The current arrangement for the MPDC. Images: ACT Government.
A new design concept is required for a proposed key connector road that will take pressure off the growing Molonglo Valley’s increasingly sclerotic road system and service the Town Centre and new suburbs.
While a study was done in 2021 for an east-west arterial road connection between the still-to-be-built Molonglo Town Centre and the Tuggeranong Parkway, Infrastructure Canberra has had to go back to the market for a fresh design, due to a significant increase in the projected population of the district, according to the tender documents.
The new work on the Molonglo Parkway Drive Connector (MPDC) will cover a 2.8 km length of arterial road, Tuggeranong Parkway interchange and ramps, new lanes and widening for the Parkway, upgrades to the Cotter Road interchange, a Molonglo to City Cycle Highway (Molonglo Town Centre to Lady Denman Drive Section) and supporting infrastructure.
The 2021 study identified a preferred arrangement and alignment for the connector road. However, the new population forecast of 70,000 people by 2050, 40 per cent more than previous estimates, an updated land release program, and new environmental, planning, and technical requirements and legislation necessitated a fresh look at the MPDC.
However, Molonglo residents may not be able to drive on the road until 2036, according to four scenarios outlined in the tender documents, all of which name that year as a potential delivery date.
The new arterial road will link the employment centre to be developed at the Molonglo Town Centre, future local centres in Molonglo 3 East and new residential housing zones.
It is intended to be the primary access for freight to the Town Centre.
But it will also siphon off some of the Parkway and city-bound traffic, which regularly clogs John Gorton Drive and Cotter Road in the morning peak, and the homeward traffic along the Parkway in the evening.
The corridors the study will examine.
The corridor is between the John Gorton Drive/Holborrow Avenue intersection in Denman Prospect, through the Town Centre, across a new Molonglo River bridge to the future Molonglo 3 East development, and adjacent to the National Arboretum to the Parkway.
It has been divided into four zones:
- Zone 1 – Molonglo Town Centre, where the road will be delivered by the Suburban Land Agency
- Zone 2 – Molonglo River Crossing, linking the Western Molonglo Valley / Town Centre and Molonglo 3 East / Tuggeranong Parkway.
- Zone 3 – MPDC Interchange, with links into the Molonglo 3 East precinct, including an intersection with a northern leg that will provide access from the MPDC to the proposed suburbs of Bandler and Sulman, in addition to a second National Arboretum Canberra access via the Molonglo 3
East road network. It also includes a grade-separated interchange with the Tuggeranong Parkway. - Zone 4 – Tuggeranong Parkway, where works will be required to enable the MPDC interchange and to ensure that the Parkway will continue to operate at an appropriate level of service. These include an extra northbound lane between the Cotter Road entry ramp and the Lakeside Interchange, a duplicated bridge crossing of the Molonglo River, a southbound auxiliary lane between the MPDC Entry Ramp and the Cotter Road Exit ramp and work to increase the capacity of the Cotter Road interchange.
As well as the two river crossings, an overpass bridge will need to be built over the Tuggeranong Parkway at the interchange, above live traffic on one of Canberra’s busiest roads.
The new study will explore four 2036 delivery scenarios – Zone 1 + Zone 3 + Tuggeranong Parkway works; Zone 1 + Zone 2 + Zone 3 (excluding Tuggeranong Parkway works); Zone 1 + Zone 3 (excluding Tuggeranong Parkway works), and Zone 1 + Tuggeranong Parkway works.
The consultant will also provide cost estimates and a cost-benefit analysis.
The tender closes on 2 October. The study will be 50:50 funded with the Commonwealth.
