Construction Update 01 • June 2010

Douglas Arterial Duplication

Connecting Queenslandwww.tmr.qld.gov.au

Douglas Arterial Duplication (DAD) is under wayDAD commenced in May with the establishment of a crew compound near the Riverside Boulevard roundabout and clearing vegetation from the Ross River banks around the Vickers Bridge area.

Ross River water around Vickers Bridge

will be closed to all vessels from 21

May 2010 to 2012 to allow construction

of the new bridge. The fi rst step was

installing silt curtains across Ross

River to catch sediment from the

construction activity.

After this, the project team started

putting rock from the Ross River Dam

quarry into the river, starting at the

Riverway Drive side and extending the

bund or rock wall across to the other

bank.

The bund will be completed by the end

of June. Following this, the project

team will start preparing the river bed

for piling, set to commence early July.

Other key construction activities

throughout May included:

Fencing certain areas•

Clearing vegetation in preparation •

for building a retaining

wall alongside abutment B

(embankment) on the Condon side

of Riverway Drive

Installing barriers alongside •

sections of the existing Douglas

Arterial to provide a safe

environment for workers and the

travelling public

Off-site – manufacturing the pre-•

stressed concrete piles for the

bridges and overpasses.

A Community Information Day was

held at the Riverway Arts Centre, off

Riverside Drive on Saturday 1 May and

Sunday 2 May from 10am – 4pm both

days. The community were encouraged

to visit the display to learn more

about the Douglas Arterial Duplication

project, talk to the project team and

view project plans. Feedback from the

general community in attendance was

positive toward the project.

State member for Mundingburra, Lindy Nelson-Carr; Minister for Main Roads, Mr Craig Wallace; andSenator Jan McLucas, representing the Federal Minister, Mr Anthony Albanese, launch the DAD project.

Works during June will include:

Building a reinforced concrete retaining wall alongside the •

abutment (embankment) on the Condon side of Riverway Drive

Building new earth abutments on each side of Ross River at the •

approaches to the new bridge

Starting earthworks at the University Road off-ramp for •

widening and constructing a retaining wall

Earthworks on the new abutment for the University Road •

overpass

Start work on the Angus Smith Drive abutment A retaining wall •

– beside the footpath

Vegetation clearing, drainage works and service relocations •

behind the barriers along the motorway

Off-site activities include manufacturing girders for the bridges •

and ordering plants and tube stock for the landscaping

Riverway Drive crossover – two lanes each way.•

Works during July 2010 will include:

Piling for the new Vickers Bridge (144 piles to be driven) and •

abutments

Continued work on the University Road overpass abutment •

Riverway Drive traffi c crossover – one lane each way.•

What is happening in June and July?

Issue 01 • June 2010Douglas Arterial Duplication Construction Update

Douglas Arterial Duplication (Ring Road Stage 4)

How will this workaffect you?

For river users, no bookings for recreational

vessels will be taken for the area between

the Black Weir wall and the bridge from 21

May 2010 to February 2012.

Recreational access by craft that would

require boat ramp access is not permitted.

Due to safety standards, the Riverway boat

ramp cannot be used. For more information,

please call Townsville City Council on 4727

9000.

Speed restrictions will be in place from

Monday 31 May from the University Road

off-ramp to the Angus Smith Drive ramps

and from the Riverside Boulevard Overpass

area to Vickers Bridge. The 80km/h speed

restriction in the areas of temporary barriers

will in place for 24 hours a day until the

barriers are removed.

There will be daily construction traffi c on

Angus Smith Drive to the site compound at

the Riverside Boulevard roundabout and to

the Vickers Bridge construction area.

In early June, the median lanes on each side

of Riverway Drive in the area between the

Ring Road on and off ramps will be closed for

a week. This will be followed by a switching

of traffi c lanes to allow delivery of the bridge

piles and piling works.

Please drive carefully around all work areas. We apologise for any inconvenience and thank motorists in advance for their patience during construction works.

