[COM] M2 Northern Connector | 15.5km | $867m

[ChillyPhilly]

Works continue around the Motorway/PRExy interchange. Both east and west of this interchange, a chunk of the median has been removed. More and more land is gradually being cleared to the north.

Here's a refresher:

[SBD]

Is that the current design? It shows the railway in the diagram, and has the south-to-west ramp different than other drawings I have seen that have it entering Salisbury Highway east of the current bridge.

Has anyone seen or heard "the plan" for how the bikeway/shared paths will cross Port Wakefield Road and Salisbury Highway? Are there bridges/underpasses/overpasses or will there just be "watch for bikes/pedestrians signs on the highways?

[Norman]

I suspect there might still be a "detailed design" document to come with final details. Let's hope so anyway.

[rev]

Is that the current design? It shows the railway in the diagram, and has the south-to-west ramp different than other drawings I have seen that have it entering Salisbury Highway east of the current bridge.

Has anyone seen or heard "the plan" for how the bikeway/shared paths will cross Port Wakefield Road and Salisbury Highway? Are there bridges/underpasses/overpasses or will there just be "watch for bikes/pedestrians signs on the highways?

Cyclists and pedestrians aren't allowed to be on freeways & motorways.
Haven't you noticed the signs at the start of such roads that say they are prohibited to be on there?

[Splashmo]

Cyclists and pedestrians aren't allowed to be on freeways & motorways.
Haven't you noticed the signs at the start of such roads that say they are prohibited to be on there?

There's a separate path next to the Northern Expressway and there's a new 16km path proposed for the Connector. I imagine SBD is asking how they'll be connected.

[rev]

Cyclists and pedestrians aren't allowed to be on freeways & motorways.
Haven't you noticed the signs at the start of such roads that say they are prohibited to be on there?

There's a separate path next to the Northern Expressway and there's a new 16km path proposed for the Connector. I imagine SBD is asking how they'll be connected.

Yes you're right I forgot about the paths.

[drsmith]

Is that the current design?

No.

A later render shows South Road northbound to Salisbury Highway eastbound passing over both Northern Connector carriageways.

[drsmith]

The image above is the same as in a Powerpoint presentation from August last year on Lend Lease's Northern Connector project site.

https://gateway.icn.org.au/project/3748 ... 1468345768

Another change from earlier designs is the all movement access interchange at Bolivar. While the Globe Derby interchange and connection to PWR is shown, it's not indicated as part of the current build. Shared use paths are also shown.

[SBD]

Cyclists and pedestrians aren't allowed to be on freeways & motorways.
Haven't you noticed the signs at the start of such roads that say they are prohibited to be on there?

There's a separate path next to the Northern Expressway and there's a new 16km path proposed for the Connector. I imagine SBD is asking how they'll be connected.

Yes, I was asking about the connection from the current Stuart O'Grady Bikeway which ends on the east side of Port Wakefield Road to the new path along the Northern Connector, and between the southern end of the new path to both the westbound shoulder of Salisbury Highway/Port River Expressway and the paths at ground level under the South Road Superway. Both crossings are drawn on most planning maps with straight lines across the roads, but I have not seen any indication of whether there will be bridges, underpasses, or just "bikes crossing" and "watch for pedestrians" signs. Different versions of the drawings have slight variations on where these lines are drawn, so somebody must be thinking about it, but I have not seen anything authoritative. The closest I saw was the version that showed the Stuart O'Grady Bikeway extended parallel to PWR to Heaslip Road, then cross with the traffic lights there, but that has gone from the latest drawings and returned to a straight crossing at the south side of the northern interchange.

Cyclists and pedestrians are not permitted on the Northern Expressway or the elevated South Road Superway, but cyclists are permitted on Port Wakefield Road, Salisbury Highway and Port River Expressway. The current interchange supports cyclists joining the bridge at the end of the northbound carriageway, so they cross the Port River Expressway on the shoulder of the same bridge that carries cars, trucks and road trains if they are coming from Wingfield or Regency Park and heading towards Mawson Lakes and Salisbury or up Port Wakefield Road.

The current Stuart O'Grady Bikeway is seen as a safe place for younger or inexperienced riders to practice riding longer distances with only a few road crossings. The new path will also have connections to the Little Para River and Dry Creek trails, so I expect there will be more people interested in using it to find safe routes between the Salisbury/Mawson Lakes/Paralowie areas and the Wingfield/Port Adelaide/Semaphore areas.

[ChillyPhilly]

This is OpenStreetMap's layout:

[Westside]

This is OpenStreetMap's layout:

The top-right corner of the image aptly indicates the grains of salt with which OpenStreetMaps should be read.

[monotonehell]

This is OpenStreetMap's layout:

The top-right corner of the image aptly indicates the grains of salt with which OpenStreetMaps should be read.

[ChillyPhilly]

This is OpenStreetMap's layout:

The top-right corner of the image aptly indicates the grains of salt with which OpenStreetMaps should be read.

Good call.

[rev]

Not sure if anyone's posted this already but at the northern end of the superway, where the NC will run, work is well underway.

[ChillyPhilly]

Not sure if anyone's posted this already but at the northern end of the superway, where the NC will run, work is well underway.

I've been trying to figure out what exactly they're doing with the PRExy median. In two spots, it's been removed and replaced with bitumen. A future u-turn spot for when they demolish the existing interchange, perhaps? This makes sense with the westernmost clearing, between South Road and Hanson Road, but the eastern median clearing doesn't fit this theory.