We call on the Coalition or Labor to make a full commitment to duplicating the Barton Highway within five years NOT 15 years and NOT 25. Our lives matter! Our vote in July will be final! No more piecemeal solutions! No quick fix overtaking lanes! No partial duplication! The short term solution is fully staged duplication.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The statistics are there, plain for all to see. The Barton Highway is one of the most dangerous roads in NSW. We refuse to accept a casualty crash rate per km that’s double other comparable highways. In 2007, the Howard Government believed a full duplication was important and committed $264 million, a commitment also confirmed by the Rudd Government. What happened to that money? The Yass Valley is the fastest growing local government area in NSW but we are not getting the infrastructure spending to support it. In times of increasing economic uncertainty, the government needs to do its job and facilitate growth not hinder it. Full duplication of the Barton Highway needs to be now not in 10 or 15 or 20 or more years.
The government funded Economic Evaluation Report, published in 2013 stated that the highway was too expensive. Its cost benefit analysis demonstrated that the Barton Highway was not economically viable in the short term. This cost benefit analysis is political rubbish and short sightedly fails to take into account the wider economic advantages. Such advantages are detailed in other reports. One example, from Brisbane research company, Matusik Property Insights, points out that an improved transport route:
· increases population growth by 25 per cent on average,
· lifts residential sales by up to 35 per cent,
· increases property values by up to 86 per cent,
· attracts younger families and couples reducing the average age of an area,
· attracts more new retail, restaurants and office premises by 16 per cent to 30 per cent
· has a positive effect on job creation and unemployment
The upshot is more people, more opportunities, more jobs. The business case is easy to see. Upgrading the Barton Highway to dual carriage is of vital strategic importance for regional development.
We call on the Coalition or Labor to establish a clear comprehensive plan of action and commit the funds required to complete a staged full duplication of the highway in 5 years. A total of 32.5 kms needs to be upgraded. This is made up of 3 sections that together have an average casualty crash rate per km per annum of 0.41 which is 110 per cent higher than the NSW class average at 0.195. A simple plan is:
(Stage 1) - Start with the most dangerous and highest traffic volume sections of the Barton Highway to be completed within 2 years:
17.5km of corridor Section No. 4 between Murrumbateman Village and the ACT border - It is well over the duplication threshold with a traffic volume of 12,500 vehicles per day and a casualty crash rate of 0.31.
5.5km of section No. 3 Murrumbateman village precinct - It also has the required daily traffic volume of 12,500 vehicles per day and a casualty crash rate of 0.62.
(Stage 2) – after the completion of Section 3 and 4; a final 9.3kms will remain to be completed within the 5 period:
9.3kms of section 2 between end of existing dual carriageway and Murrumbateman - It currently has daily traffic volume at 9,000 vehicles per day and a casualty crash rate at 0.30.
To read more visit:
www.rms.nsw.gov.au/projects/south-western/barton-highway/project-documents.html
www.yassvalley.nsw.gov.au click Agendas and Minutes 2013 for 26.06.13_GM_Report.pdf
www.thehighway.org.au/
Matusik Property Insights, Perth Freight Link, 2015, www.matusik.com.au