PROJECT STORY
The challenge
Roads are crucial to economic and social development, but congestions can easily reduce road efficiency and result in unpleasant driving experience.
Albion Park Rail Bypass
Developing the ‘missing link’ between Sydney and Bomaderry
The solution
By using digital tools and leveraging global collaboration, Arcadis helped Transport for New South Wales to improve the design and ultimately improve the travel experience along Princes Motorway.
The impact
The Albion Park Rail Bypass will pave the way for shorter time on the road and improved road capacity for future development in the area.
9.8km
bypass road between Sydney and Bomaderry
6 times
less likely for car accidents to occur
65%
reduction in travel time during peak hours
The challenge
The Princes Motorway is part of Australia’s Highway One network and connects the cities of Sydney and Bomaderry. A section of this important road near the Albion Park Rail is shared by freight, tourists and local traffic thus it can easily become congested, especially during peak hours. With a planned extensive residential development in the area over the next 30 years, Transport for New South Wales (TfNSW) saw that traffic congestion could get worse resulting in lower road efficiency. This led TfNSW to launch a $630 million bypass project to seamlessly connect Sydney to the south coast.
The solution
Arcadis, in a joint venture with Cardno, helped TfNSW in developing concept design, environmental assessment and site investigations for the 9.8km Albion Park Rail bypass. We understood that time is an important consideration for this project that is why we used an online GIS platform instead of drawings to quickly progress the early phase and share designs within an ambitious 10-week timeline. The GIS portal also enabled effective data collection that helped in providing accurate analysis and solutions.
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We tapped the expertise of our offshore design center to help TfNSW succeed even at early stages of development. Our design team in Manila built a federated building information model (BIM) at the concept stage — a first for Arcadis and TfNSW — which our local BIM team further developed by integrating traditional road geometry and cross-section displays to help with the design review.
Due to the successful delivery of our commitments, we, together with Cardno, have been engaged to provide services outside the original scope. These included additional site investigations, strategic and final business case preparation, and Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia (ISCA) rating of the project. The project also proudly engaged local Aboriginal residents to ensure that great care and local knowledge-based approach is applied in doing archaeological investigations.
The impact
By providing a way to skip six sets of traffic lights and 16 intersections between Heathcote and Bomaderry, the Albion Park Rail bypass can help road users spend less time on the road and reduce the risks of vehicular accidents by six times. Specifically, the project will reduce morning northbound travel time by up to 65% which can also be experienced in the southbound direction during the afternoon peak. The project can also lessen the impact of annual flooding on the roads by providing an alternative route to the existing Princes Motorway and replace the section of the Illawarra Highway most affected by flooding.
With all these improvements, TfNSW will be ready for the expected increase in road demand due to the planned greenfield development in the area in the coming decades.
