Second Deck to be added to Sydney Harbour Bridge?

[cammo2003 20]

Story here: http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Doubledecker-bridge-to-break-the-gridlock/2005/04/29/1114635748181.html?oneclick=true

Anyone seen this? it was on the news today, should be interesting. The plan is to build a second deck underneath the existing bridge deck to allow construction of a second set of rail tracks over the bridge.

[villarule 2]

link doesn't work

i think that the second deck would spoil the look of the bridge, but i would probably be very useful.

[Compromise 1]

The link works for me but you have to register to view the material. Somthing that I don't want to do on a unknown site.

 

A second deck would solve the traffic proplems but unless carefully done may ruin the look of the bridge.

[Ded 30]

The idea of a 'strap on' deck really doesn't seem to do the bridge any justice...

[Duke87 1,070]

Well, it's already physically the worlds widest bridge. I say why not.

[ephorex_77 0]

Date: 4/30/2005 9:40:34 PM Author: Duke87 Well, it's already physically the worlds widest bridge. I say why not.

quote>

I don't think an extension would look nice, widest bridge or not . I mean, it already looks great!!

[Dippit 0]

They'd be better off making a second tunnel.

[Compromise 1]

Date: 5/3/2005 2:47:30 AM Author: Dippit They'd be better off making a second tunnel.

quote>

Yes, that propley would be better overall but would cost more money.

[GingerBlokey 30]

Personally I think it is a good idea. A second bridge would not look good.

[tough1988 0]

I think a second deck would spoil it.

[Duke87 1,070]

[your_adress_here 11]

I hope Duke is giving that award to himself...

[Duke87 1,070]

No, I'm giving it to tough1988. He's the one that bumped an 11 month old thread.

[MarcosMX 222]

For those who can't see the website

I cut-and-pasted diectly from that website.

A four-lane motorway is likely to be "strapped on" to the undercarriage of the Sydney Harbour Bridge as part of an ambitious plan to ease the city's chronic road and train congestion.

It is understood a private consortium, led by Westpac and the construction giant Leightons, has been working closely on the project for nearly a year with State Government officials.

While a sub-deck of roadway would be added for motorists, the existing Cahill Expressway car and bus lanes would be removed to make way for a new dual-track rail line.

The bridge would be transformed to carry eight road lanes, four rail tracks and two bus lanes.

The Herald has learned key members of state cabinet have been given an overview of the emerging plan, called Project Star, and the options are being examined enthusiastically by ministers and public servants.

At least one new city railway station would be built. The new tracks on the Habour Bridge would follow the old tramway tunnels to Wynyard and are then likely to travel south to Central Station via a new tunnel under Sussex Street. This would take passengers away from Town Hall, which has dangerously overcrowded platforms in peak hour.

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AdvertisementAn alternative route would be beneath Castlereagh Street.

Single-deck trains might be pioneered to integrate a more flexible and less costly system with the existing network, which is undergoing $1 billion in upgrades to untangle dozens of intersecting lines into five rail clearways.

An alternative to strapping four lanes under the bridge would be to place these lanes in a new habour tunnel, but the cost would be at least $2 billion more expensive.

The Roads and Traffic Authority has backed an extra four-lane road for the bridge or a new tunnel as a minimum requirement for giving up crucial space on the bridge's existing road surface. Such a concession could allow for a second bus lane, northbound.

Senior ministers, including the Planning Minister, Craig Knowles, and the Roads Minister, Michael Costa, have been briefed on the plan and have asked the new transport co-ordination supremo, Mark Duffy, to develop it as part of the city's Metropolitan Strategy. The transport sustainability commissioner, Peter Newman, has also joined government officials on a transport review committee.

The plans build on a $30 billion, 40-year rail expansion blueprint submitted to cabinet in 2001 by the former trains boss, Ron Christie, who promoted the urgency of another harbour crossing to avoid imminent rail gridlock. The then transport minister, Carl Scully, rejected Mr Christie's 10-year timetable, saying it could wait until 2020 at the earliest