Investors wanted for 3-mile (5km) toll tunnels in Brisbane Australia

CBD is in a V-bend of the river just west of the NSBT Brisbane Mayor Campbell Newman Roadheader and TBM built sections Other projects under study called TransApex

The City of Brisbane Australia is moving quickly on a North South Bypass Tunnel (NSBT) project. It is after investor bids for an approx-35 year toll concession to support financing the $1 billion (A$1.2b) 5.2km (3.2mi) long project. Expressions of interest are due April 29.

The project has a positive environmental impact statement, recently published. Basic design work is done, and the project has been approved by both state and city governments. NSBT is the first of four tunnelways planned by the city government under a mayor elected on a campaign to go underground to end traffic tie-ups.

Mayor Newman has made construction of the NSBT his top priority in office.

The NS tunnelway takes off at its southern end from Southeast Freeway which presently crosses the Brisbane River on a high bridge and ends in a distributor system of roads in the central business district. The NSBT facility slopes down quickly from the Southeast Freeway under a surface arterial in inner suburbs and goes under the Brisbane River just east of the CBD to emerge in the northeast corner of the central city. It forms a bypass around its eastern edge. Some 40% of the north-south traffic jamming the CBD is through traffic.

The NSBT project involves 4.7km (15,420ft, 2.9mi) of side-by-side 2-lane tunnels and 0.5km (0.3mi) of approach roads. The tunnels will be 12m (39.4ft) diameter.

* Roadways in the tunnels will be 2 x 3.5m (11.5ft) travel lanes with shoulder of 1.5m (5ft) - just sufficient for a disabled vehicle to be gotten past if pulled over.

* Design speed is 80km/hr (50mph) with an estimated capacity of about 96k veh/day

* Overhead clearance in the tunnels will be minimum 4.9m (16ft) to take full height heavy trucks

* Upgrades are a maximum 5% and downgrades 7%, except for short stretches on ramps

* The tunnelway will be driven deep in bedrock most of its length - perhaps with roadheaders or a tunnel boring machine

* The tunnel design uses jetfans for ventilation but has a longitudinal smoke extraction duct in case of fire

* A third of the way along a pair of underground ramps will join to allow local connections in its southern half

* at each end portal there will be has connections with two separate roads

* open road tolling will be employed - no stop-to-pay toll collection, you either have a transponder or call in/log-in with payment details and vehicle license plate number.

Traffic modeling shows that the NSBT will carry about 74k veh/weekday at a $2.65 toll (A$3.30) in 2016 which sugegsts revenue of about $60m (A$75m).

There is no traffic and revenue study available yet, but the EIS says that about two-thirds of the capital cost or $650m can be financed with the tolls and that the remaining $350m will come from government grants.

This is just stage 1 of a three stage NSBT project. Studies are going on for the further stages at the northern end. Also there are feasibility studies on three other tunnelway projects and a surface project with a new river bridge into the CBD - a project monikered as TransApex.

The champion of toll tunnelways is only the second conservative to win the mayorship of a traditionally Labor city, Campbell Newman - a former army officer and engineer who won 47% to 40% in a March 2004 election against an incumbent Labor mayor. Newman ran a sunny Reaganesque campaign as "Can-do Campbell." A Schwarzenegger-type fit-looking guy with an Australian rather than an Austrian accent he too faces a hostile legislative body, but apparently is getting much of his agenda accepted.

The setting

The greater Brisbane area or southeast Queensland (SEQ) is Australia's third metropolitan area but its fastest growing at 1.5% annually. The SEQ population of 2.7m is projected to grow to 3.7m by 2026. The area has a Florida-like climate but much of the area is broken up into hilly terrain along either side of the flood plain of a lazy meandering Mississippi-type river, a scaled-down model of the Big Easy, but still awkward to cross. The six existing bridges with a total of 32 lanes carry about 480k veh/weekday.

