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[COM] Re: Northern Connector | 14km | $1b

Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2020 2:32 pm
by aceman
when traveling north why is it that when you go from the superway onto the new road near the port river expressway it goes from 3 lanes to 2 then back to 3 again?? who designed that??

[COM] Re: Northern Connector | 14km | $1b

Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2020 2:36 pm
by ChillyPhilly
Did the southbound stretch from Waterloo Corner Road and headed onward to Port Road.

Seamless connection with the existing Superway.

It was almost a little disorienting - parts of it feel like Port Wakefield Road, but better; other parts feel like Salisbury Highway.

It'll be interesting to see how the surface ages in years coming. The Pacific Motorway, west of Gold Coast, is loud to drive on.

Nonetheless, it looks like a well-executed final product.

[COM] [U/C] Re: Northern Connector | 14km | $1b

Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2020 3:41 pm
by Norman
I drove on Salisbury Highway this afternoon. The amount of traffic now is about 1/3 or 1/4 of what it was before. Looking forward to this stretch receiving a much-needed upgrade. At least the bitumen should be completely replaced.

[COM] Re: Northern Connector | 14km | $1b

Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2020 4:26 pm
by Waewick
Thanks for the commentary guys, good to hear it's a project that has delivered.

[COM] Re: Northern Connector | 14km | $1b

Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2020 4:57 pm
by rev
ChillyPhilly wrote:
Sat Mar 07, 2020 2:36 pm
Did the southbound stretch from Waterloo Corner Road and headed onward to Port Road.

Seamless connection with the existing Superway.

It was almost a little disorienting - parts of it feel like Port Wakefield Road, but better; other parts feel like Salisbury Highway.

It'll be interesting to see how the surface ages in years coming. The Pacific Motorway, west of Gold Coast, is loud to drive on.

Nonetheless, it looks like a well-executed final product.
Yeh I went from Waterloo Corner Road to Grand Junction as well. It took about 7-8 minutes to reach the Superway (cross over PREXY). Should be quicker once the speed limit is increased.

Odd feeling driving on a concrete road. With our extreme heatwaves in summer, I can see this road cracking. Whether it has a massive negative effect or barely makes a difference, we will see in time.

One thing I think looks odd though is the cladding they put on one of the bridges around the columns..only the centre column has that treatment the rest are bare concrete..may as well have done the whole lot like that. I think it's the bridge from the Superway to PREXY.

[COM] Re: Northern Connector | 14km | $1b

Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2020 8:30 pm
by alexczarn
Goodsy wrote:
Sat Mar 07, 2020 12:56 pm
Did the full length north and south. It's pretty good, would be even better if people who didn't know how to drive on freeways would stay off it. Every exit had someone cutting across all lanes to get to far left lane
Same thing happens on the SEXY all the time...

[COM] Re: Northern Connector | 14km | $1b

Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2020 10:11 pm
by Brucetiki
Drove southbound from Waterloo Corner Rd this afternoon, then northbound to Bolivar Rd tonight.

Great surface to drive on, and a very smooth ride. Will be even better once the speed limit is at their normal speed.

There was a cop enforcing the lower speed limit tonight, which was good to see.

[COM] Re: Northern Connector | 14km | $1b

Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2020 10:51 pm
by Krint
Brucetiki wrote:
Sat Mar 07, 2020 10:11 pm


There was a cop enforcing the lower speed limit tonight, which was good to see.
Witnessed a high speed chase tonight heading north just before the pt Wakefield road exit.
Police bike was right behind a Ute with a trailer and wasn’t stopping .

Other than that .. thought exit signs heading north could have been bit more detailed.
Wait until I do a day trip to give better opinion.

[COM] Re: Northern Connector | 14km | $1b

Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2020 11:48 pm
by Furyan
aceman wrote:
Sat Mar 07, 2020 2:32 pm
when traveling north why is it that when you go from the superway onto the new road near the port river expressway it goes from 3 lanes to 2 then back to 3 again?? who designed that??
I noticed this a while ago from some of the drone footage but wasn't sure if this was the final configuration.
The Superway Grand Junction Rd on ramp was similar to this until they changed it to 3 lanes recently.
The reason I would expect is they presently consider it safer or more efficient for freight from the N-S motorway and the PREXY not to merge into the same lane.
Of course this may change as the N-S motorway gets busier and would be easily converted.

Drove the full length both ways this afternoon. Worth waiting for.

[COM] Re: Northern Connector | 14km | $1b

Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2020 1:04 pm
by rogue
Did a quick run along the NC this morning. Very smooth and not much road noise.

Minor issue, but there are inconsistencies with signage for Pt Wakefield Rd. Some signs say Pt Wakefield Rd, others say Pt Wakefield Highway.

[COM] Re: Northern Connector | 14km | $1b

Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2020 2:36 pm
by SBD
rogue wrote:
Mon Mar 09, 2020 1:04 pm
Did a quick run along the NC this morning. Very smooth and not much road noise.

Minor issue, but there are inconsistencies with signage for Pt Wakefield Rd. Some signs say Pt Wakefield Rd, others say Pt Wakefield Highway.
The State Maintained Roads dataset uses Port Wakefield Hwy north of the Northern Expressway, and Port Wakefield Rd south of it. Is that consistent with the mixed signs you saw?

It is an official dataset, but I'm not sure how authoritative it is. It has the Northern Expressway extended to Bolivar Interchange, and North South Motorway only south of Bolivar interchange.

[COM] Re: Northern Connector | 14km | $1b

Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2020 2:45 pm
by Waewick
I wonder when Google maps will update with the road?

[COM] Re: Northern Connector | 14km | $1b

Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2020 2:49 pm
by ChillyPhilly
I've never known the road to be 'Port Wakefield Highway'.

[COM] Re: Northern Connector | 14km | $1b

Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2020 3:09 pm
by SBD
ChillyPhilly wrote:
Mon Mar 09, 2020 2:49 pm
I've never known the road to be 'Port Wakefield Highway'.
I don't remember any announcements, but I had noticed that crashes etc were reported on Port Wakefield Highway for the last year at least, maybe more.

[COM] Re: Northern Connector | 14km | $1b

Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2020 3:22 pm
by rogue
SBD wrote:
Mon Mar 09, 2020 2:36 pm
The State Maintained Roads dataset uses Port Wakefield Hwy north of the Northern Expressway, and Port Wakefield Rd south of it. Is that consistent with the mixed signs you saw?
Interesting that "officially" the name changes at NExy. I never thought that was the case. As @ChillyPhilly mentioned, I've never heard it referred to as Port Wakefield Highway.
I cant recall which sections of the road were referred to as Road or Highway on the signage.