Commonwealth Avenue Bridge will be reduced to a single span for two years. Photo: NCA.
A preferred approach for managing the traffic disruptions from the Commonwealth Avenue Bridge strengthening works will be in the hands of the National Capital Authority by the end of this week or early next week.
It now looks likely that it will include a bus lane.
The two spans of the crucial cross-lake link will need to be closed for a year at a time while the work is done, leaving three lanes available for all traffic heading north or south.
NCA CEO Karen Doran told ABC Radio that the traffic modelling now underway would determine the approach to be taken and guide the traffic management plan that would be submitted to Roads ACT.
Specifically, this would detail how the three available lanes should be used, including one dedicated to buses.
“We’ll need to look at the consequences of that in terms of how you flow traffic into that lane orientation and out of it,” she said.
Ms Doran revealed that the extent of disruption to Canberra’s bus network, outlined by Transport Minister Chris Steel, had taken the NCA by surprise, despite the agency “working jointly with ACT Government on this issue for many months now”.
Mr Steel said services would have to be halved due to the logjam expected on the bridge in peak times over the duration of the two-year, $137.5 million project.
“I will say the announcements last week were news to us on the extent of that [disruption],” Ms Doran said.
She said the NCA was now “very focused” on supporting Transport Canberra in prioritising the public transport network.
“As we’ve been working through this modelling, we’ve been throwing up different options to really explore the ability to use all three lanes and to make optimal use of a third lane, if that were possible to do,” Ms Doran said.
“So we’re looking now at models that consider the use of that third lane for public transport needs.”
Bus services face disruption. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
Mr Steel told the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday that the government was pursuing all options with the NCA to mitigate the impacts, including prioritising public transport.
“The government has specifically requested the NCA to provide a bus priority lane in at least one direction during the period of works on Commonwealth Avenue,” he said.
But Mr Steel warned the impacts could not be fully mitigated
He was speaking in support of a motion from Canberra Liberals leader Leanne Castley calling on the government to regularly update the community about traffic impacts and develop a plan to maintain existing public transport capacity and minimise the increase in congestion.
The motion gave Ms Castley the opportunity to take a shot at light rail Stage 2B, declaring that Canberrans faced a decade of disruption on the southern artery.
“You would be reasonable to think that light rail stage 2B would be about to take off at the same time, so these developments could cause congestion in this area, Commonwealth Avenue, State Circle, Adelaide Avenue for a very long time – gridlock in the south of Canberra,” she said.
“Throw into the mix London Circuit issues, and it’s no exaggeration to say that Labor are delivering a decade of delay and disruption for southside commuters.
“We are calling on the government today to provide the community with practical and accurate advice so that Canberrans can plan around these works and minimise their personal commute. ”
Woden-based independent MLA Fiona Carrick questioned why the government and NCA hadn’t already developed a plan.
“This project has been in planning for years,” she said.
“We should have had a clear, transparent traffic management plan ready to go. Instead, we’re seeing buck passing between Minister Steel and the NCA.”
Greens MLA Andrew Braddock’s successful amendment called on the government to advocate for the NCA to prioritise a bus lane in its traffic plan, saying reducing the number of bus connections crossing the bridge would fail Canberrans.
Mr Braddock said a dedicated bus lane could carry four times as many people per hour as cars.
“Dedicating at least some space on the open span of the bridge to bus travel is one way of making this work,” he said.
“Other options include jump lanes, which prioritise getting buses to the front of the queue and on to the bridge quicker, and express connections diverted over Kings Avenue Bridge with similar tools.”
Both Mr Braddock and Ms Carrick took aim at the NCA for not considering the wider impacts of the bridge project.
“It does not operate in a vacuum,” Ms Carrick said, while Mr Braddock accused it of existing in its own bubble.
Mr Steel said he would further update the community once the NCA finalised its traffic modelling.
Both Mr Steel and Ms Doran said it was not possible to run concurrent light rail and bridge projects to shorten the disruption.
