[U/C] M2 North-South Motorway

[SBD]

Who knows how many years we may all need to wait for this mess to be finally finished.

Going by labors budget infrastructure projects in especially NON EASTERN STATES is not exactly priority - MUCH MORE IMPORTANT to them is WINNING A FEW VOTES FROM YOUNG FAMILIIES, PENSIONERS etc because the GENERAL POPULATION is going to feel PAIN due to HIGH INTEREST RATES, POWER PRICES and COST OF LIVING PRESSURES - mostly due BENDING OVER TO CLIMATE CHANGE NUTTERS and crazy overseas politics.

The previous state Liberal government's plan was fully funded and was due to start shortly. Unfortunately we're now stuck with Kouts who is well out of his depth, and costs will blow out by an additional $4b with construction not due to start until 2025.

If Kouts is out of his depth what was Cory Wingard…. He couldn’t even deliver a BMX bike track right before getting torn to shreds after first use. He also thought privatising the rail service would save the state $1B.

Do you agree with no right turns on Anzac highway? Do you agree with half baked tunnel exit/s?

The liberal plan would never have come out on budget and unlikely on time also.

I’m not saying what Labor has or is doing is great in this regard, but let’s wait and see the final design before passing judgement.


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I don’t have a problem with not providing right turns from Anzac Highway to the NSM. There would almost always be a more efficient route anyway because the roads are not at right angles.

What do you mean by “half baked” tunnel exits?

I thought the bridge for traffic northbound from the NSM to turn right onto Anzac Highway was an efficient solution for what is and would continue to be a heavily used commuter route.

[SBD]

Paywall article in the advertiser today about the possibility of the tunnels being scrapped altogether. Trench or surface level freeway only.

They don’t want a little bridge over the freeway near a tunnel portal, so they get a big freeway across the whole length. Do these people really think the T2T solution looks better than the Ayliffes Road flyover? They can go for a walk and have a look at examples of both!

[Spotto]

Paywall article in the advertiser today about the possibility of the tunnels being scrapped altogether. Trench or surface level freeway only.

Treasurer Stephen Mullighan refuses to rule out scrapping tunnels from Torrens-to-Darlington design

Treasurer Stephen Mullighan has refused to rule out a major overhaul of the trouble-plagued Torrens-to-Darlington project – with the twin tunnels possibly cut.
Kathryn Bermingham and Gabriel Polychronis
October 26, 2022 - 8:00PM

Treasurer Stephen Mullighan has refused to rule out a radical overhaul of plans for the plagued Torrens to Darlington project, which would see the twin tunnels scrapped from the design.

It comes as confusion reigns over the funding deal for the final stage of the North-South Corridor, with revelations the federal government has delayed spending more than $700m on the project over the next four years.

This is despite Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s government insisting it has kept the funding levels the same at $2.3bn over the forward estimates – up to an including 2025-26.

As the state government forges ahead with property acquisitions and demolition along the corridor, Mr Mullighan said he could not rule out major changes to the 10.5km reference design.

“We haven’t got any advice back from (the Transport Department) yet, not even informally, about what they’re looking at doing,” he said.

Mr Mullighan said it was the government’s “very strong preference” to deliver the tunnels within the $9.9bn already budgeted – adding the Transport Department’s review would not be finalised until the end of the year.

Last week, Mr Mullighan warned the state would struggle to complete construction unless the federal government stepped in to cover a potential blowout, maintaining its 50:50 funding commitment.

Labor’s first federal budget in more than a decade revealed $730m for “nationally significant” road investments had been pulled from SA over the next four years.

SA Transport Minister Tom Koutsantonis explained the federal government had altered its spending to match the state government’s “reprofiling” of the Torrens to Darlington in its May budget – pushing out the construction start date by a year to 2024.

“The advice I have received from the department is that’s just a reprofiling of the North-South Corridor money,” Mr Koutsantonis said.

“That’s all that is.”

But in a major paradox, officials from both the Infrastructure Department and the Prime Minister's office told The Advertiser the funding had not changed since the Coalition’s March budget of $2.3bn over the next four years.

There was no mention of the Torrens to Darlington in official budget papers released on Tuesday – indicating the spending level for the project had not changed since March.

The federal government has saved $6.5bn by “deferring infrastructure spending” across the country “to not compound supply constraints or to better assess their merits”.

Budget papers unveiled on Tuesday night showed Labor has maintained its original funding commitment of $4.9bn, despite latest cost projections running as high as $14bn.

Mullighan said the state government had not yet asked its federal counterparts for more money because a Transport Department review was still ongoing.

Results of the review recently published on the department’s website indicated the tunnels would remain in the reference design, but the government insists the “draft” site contained inaccuracies and did not constitute any final recommendations.

Official results are due to be released by the end of the year.

