Majura Parkway Project, Canberra, Australia

Majura parkway will connect the Monaro highway and the Federal highway. The project involves providing an alternative route to the existing 11km single carriageway by connecting the national highway and national north-south routes through Canberra.

It involves construction of a 11.5km dual carriageway with seven bridges and three interchanges at the intersections with Fairbairn Avenue, the Federal highway and Monaro highway.

The project is sponsored by the Federal Government of Australia and Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Government. Roads ACT, a division of the ACT Government, will be the project manager.

The Majura parkway will provide significant advantages such as improving road safety, reducing congestion at intersections, and reducing travel time, fuel costs and greenhouse gas emissions. The project will also facilitate diversion of traffic from the residential environment in North Canberra.

The existing Majura road carries 18,000 vehicles daily, of which 2,800 are commercial or heavy freight vehicles.

After the completion of the Majura parkway the vehicular traffic is expected to pass 40,000 a day by 2030, of which 15% will be commercial freight vehicles.

Project history

Majura parkway project was first proposed in 1970. The initial planning for the project was undertaken by the national capital development commission (NCDC) in the 1970s and 80s.

The Gungahlin external travel study conducted a major public consultation on finding a suitable design for the construction of the road project.

It suggested many options, such as the Majura parkway, the Gungahlin drive extension (GDE) and a major upgrade to Northbourne Avenue.

The Majura Valley transport corridor feasibility study, conducted in 1999, examined the constraints involved in the Majura parkway project.

In 2006, the SMEC concept evaluation report proposed many alignments to the road. Roads ACT selected the western alignment due to social, security, hereditary, environmental and other complexities.

In May 2009, the environmental impact assessment relating to the project was submitted to the ACT planning and land authority (ACTPLA).

Majura parkway project is proposed to ease the traffic congestion for motorists from Canberra's north into the city and southern suburbs, and also make freight transport safer by avoiding populated areas and major arterial roads.

It will be a two lane road with 3.5m wide traffic lanes in each direction, a 2.5m roadside shoulder and a 1m offside shoulder.

Majura parkway construction period

The construction will commence in 2012 and is expected to be completed by 2016.

The first stage of construction work will be aimed at improving the capacity of roads along the Canberra International Airport and Fairbairn Avenue.

It will also involve construction of a new bridge crossing over the Molonglo River. The contracts for this stage are expected to be tendered in April 2012 and the construction is expected to be started in August 2012.

The second stage will involve construction of road from Majura parkway, north of Fairbairn Avenue, to the Federal highway. The tenders for the second stage construction contract are expected to be called in May 2012 and construction is expected to begin August 2013. The third stage of construction is expected to be completed by 2016.

The design approvals, auditing and construction monitoring will be performed by Roads ACT.

Financing Majura parkway construction

The total cost of the project is estimated to be A$288m ($310m). In July 2011, the Federal Government of Australia allotted A$144m ($155m) towards the project. The ACT Government will fund the remaining (50%) project cost from its commonwealth funds.

Traffic management systems

Temporary traffic management (TTM) plans will be implemented during the construction of the road. The road users will be advised to consider changing their driving patterns or refraining from driving during peak traffic periods during the construction phase.