[U/C] M2 North-South Motorway

[[Shuz]]

You lot need to calm your farms. It's going to be a tunnel. End of story. There is no further argument.

[ChillyPhilly]

You lot need to calm your farms. It's going to be a tunnel. End of story. There is no further argument.

It won't be a tunnel.

This is a whip-up I did a while ago, based on the preferences listed by the Scoping Report.

[mattwinter]

I remember reading that. Looks good. Was there ever a reason given for the elevated road from Edward St to Daw's Road? Would prefer a trench the whole way - but I'm sure there's plenty of time for those things to be changed anyway.

I think they had an option to include grade separating the rail line from Cross Road at the Cross Road / South Road intersection as well, so hopefully that happens.

[SBD]

It would possibly be a more expensive solution, but one way to keep the corridor narrower would be to partially stack the continuous and local roads.That is what is achieved through the very high Superway north of Regency Road.I'm not sure what height and access constraints led to that elevated road. I wonder if a simpler version could be achieved by putting the through road in a trench, and cantilevering the local roads over the top. If each direction has three lanes in the trench and only two surface lanes, then there is scope for an opening in the middle which provides natural light and avoids some of the complexities that a true tunnel introduces, such as ventilation. The construction does not have to be strict cantilever engineering, as it would be possible to have beams that span the entire width (maybe even with a support in the middle).

Have I missed an obvious reason why this could not be possible, particularly in the areas where a wide corridor is not wanted?

[Llessur2002]

It would possibly be a more expensive solution, but one way to keep the corridor narrower would be to partially stack the continuous and local roads.That is what is achieved through the very high Superway north of Regency Road.I'm not sure what height and access constraints led to that elevated road. I wonder if a simpler version could be achieved by putting the through road in a trench, and cantilevering the local roads over the top. If each direction has three lanes in the trench and only two surface lanes, then there is scope for an opening in the middle which provides natural light and avoids some of the complexities that a true tunnel introduces, such as ventilation. The construction does not have to be strict cantilever engineering, as it would be possible to have beams that span the entire width (maybe even with a support in the middle).

Have I missed an obvious reason why this could not be possible, particularly in the areas where a wide corridor is not wanted?

A bit like one of the original plans for the T2T section: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2ps0ti

[SBD]

It would possibly be a more expensive solution, but one way to keep the corridor narrower would be to partially stack the continuous and local roads.That is what is achieved through the very high Superway north of Regency Road.I'm not sure what height and access constraints led to that elevated road. I wonder if a simpler version could be achieved by putting the through road in a trench, and cantilevering the local roads over the top. If each direction has three lanes in the trench and only two surface lanes, then there is scope for an opening in the middle which provides natural light and avoids some of the complexities that a true tunnel introduces, such as ventilation. The construction does not have to be strict cantilever engineering, as it would be possible to have beams that span the entire width (maybe even with a support in the middle).

Have I missed an obvious reason why this could not be possible, particularly in the areas where a wide corridor is not wanted?

A bit like one of the original plans for the T2T section: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2ps0ti

Yes, that explains why I didn't think it was an original thought, but I couldn't remember having actually seen it anywhere else.

[bits]

Castle plaza area is to be elevated due to contaminated soil, same was said for Wingfield.
Wingfield is also much closer to the ocean, the northern connector is raised due to the ocean.

Torrens to Anzac will be trench as it is cost effective and good outcome.

Tunnels are needed to save significant buildings.

T2t abandoned stacked road due to costs. It was cheaper to buy land than build. Also road closures would be required to build(but unacceptable), south rd needs 2 lanes each direction open.
The same is likely true for the Torrens to Anzac area.

[mawsonguy]

IIRC there was a study done about 5 years ago which showed that the cost of building an elevated road (e.g. the Superway) was less than the cost of a trench.

[ChillyPhilly]

Still on the topic of the Scoping Report, this one is a biggie.

A review of the services work to date from the planning studies identified that there was only one
major piece of services infrastructure that would significantly impact the program timeframe being the
Telstra Exchange near Cross Road (approximately 5 years to relocate). The relocation of the
exchange needs to be funded as an associated works project five years in advance of the funded road
project. Alternatively further design work needs to be undertaken to determine options to avoid the
need to relocate the exchange.

Click here to view the report: https://www.infrastructure.sa.gov.au/__ ... rategy.pdf

[mawsonguy]

If Labor gets back in, it'll get done.
If Liberals get in, work will stop, or it'll be botched in another one way motorway example.
If Xenophon gets in, he'd probably cave and build them the worlds most expensive tunnel and gets dressed up as a tunnel boring machine for the opening.

The reality is that no work will get done on the North-South Corridor unless it is funded by the Federal Government. A report by the Grattan Institute http://www.harley.net.au/temp/Transport ... omises.pdf makes it clear that all of the political parties are suspect when it comes to promises of funding for transport projects.
1. Both disproportionally promise a lot for Qld but little for SA.
2. None pay much attention to Infrastructure Australia approval.
3.The LNP Coalition tends to choose road over rail more than Labor does.

So, if you want the South Road upgrade to be funded, convert more SA seats into marginal seats so we get the same attention as Qld!

[fifty]

It would possibly be a more expensive solution, but one way to keep the corridor narrower would be to partially stack the continuous and local roads.That is what is achieved through the very high Superway north of Regency Road.I'm not sure what height and access constraints led to that elevated road. I wonder if a simpler version could be achieved by putting the through road in a trench, and cantilevering the local roads over the top. If each direction has three lanes in the trench and only two surface lanes, then there is scope for an opening in the middle which provides natural light and avoids some of the complexities that a true tunnel introduces, such as ventilation. The construction does not have to be strict cantilever engineering, as it would be possible to have beams that span the entire width (maybe even with a support in the middle).

Have I missed an obvious reason why this could not be possible, particularly in the areas where a wide corridor is not wanted?

Spot on. Have been thinking this myself as the obvious option in bottleneck areas.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

[Norman]

A few photos from the Torrens to Torrens project

View from Torrens Road bridge





View from the footbridge near Hawker Street





Looking a bit closer, you can see the motorway off-ramp taking shape



Here is a typical section of the south-bound surface road



ITS equipment is now starting to pop up, here are the travel time signs on Port Road, first heading to the Port, the second one to the city (I don't know why they shortened Expressway when they have so much space!)





Some photos of Croydon Station and its surrounds. Not sure if the station will be done in just 20 days!

[Norman]

And here is a video of the whole corridor. It took me 66 minutes to drive from Old Noarlunga to Gawler, but the video shows it in just over 8 minutes

https://youtu.be/dZ7v3Jx9OiU

[[Shuz]]

Very cool!

[mawsonguy]

And here is a video of the whole corridor. It took me 66 minutes to drive from Old Noarlunga to Gawler, but the video shows it in just over 8 minutes

https://youtu.be/dZ7v3Jx9OiU

The comparative speed of vehicles on the SEXY was interesting. Don't you just love those drivers who speed past you in an adjacent lane, change into your lane and then slow down to the same, or slower, speed as you! They have a real Michael Schumacher complex!