Selected quotes from this document concerning the Pacific Highway upgrade – in which Greiner et al recognise the economic importance of this highway, the safety issues for users** and, then recommend that upgrade funding first go towards that road leg closest to Sydney while pushing out the completion schedule for North Coast sections until 2022 and suggesting drivers might possibily have to pay a toll or similar tax:
Duplication of the Pacific Highway and the Princes
Highway (to the Jervis Bay turnoff) are critical for
economic growth along the coast. Inland, freight access
needs to be improved through a bridge replacement
program and investments to fix identified bottlenecks on
both railways and roads.
2012-17 Pacific Highway and Princes Highway: review scope and costs,
then continue construction*
* Indicates project recommendations that are existing Government commitments.
2017-22 Complete duplication of Pacific Highway and Princes Highway
(to Jervis Bay turnoff)*
A number of major road programs are underway.
These include upgrades to the Pacific Highway
and Princes Highway. Getting the best value for
these major investments is essential. Infrastructure
NSW is concerned that cost estimates for these
programs appear very high.
Major investment has been undertaken in recent years
on the regional road network in Regional NSW. This
has been supported by Commonwealth Government
funding through the Nation Building Program, which
will invest around $11 billion in regional NSW’s roads
over the period from 2008-09 to 2013-14. Projects
have included investment in the duplication of the
Hume and Pacific Highways, and in new routes such
as the Hunter Expressway.
The ongoing Pacific Highway duplication is
one of the largest infrastructure programs in the State.
10.6.2. Duplicating the Pacific Highway
Current Status
The Pacific Highway runs 670 kilometres from the F3 at
Hexham to the Queensland border. It carries over half the
freight task between Sydney and Brisbane, as well as a mix
of long distance and local vehicle traffic. Road safety has
been another major driver of investment in this corridor.
As at April 2012, 52 percent of the Highway
(346 kilometre) had been upgraded to dual carriageway
and another nine percent (60 kilometre) was under
construction. A further $7.7 billion is forecast to be
needed for remaining unfunded works (giving a total
program cost of over $16 billion). The NSW and
Commonwealth Governments are in discussion around
funding options for remaining works.
Scope of Remaining Work
The remaining undivided sections of the Pacific Highway
comprise two main sections:
• Port Macquarie to Urunga
• Woolgoolga to Ballina
The economic merit of the remaining sections is
much lower at 0.8 (Benefit Cost Ratio) than that of the
Highway as a whole31. This reflects the relatively low
traffic volumes on the remaining sections – for example
the traffic between Woolgoolga and Ballina is generally
below 10,000 vehicles per day.
Given competing priorities for NSW and Commonwealth
Government funds, the high cost and relatively limited
benefits of these remaining sections raises questions
about the:
• relative merit of prioritising busier sections of the
Pacific Highway corridor for upgrade sooner,
(in particular from the F3 to Raymond Terrace
40,000 vehicles per day)
• appropriate scope of works and priority for those
sections with relatively light traffic.
Construction costs
Construction costs on the Pacific Highway appear to have
increased significantly as the upgrades have progressed.
The cost of the currently unfunded sections are estimated
to be some 20–40 percent more per kilometre than the
already delivered or committed sections, even after
allowing for normal industry cost escalation32.
Current highway planning seems more focussed on
delivering an outstanding engineering outcome than
on controlling costs. The Ballina Bypass provides a
recent illustration of the consequences of having high
performance standards. For 12 kilometres of new road,
the cost was $640 million – more than twice the cost per
kilometre of previous sections33.
Given the scale of the forecast spending and the limited
resources available, Infrastructure NSW recommends
that now is an appropriate time for an independent review
of the scope of work, with a focus on value engineering
(discussed in section 16). The independent review
should also consider how constraints such as work
practices and planning approval conditions are adding
to the budget.
RMS should also consider options to improve
contracting efficiency. Currently the Highway is being
constructed through a large number of different
contracts, which reduces the scope for economies
of scale and in practice limits potential bidders to
local suppliers.
Lower costs may be achieved if the remaining unfunded
sections were issued as fewer, but much larger
packages, which may attract international suppliers and
increase competitive pressure.
Given the scale of major road programs in
Regional NSW, action is needed to contain costs and
where possible, particularly with the Pacific Highway
and Princes Highway programs. Finite funding means
the alternative is likely to be further delay in delivering
these programs.
In many cases, pinch point upgrades will be sufficient
to meet the transport demands placed on the regional
roads network over the next 20 years.
Commonwealth
Commonwealth funding may augment the funding
options under the State’s control. The Federal
Government has made significant contributions to NSW
infrastructure projects in recent years, particularly the
Pacific Highway, freight rail upgrades and the M7.
Infrastructure Australia has identified a number
of key themes and challenges that are consistent
with the approach taken by Infrastructure NSW. In
particular there is a shared focus on improving the
liveability and productivity of our cities, the efficiency
of our international gateways and the prosperity of
regional areas.
The challenge is to ensure that NSW’s infrastructure
projects are best positioned to secure Commonwealth
support going forward. This requires a more rigorous
approach to planning and selecting projects for
submission to Infrastructure Australia, as well as a
more thorough exposition of their benefits relative to
Infrastructure Australia’s priorities.
Nonetheless it must be recognised that current fiscal
pressures at the Federal level mean that Commonwealth
support cannot be seen as an alternative to the other
funding strategies set out in this section, in particular the
user funding options.
** NSW Parliament Hansard records that there have been 555 fatalities on the Pacific Highway between 1997 and early 2012. The Daily Examiner on 5 October stated that; In the
past year 107 people lost their lives on the road north of Newcastle.
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