smith also voiced out her disappointment at how Mount Ommaney was ignored in the State Budget.

Ms Smith wrote on her Facebook page how the budget was a complete let-down for Mount Ommaney residents. She expressed dismay that there was no funding for upgrades of Sumners Road and Centenary Highway.

“Once again for the third year running, the elephant is still in the room. Sumners Road is left without funding and worse still, commuters are still stuck in traffic,” Ms Smith said.

Read Ms Smith’s Facebook Note.

Find out more about Queensland Budget 2017-18.