COM: Glenelg Tramline Upgrade

[Cruise]

More silliness from the Libs - one of them wants safety barriers at the tram stops so that pedestrians don't get run over. For once, the readers comments are overwhelmingly sensible (in contrast to the poll result, which has 58% agreeing with the pollie!)

http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/stor ... 01,00.html

I believe in Natural selection

[UrbanSG]

Pretty much the same images:

Concept images of Adelaide's tram overpass released
September 29, 2008 07:01pm

NEW concept images of Adelaide's planned tram overpass at South Rd have been released as the project prepares to seek formal government approvals.

Transport Minister Patrick Conlon said in a statement today the imagery provides South Australians with a greater appreciation of the project, its features and scale.

"You can now see how the facility will work for trams and most importantly commuters and also how it will be incorporated into the location," he said.

The full range of new images will be available for the public to view once the project completes passage through State Parliament's Public Works Committee.

Construction of the tram overpass is expected to begin by the end of the year and be completed by the end of 2009.

Trams are planned to continue operating during construction on temporary tracks separated from traffic and local businesses and households by barriers.

The tram overpass, combined with the Anzac Highway underpass, is part of a plan to create a non-stop north-south corridor for the city.

[cruel_world00]

I'm glad they included the bike aspect. Was pretty silly to disregard it.

[Will409]

Found this article in an issue of the Eastern Courier I found on the seat at Lynton station of all places.

Bridge is making cyclists cross

A planned cycle path along the tram corridor from the city to Glenelg needs to be rerouted because it does not line up with a recently announced bike bridge over South Road.

The Tramway Park bike route, as originally proposed by PlanningSA in 2005, was to run south of the tramline, with cyclists crossing South Road at traffic lights. But cycling groups such as Bicycle SA have lobbied for a bike bridge and to be included in the tram overpass since it was announced in June 2007. They have won their fight but with one problem: The bridge the Transport Department will build must be on the northern, not southern side of the bridge. It means that city-bound cyclists will have to cross the tramline at Beckman Street, Glandore, to use the 600m bridge and then crossback to the southern side to use the pedestrian crossing at Goodwood Road.

Transport Department spokesman Paul Gelston has told an Unley Council committee the seperate bridge must be built on the northern side because the southern side was needed to keep two temporary tramlines running during the construction of the overpass. He added that the bridge on the southern side would also have resulted in more overlooking of homes and the loss of significant trees. "The driver of this project is keeping trams moving during construction" he said.

Bicycle SA general manager Christian Haag said the failure to align the new bridge with the bike track was "another example of poor planning policy" that would result in some cyclists choosing "riskier" routes either side of the bridge. Planning SA has hired a consultant to consider the best spots to cross the cycle path from the northern side to the southern side and back again.

Unley traffic and transport manager Charles Mountain said one bonus of using the northern side of the tram corridor would enable the bike track to connect to another recently completed bike track from the Unley Swimming Centre around the Showgrounds to Greenhill Road. A small section of track has already been completed south of the tramline near the intersection of Cross Road and Marion Road.

Storm in a teacup really, there are plenty of catwalks that can be used.

[Will409]

Exterminate, exterminate!

On a more serious note, I have seen a number of 'fresh ballast spots' on the line recently suggesting that some further spot trackwork has been done.

[Ben]

From The Messenger:

Multi-million repairs for Glenelg tramline overhead wiring

by Jai Bednall

The State Government has called for tenders to undertake the $20 million upgrade, which will also include replacing “50 to 60 year old” overhead power poles and four substations.

The tender document, viewed by the City Messenger, says half of the overhead wire is significantly worn and “is expected to exceed the recommended condemning limit in the short to medium term”.

“The overhead wire is thinner than the wire used on the new tramline extension (and) is more susceptible to breakage,” the document says.

“The overhead poles are 50 to 60 years old and are approaching the end of their useable life.

“There are five substations on the tramline, one installed in 2007 as part of the tramline extension, and the remaining four being over 25 years old and, again, approaching the end of their useable life with spare parts becoming increasingly difficult to acquire.”

In an emailed statement, Transport Minister Patrick Conlon said: “This upgrade will bring the older line’s overhead wiring up to the standard of the new, extended section through the city and is part of the ongoing review and maintenance of the tram line.”

Work on the project is expected to start late next year.

[Will409]

The less said about the Advertiser's version of the story, the better. While it would've been good to have had this work done in the original 2005 rebuild, it is not like it is the end of the world and would've been done at some point anyway. Rewiring can be done either over night in sections so it is not like it will disrupt passenger services much, if at all.

[waz94]

Hi Guys,
does anyone know when the Glenelg Tram Line overpass over South Road is due to commenec. I thought it was by the end of 2008 but there seem no signs of anything remotely happening in the area at the moment.
It was supposed to be finished by the end of 2009 (in line with the ANZAC HWY underpass completion). Is this still the same timeframe.
Cheers,

[rogue]

Hi Guys,
does anyone know when the Glenelg Tram Line overpass over South Road is due to commenec. I thought it was by the end of 2008 but there seem no signs of anything remotely happening in the area at the moment.
It was supposed to be finished by the end of 2009 (in line with the ANZAC HWY underpass completion). Is this still the same timeframe.
Cheers,

Tenders closed last Monday, so action could start around March / April at the earliest.

[AtD]

[monotonehell]

I call shenanigans!

[Shuz]

There's something wrong with that picture but I cannot figure out what, considering my alcohol influenced state of mind right now....

[Omicron]

There's something wrong with that picture but I cannot figure out what, considering my alcohol influenced state of mind right now....

Mon dieu! That tram is as long as my, er.......It's a lot longer than other trams.

Plus, the unfinished state of CC1 suggests that this phallic tram has been prancing about through the city streets in broad daylight for some time now, and our resident transport connoisseurs would certainly have alerted us to their presence far earlier were this actually the case.

[Norman]

There's something wrong with that picture but I cannot figure out what, considering my alcohol influenced state of mind right now....

On a Monday night?

[Shuz]

There's something wrong with that picture but I cannot figure out what, considering my alcohol influenced state of mind right now....

I know! I know... it's like twice as long.

And, yes, on a Monday night. I'm allowed to have my fun whenever okay?