South Road UpgradeANZAC Highway Underpass

Community Update, December 2006

This update focuses on providing a summary of the community consultation outcomes and next steps in the project.

Another Community Update will be distributed during February 2007. This will include a refined concept design, opportunities to view and provide comment and construction staging information.

The project team is working to refine and further develop the concept design, using information gathered from technical investigations and comments provided by the local community and stakeholder groups.

During October 2006, the project team consulted with:

Pedestrian, cyclist, public transport and disability advocacy groups;Road user groups such as the RAA, SA Freight Council and South Australian Road Transport Association;Passenger Transport Division of the Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure;State RSL;Local government i.e. City of West Torrens and City of Unley; andLocal resident, business and community groups.

Members of the public were invited to provide feedback on the preliminary concept during two Community Open Days / Displays held on 22 and 26 October 2006. Over 500 people attended these events to view project displays, experience a ‘drive through’ model of how the Underpass will work, speak to technical staff and collect information fact sheets.

$152.00 was raised from the Community Open Day BBQ and these monies were donated by the project team to the West Torrens Meals on Wheels.

Additional comments about the preliminary concept were also gathered from completed feedback sheets provided in the September / October Community Update and also made available at the Community Open Day and Community Display.

Our project team would like to sincerely thank all of you who have contributed comments, made suggested improvements or raised issues of concern. We will be working over the next couple of months to incorporate, where possible, the feedback provided into a final concept which will be prepared for further community and stakeholder comment.

Some aspects of the design will not be changed such as:

it will be an underpass – an overpass was looked at but discounted as it didn’t meet the project objectives, including environmental, social and amenity considerations;traffic controls – these are based on the requirement to meet 2026 traffic volumes;number of traffic lanes in the underpass; andBrown Hill Creek alignment and hydrology.

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What’s new since the September/October 2006 Community Update?

South Road UpgradeANZAC Highway Underpass

Community Open Day, Sunday 22 October 2006

Estelle Markham and Kath Moore from the project team Rod Hook and Barbara Dickens from DTEI

What feedback has the community provided about the preliminary concept?

By mid November 2006, 184 feedback sheets with comments were submitted for the project team’s consideration.

Aspects of the preliminary concept that people said they liked were:

the overall concept design; greening of South Road and inclusion of landscaping treatments into the design;free flow traffic / improvement of traffic flow;catering for 2026 traffic volumes;Brown Hill Creek alignment maintained; andprogressing the upgrade of South Road.

Some issues of concern about the preliminary concept or project in general were also raised. Key issues included:

local traffic access restrictions in some side streets;traffic congestion in side streets during and after construction;emergency services access during and after construction;noise impacts on residents during and after construction;traffic interaction with the tram crossing;pedestrian access across South Road; andpublic transport changes i.e. bus stop locations and routes.

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Other issues raised that are in the project scope, are being investigated and where possible, addressed in the development of the refined concept design.

A number of people also provided feedback that they wanted more information on topics such as:

construction impacts on motorists, pedestrians, resi-dents and businesses;details of urban design features, including landscaping treatments;construction activities timetable;noise management strategies, including types and locations of noise attenuation treatments;construction impacts on Brown Hill Creek; andfinalised local road and pedestrian access arrangements during and after construction.

All of the design issues are being considered in the development of the refined concept design.

Information about the construction activities will be made available as soon as these have been determined in early 2007.

We are committed to meeting the community’s information needs and will provide information on all of the above topics as the detailed design is further developed.

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South Road UpgradeANZAC Highway Underpass

How will construction be managed and when is it likely to occur?Details of the construction activities and how they will be managed will be provided closer to construction works commencing.Traffic flow on ANZAC Highway and South Road will not be significantly affected during the preliminary stages of the works and for most of the duration of the construction of the underpass.The bridge deck over South Road is likely to be constructed early in the construction program. It is planned to be built in two stages to allow traffic to continue to flow on ANZAC Highway. Temporary traffic lanes will be constructed to divert traffic around the works and to reduce the impacts on traffic flow.Construction activities will generally take place during the day. Any night works will meet the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) standards to ensure that noise impacts on nearby residents will be minimised. We will ensure that all residents and businesses are kept well informed in advance of any night works occurring.Noise walls along the western side of the new road will be constructed as early as possible to reduce impacts to the occupants of neighbouring properties. The extent and timing of noise wall construction will depend on the necessary land becoming available through the property acquisition process, when buildings are demolished and underground services relocated. Security services have recently been put in place and are already patrolling the section of South Road between Forest and Tennyson Streets.Property owners and tenants affected by traffic access restrictions and / or noise treatments will be consulted in advance of any works occurring.The underpass is expected to open to traffic in late 2009 and preliminary works on the site commencing in early to mid 2007.Preliminary activities, such as placing additional culverts under South Road at Brown Hill Creek and services relocation will mainly occur to the west of the current South Road alignment so are not expected to cause any major disruption to traffic flow.

What are the next steps in the project?Following consideration of community and stakeholder input into the preliminary concept, the project team will continue to develop the design until the best possible design solution that meets the project objectives and project budget has been determined.Government approval of the overall design and construction costs will be required, prior to a refined concept design being distributed for widespread community comment.It is anticipated that a refined concept plan will be available for public viewing and comment during February / March 2007.The next Community Update to be released in February 2007, will provide details of where the concept plans will be on display and how people can provide their comments. Several opportunities to view the refined concept design at various locations including shopping centres, council offices, community centres and libraries will be provided. An updated ‘drive through’ model will be also made available for community viewing.Stakeholder groups, including government agencies, local business, resident and community groups will also be briefed on changes made to the concept design since the preliminary concept plan was released.

After the public display and community feedback period has ended, further detailed information about the construction program and activities will be released.

How can I gain more information or make project enquiries?You are able to gain more project information, make an enquiry or comment by:

Phoning the Project Community Enquiry Line – 1300 794 899.Logging onto the project website www.dtei.sa.gov.au clicking on the ‘South Road Upgrade’ and following the ‘ANZAC Highway Underpass’ link.

On the webpage you will be able to access ‘Commonly Asked Questions and Answers, project fact sheets, view the ‘drive through’model, complete an enquiry form and register your details on the mailing list.

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South Road UpgradeANZAC Highway Underpass

Back Row: Ana Guzman, Jane McQueen, Barbara Dickens, Julieanne Goode, Geoff Hepworth, Roger Whitington, Karen Griffiths, Daniel Bennett, Malcolm Langmaid, Peter Mortess, Tony Polec

Front Row: Chrys Triantafillou, Kath Moore, Scot Coleman, Andrew Millar, Paul Gelston, Kristy Finch, Amber Semler

Centre Row: John Kenyon, Peter Charlton, Glenn Calver, Simon Palmer, Douglas Dally, Ian Lawson, Don Peteranna, Nick Pearson, James Cox, Estelle Markham

We wish you and your family a very merry Christmas and a safe and happy New Year

Our project team includes representatives from the Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure (DTEI) and private industry representatives with specialist technical planning and engineering expertise.

We are working together to achieve the first step in the State Government’s long-term plan to transform South Road into a ‘free-flow’ traffic corridor and to specifically improve traffic flow, reduce traffic congestion and improve safety at the South Road / ANZAC Highway intersection.

Project Community Enquiry Line – 1300 794 899www.dtei.sa.gov.au

Click on ‘South Road’ and follow the ANZAC Highway Underpass link.

Who are the Project Team?