Some of the most frequently asked questions

on matters outside the scope of the DAD

project are answered by Main Roads below:

Question: Will there be on and off ramps at Riverside Boulevard?

In 1995, Main Roads decided that entry •

and exit ramps providing direct access

into Riverside Gardens could not be

justifi ed as a cost to the taxpayer, given

that they only provided an additional

access for local traffi c. Main Roads

advised the developers of this change in

1995.

The Department also advised the •

developers that land had been reserved

so that entry and exit ramps could

be built to service Riverside Gardens,

should the developers wish to fund their

construction in the future. However,

such access points must conform with

Main Roads requirements to have a

minimum distance between successive

access points to the national highway.

Construction of on and off ramps at •

Riverside Boulevard is not part of the

scope for the duplication project.

Question: Will there be new or additional noise walls on the Riverside Gardens side?

Noise monitoring was conducted along •

the duplication route after Sections 2

and 3 of the Ring Road opened. The

results were used in a computer study to

Frequently Asked Questionsdetermine where noise reduction devices

such as walls are required and what

heights they will need to be.

Noise reduction devices will be installed •

along the Townsville Hospital boundary

and along a section of houses south of

the project, extending from the south

bank of the Ross River to where Angus

Smith Drive curves north toward the

project (basically moving the existing

noise reduction wall from what will

become the median to the new road

shoulder).

There will be no other noise reduction •

devices installed as part of this

project, as studies show existing noise

walls along the current motorway are

performing to the required standards.

The glass panels on Vickers Bridge will •

be replaced.

DAD environmental actionsSilt fences have been installed around work areas in riverways to fi lter particles

from the water and prevent changing the natural waterways. The project team is

undertaking weekly water monitoring to ensure water quality is maintained.

There are also four 1200mm pipes (two on each bank of the Ross River) to allow fi sh

passage through the bund. Similarly, a 1200mm pipe on each bank at University Creek

will allow the continued passage of fi sh while the bund is in place.

Other environmental protection activities include the general construction erosion

controls and minimising areas where topsoil is stripped.

Project facts and fi guresBy July, directly and indirectly the DAD project will put 488 Australians to work building •

transport infrastructure

35,000 tonnes of rock are being placed in the Ross River bund.•

Paving and earthworks will use around 1000 tonnes a day, totalling 150,000 tonnes for the •

project

7000 cubic metres of concrete will be used in the project•

There will be 101 prestressed concrete girders, between 12m and 34m in length•

There will be 174 piles manufactured, with 144 used in the new Vickers Bridge and the •

longest being 38m (spliced).

Members of the construction, design and Main Roads team engaged in the DAD project.

www.tmr.qld.gov.auConnecting Queensland

This project involves duplicating Section 1 of the Ring Road, the •

Douglas section, which was completed in 2005.

Duplication of the Douglas Arterial will turn the existing road •

into a median-divided, four-lane motorway.

The $110 million joint federal and state funded project will •

increase the current two-lane Douglas Arterial section of the

Townsville Ring Road to four lanes, supporting population

growth and road infrastructure demands in the region.

The two new lanes and associated bridges will be built south •

of the existing road from University Drive through to Riverway

Drive, Condon, where it will connect with the recently opened

Section 3 of the Ring Road.

The new 5.6km road will follow the existing Main Roads •

reservation and alignment of the Douglas Arterial, with the

two dual carriageways being separated by a median or barrier

where required.

A new three-lane, 250m bridge across the Ross River, •

Freshwater Drive and Riverway Drive will be constructed

upstream of the existing Vickers Bridge, along with a two-

lane bridge over University Creek. The grade-separated

interchanges at University Road and Angus Smith Drive will

also be duplicated.

Douglas Arterial Duplication (DAD)

Talk to us about DAD!

Driving DAD home safely!

Mail: DAD Information

PO Box 5244

Townsville Qld 4810

Phone: DAD Infoline - 4771 4805 ~ Fax: 4771 4016

Email: dad@balfourconsulting.com.au

Website: www.mainroads.qld.gov.au