Mr Mullighan said it was the government’s “very strong preference” to deliver the tunnels within the $9.9bn already budgeted.

“If the tunnels end up being more expensive then our first thoughts will be, ‘well, how much more expensive and can we afford it?’,” he said.

“Because, from the outset, our preference is to deliver the tunnels and we haven’t considered changing course on that at this point in time.”

Last week, Mr Mullighan warned the state would struggle to complete construction unless the federal government stepped in to cover a potential blowout, maintaining its 50:50 funding commitment.

The start of construction on the project has been pushed back from 2024 to 2025, and the completion date has been pushed back a year to 2032.

Opposition treasury spokesman Matt Cowdrey said the budget cast further doubt on the future of the project

“This budget was a prime opportunity for certainty over the North-South Corridor project but it’s achieved the exact opposite, with huge questions looming over who will cough up the billions needed for its completion,” he said.

[ozisnowman]

This whole process has just shown how Governments bending over backwards to minority and NIMBY groups ends up biting the state taxpayer and average resident in the a..

They delayed the process to investigate options including the tunnels, during which time allowed business to be built right up to south road including Bunnings, OTR etc.
And now due to Federal budget constraints we are told there will be no money for the tunnels so we will end up delaying the process again to acquire the land to build the motorway
at ground or cut level. The State Government needs to bite the bullet and get on with this before costs rise further.

PS - Labor slashing funding for our Infrastructure needs, increasing our power bills by >$1000 on average, spending billions on small segment of national population (whilst new families are very important - lack of focus on other groups STINKS) - seams not such a great choice.

[claybro]

And once again the stop start non planning of this project has left the state wide open to the whims of various federal governments. I still strongly believe the whole tunnel thing was primarily to allow the previous gov to just kick the can down the road and delay the start of a this most difficult section. Then the new government "investigates the options"-when in their previous incarnation Labor had already settled on an option-further delaying actual planning Very poor form from both sides of politics in SA and entirely predictable.

[Nort]

At the 9.9 billion figure that's $5600 spent for every single South Australian woman, man, and child. At the higher end of the estimate you're getting to around $9000 each.

Will every person complaining that they should just stop discussing it and start building it commit now to not complaining if there are any delays, blowouts, or mistakes during? Not a chance.

Infrastructure of this scale is a planning nightmare and we have to let the processes and investigations run, lest we end up wasting billions of taxpayers money.

[ChillyPhilly]

Paywall article in the advertiser today about the possibility of the tunnels being scrapped altogether. Trench or surface level freeway only.

That would be a disaster.

[claybro]

At the 9.9 billion figure that's $5600 spent for every single South Australian woman, man, and child. At the higher end of the estimate you're getting to around $9000 each.

Will every person complaining that they should just stop discussing it and start building it commit now to not complaining if there are any delays, blowouts, or mistakes during? Not a chance.

Infrastructure of this scale is a planning nightmare and we have to let the processes and investigations run, lest we end up wasting billions of taxpayers money.

Are you late to the state? Planning for a N/S corridor started in SA some SIXTY years ago. Had the previous state governments just "got on with it" we wouldn't be discussing tunnels v trenches v flyovers, -people bleating about flyovers etc would not have purchased housing in the vacinity or have died of old age, and the bill most certainly would not be 9 billion plus for the remaining section. Every other mainland capital has built entire freeway systems in the time SA has 2/3 of 1. On my recent trip to SA, the congestion in Adelaide is really now becoming problematic to the point I was shocked how bad the traffic actually is there now-and it will only get worse from here on in. If it now costs $10 billion to complete the damn thing-then so be it.-it will only get more expensive and the return in efficiency for transport and logistics will far outweigh the costs in the decades to come.

[ozisnowman]

Our previous and current government look interested in delaying this project as long as possible in the hope that in future that roads will be replaced by green space, housing and that roads wont need to be built or maintained allowing them to have even greater perks and golden handshake.

They must all be waiting for electric flying cars - https://youtu.be/VcdPyzCgkZk

[Vasco]

The previous state Liberal government's plan was fully funded and was due to start shortly. Unfortunately we're now stuck with Kouts who is well out of his depth, and costs will blow out by an additional $4b with construction not due to start until 2025.

If Kouts is out of his depth what was Cory Wingard…. He couldn’t even deliver a BMX bike track right before getting torn to shreds after first use. He also thought privatising the rail service would save the state $1B.

Do you agree with no right turns on Anzac highway? Do you agree with half baked tunnel exit/s?

The liberal plan would never have come out on budget and unlikely on time also.

I’m not saying what Labor has or is doing is great in this regard, but let’s wait and see the final design before passing judgement.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I don’t have a problem with not providing right turns from Anzac Highway to the NSM. There would almost always be a more efficient route anyway because the roads are not at right angles.