The City of Brisbane contains the heaviest concentration of jobs and 950k of the regional population of 2.7m. It has an undeveloped highway system. Debilitating traffic congestion is projected to grow from about $2b to $8b/yr in cost by 2015 without major new highways.

Time savings using the NSBT are estimated to be 10mins to 15mins.

The city has a well developed radial system of electric trains which take 27% of central area commuters but the major transit emphasis is on buses. They take 17% of commuters but this should grow as exclusive busways and bus lanes are developed.

There is some opposition to the project based on its assistance to the evil motor vehicle and the exhaust air towers at either end of the tunnel, but the environmental impact statement released in march says it improves air quality slightly by reducing the volume of slow traffic.

TransApex

The other projects in study are:

(1) The Airport Link will improve access to Brisbane's air and seaports. This link will extend north from the NSBT to connect to Sandgate Road, Gympie Road and the East-West Arterial, linking to Airport Drive. It will:

* provide a connection between the NSBT and the Inner City Bypass, and link the Brisbane Airport with other main travel generators

* provide a connection to the middle northern suburbs and northern arterial networks for cross-city travel from other TransApex links

* offer the inner north-west a new cross-river choice between the Gateway Bridge and the Story Bridge (through the NSBT)

* reduce traffic on Lutwyche and Sandgate Roads, providing opportunities for bus or T3 (US: HOV) lanes

* 61k veh/day in 2016

(2) The Hale Street Link is a cross-river connection between Hale Street at Milton in the north and Cordelia and Merivale Streets at South Brisbane and Montague Road at West End. This link will:

* provide a cross-river link for growing local communities within South Brisbane, West End and surrounds

* reduce traffic on the William Jolly Bridge

* provide a bridge for pedestrian and cycle access between West End and Milton

* 31k veh/day in 2016

(3) The Northern Link will be a cross-city tunnel linking the Western Freeway at Toowong in the west with the Inner City Bypass and Kelvin Grove in the north. This link will:

* relieve traffic congestion on many north-south arterials in the city's north-west

* reduce traffic on Coronation Drive and Milton Road, providing opportunities for bus or T3 lanes

* cater for peak period traffic to major employment areas outside the CBD

* traffic 40k veh/day in 2021

(4) The East-West Link will be a cross-river tunnel linking the Pacific Motorway and O'Keefe Street at Buranda in the east with the Western Freeway and Toowong in the west. This link will:

*offer suburbs west of the CBD an alternative for cross-town travel, relieving traffic congestion on the Captain Cook and Walter Taylor bridges

* improve travel for main trip generators on both sides of the river, including Toowong, Indooroopilly and the University of Queensland at St Lucia in the est and Woolloongabba, Princess Alexandra Hospital and Boggo Road in the east

* about 20k veh/day in 2021

Existing tolls

Brisbane's major existing toll facility is the Gateway Bridge, a 6-lane structure that rises high over the main shipping channel to the old river wharves, now largely being forsaken for deeper wharves in Moreton Bay at the mouth of the river. The Gateway Bridge is part of a major north-south motorway near the coast about 8km (5mi) east of the CBD and the planned NSBT. The bridge and the Logan Motorway are both operated by a state owned company, Queensland Motorways.

The Gateway Bridge has the Brisbane airport on its north and the shipping port to its immediate south.

Push for port

The port of Brisbane is being shaped up to overtake Melbourne as Australia's premier port. Brisbane is an obvious first stop for super-containerships from Asia and North America and has land radily available for warehousing and port facilities. Like the port of Los Angeles it has sheltered water in Moreton Bay relatively close to the ocean plus a huge area enclosed by new seawall that is being reclaimed for landside facilities for container handling. Melbourne the premier port is stuck with an estuarial river based port 100km (60mi) from deepwater. Sydney's wharves are close to deep water but land for terminal operations is awkwardly located and very expensive, and its port people lack political muscle. Details of the NSBT can be found at www.brisbane.qld.gov.au TOLLROADSnews 2005-04-12