What do you mean by “half baked” tunnel exits?

I thought the bridge for traffic northbound from the NSM to turn right onto Anzac Highway was an efficient solution for what is and would continue to be a heavily used commuter route.

For one, what a stupid idea to put an exit ramp into the right hand lane of Anzac highway. So close to the leader street traffic lights where traffic will want to turn into leader st for the new large development going ahead there. Accidents waiting to happen.




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[Mr Smith]

And once again the stop start non planning of this project has left the state wide open to the whims of various federal governments. I still strongly believe the whole tunnel thing was primarily to allow the previous gov to just kick the can down the road and delay the start of a this most difficult section. Then the new government "investigates the options"-when in their previous incarnation Labor had already settled on an option-further delaying actual planning Very poor form from both sides of politics in SA and entirely predictable.

Totally agree with all of this, in particular the 'fantasy' tunnel solution being nothing more than a con trick to avoid actually doing anything.
At least Mulligan is showing a shred of honesty by flagging the obvious reality than the state simply does not have the funding to build this Disneyland solution.
The T2T, Darlington and Regency to Pym solutions seem to work fine and breaking the project down into 4-6 smaller sections would seem the best way forward as we have a proven record in doing it successfully in this fashion.
Essentially, we have just wasted the best part of 5 years and meanwhile South Rd is becoming even more of a nightmare.....

[SBD]

And once again the stop start non planning of this project has left the state wide open to the whims of various federal governments. I still strongly believe the whole tunnel thing was primarily to allow the previous gov to just kick the can down the road and delay the start of a this most difficult section. Then the new government "investigates the options"-when in their previous incarnation Labor had already settled on an option-further delaying actual planning Very poor form from both sides of politics in SA and entirely predictable.

Totally agree with all of this, in particular the 'fantasy' tunnel solution being nothing more than a con trick to avoid actually doing anything.
At least Mulligan is showing a shred of honesty by flagging the obvious reality than the state simply does not have the funding to build this Disneyland solution.
The T2T, Darlington and Regency to Pym solutions seem to work fine and breaking the project down into 4-6 smaller sections would seem the best way forward as we have a proven record in doing it successfully in this fashion.
Essentially, we have just wasted the best part of 5 years and meanwhile South Rd is becoming even more of a nightmare.....

Until a month or two ago, a wide at-grade or sunken trench-style freeway was not plausible north of Henley Beach Road, as there were immutable heritage-listed properties including the Thebarton Theatre, Hoffman Brick Kiln and chimney, Hindmarsh Cemetery (state), Queen of Angels Church, Former Thebarton Court House and Police Station, Former Town Hall, Girl Guide and Scout Hall, West Thebarton Hotel (local). There are also a number of residences heritage listed as contributory character.

It's much easier to put a wide freeway through when the bulldozers don't have to weave through these places and can acquire St George's school because the students will be allowed to go to Adelaide High once its zone returns to including the western suburbs.

These are things that were resolved by deep, bored tunnels. The former Labor government plan addressed it with stacked roads and cut-and-cover tunnels, but I get the feeling the current Labor government would not accept the disruption caused during the construction phase of removing the road, digging a hole under it then putting it back.

I wish I knew I was being melodramatic and exaggerating things.

[abc]

To be fair, I don't think our tin pot state government, past or present predicted the outbreak of war in eastern europe, sanctions, a resultant steep rise in energy prices and raw materials, stagflation, a blown up pipeline and the Federal government sending 100's of millions of additional dollars overseas... not to mention everything else that happened over the past 3 years which I won't talk about here.

[[Shuz]]

If the tunnels are scrapped, I would like to think they have a "stage" that is as close to shovel ready to go as possible and get cracking on with it. It might well be easier to break it down into smaller stages than just the northern and southern 'tunnel' sections. Seeing as property acquisition and demolition has already begun north of Darlington, they might as well start there with the Darlington to Daws Road section. (D2D).

[Mr Smith]

A cynic may draw the conclusion that a decision to scrap the tunnels has already been made within the ALP, and now its a matter of conditioning the public before announcing it at the least unpalatable time...

Kouts was very definitive when those renders were leaked by the Ragtiser - that they did not represent the revised plan, merely a draft concept, likely one of many.
C'mon, they have had a team of engineers/beauracrats working on this for 6+ months now, and Kouts keeps pushing back the timeline on releasing the findings.

Methinks they are far more advanced on this than the general public realizes, and potentially a whole new plan will be rolled out, ala the new WCH.

The Libs have little credibility on this as they basically achieved very little in 4 years (COVID notwithstanding), beyond a fantasy plan containing obvious flaws - the 1 lane exit ramp at Anzac Hwy dumping traffic at an intersection being Exhibit A.