-----Original Message-----
From: Roderick Smith [mailto:rodsmith@werple.net.au]
Sent: Saturday, 12 May 2018 8:28 PM
To: 'transportdownunder@yahoogroups.com'
Subject: 28.4.18 daily digest

Attached:

180428Sa Melbourne 'Age' - population.

180428Sa Melbourne 'Herald Sun':
- energy, lng. with tdu/flickr
- letters - rail.
- Flinders St new entry [mismatched architecture and stopping the use of pfm
12 to unscramble the tangle].

180428Sa 'Canberra Times - tram-track relaying.

180428Sa Metro Twitter - Flinders St, 1953 coronation.

Roderick.

Sat.28.4.18 Metro Twitter
Buses replace part of tram routes 57 & 82 from the first tram on Sat.28
until the last tram Monday for work in Maribyrnong Rd and Raleigh Rd.
4.00 Belgrave/Lilydale lines: Buses to replace trains Box Hill -
Mooroolbark/Upper FT Gully [loss of external power to signalling equipment].
Buses have been ordered but will take time to move into position.
Passengers are advised to utilise local Night Bus services.
- 4.59 Services are now resuming.
Flinders Street: Services will depart from altered platforms this weekend
[station upgrade work].
112263: Flinders Street Country Train Harris Suburban Train Tait Suburban
train 10 February 1973 <www.westonlangford.com/images/photo/112263>
16.19 Cranbourne/Pakenham lines: Minor Delays (police).
- 16.27 still minor.
Flinders Street at night in 1953, decorated for Queen Elizabeth II's
coronation. (PROV).

Enormous concrete beams, footy derbies set to create traffic headaches 28
April 2018.
If there was ever a weekend to leave your car in the garage, this could be
it.
That's because an enormous concrete 'u-trough' beam travelling across the
city, the removal of a 600-tonne crane, the construction of a tunnel under
the Maribyrnong and some football derbies are just some the events set to
generate
gridlock across Melbourne.
All of which has seen VicRoads issue warnings of disruptions to traffic from
this weekend in the following areas.
Twenty-four massive 'u-trough' concrete beams are being moved across April
and May - each weighs around 280 tonnes.
Heavy traffic across the north-east
Buses will replace trains on the Hurstbridge Line for Level Crossing
Removals until Sunday, May 6, so expect heavier than normal traffic
conditions on roads in the north eastern suburbs.
280-tonnes of concrete beams travelling from Kilmore to Frankston
Twenty-four 'u-trough' concrete beams are being moved in April and May, and
will eventually form a new rail bridge in Frankston to remove the level
crossing at Skye/Overton Roads.
Each night, the concrete 'u-trough' beams will travel between Kilmore to
Frankston.
Weighing around 280 tonnes each, the beam will travel with three trucks as a
special 72-metre-long heavy load at an average of 20km/h.
Traffic management will be in place along the route, for an interactive
route map click here.
Some intersections and stretches of road along the route may temporarily
close, and the load will be difficult to pass. Delays are expected.
VicRoads is advising drivers travelling at night to plan ahead and use an
alternative route where possible.
Entry and exits blocked on Monash Freeway
Over the next few nights there will be various closures of entry and exit
ramps on the Monash Freeway between Huntingdale Road and the Old Princes
Highway.
VicRoads says the Monash upgrade is almost done. For more details, click
here.
An artist's impression of the new Chandler Highway bridge.
Chandler Highway closure
Chandler Highway will be closed Saturday night between Yarra Boulevard and
Heidelberg Road so that crews can disassemble a 600-tonne crane that was
used to install the steel beams that will support a new bridge over the
Yarra River.
Chandler Highway will be closed in both directions from 7.30pm Saturday
until 8.30am Sunday.
Ongoing construction works at Hoddle Street where the right turn lane from
the Eastern Freeway on to northbound lanes of Hoddle Street will also be
closed.
Skye Road closed
Until Monday, June 4, the intersection of Skye Road/Overton Road will be
closed to traffic as work continues to remove the level crossing.
Traffic detours will be in place until the road reopens.
Delays are expected and VicRoads is asking motorists to avoid the area
altogether. Click here for more information.
Maribyrnong Road closed
Until 5.00am this Monday, Maribyrnong Road and Raleigh Road are closed to
traffic in both directions between Van Ness Avenue and Union Road for a
major tram track upgrade and the installation of new automatic signal
points.
Epsom Road will remain open to traffic. Then from Monday until 5am Tuesday,
May 1, eastbound lanes of Raleigh Road and Maribyrnong Road will remain
closed, only one westbound lane will be open and no on street parking will
be permitted.
Motorists should consider Buckley Street or Ballarat Road as alternatives
during this time.
West Gate Tunnel closes road in Footscray
As work ramps up on the West Gate Tunnel Project, Whitehall Street will be
closed in both directions between Leek Street and Somerville Road on Sunday
night between 9pm and 5:30am.
Motorists can use Hyde Street or Williamstown Road as an alternative. Delays
are expected.
Work on the West Gate tunnel is ramping up. Photo: Jason South
Spencer Street
From this Tuesday, Spencer Street will be closed to southbound traffic
between Collins Street and Flinders Street as Melbourne Water continues work
on a major sewer upgrade.
Motorists can use King Street or Wurundjeri Way as alternatives.
Major events
A number of sporting events expected to draw big crowds will add to the
weekend gridlock. Delays are expected around Docklands Stadium on Saturday
when North Melbourne play the Adelaide Crows, and on Sunday when the Bombers
take on the Demons.
There's also a footy blockbuster at the MCG on Sunday afternoon with
Collingwood tackling Richmond.
VicRoads is also asking those punters heading to the netball at Hisense
Arena to see the Vixens and Magpies to leave their cars at home and take
public transport.
On Sunday morning, expect closures and delays around Albert Park for the
Angela Taylor Memorial Walk and Run between 8am and 11am.
<www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/enormous-concrete-beams-footy-derbies-s
et-to-create-traffic-headaches-20180428-p4zc8a.html>

Costs of moving Powerhouse to western Sydney to top $1 billion 28 April
2018.
The overall cost of building, operating and moving the Powerhouse Museum to
western Sydney will top $1 billion, the government's own economic analysis
states, as the fate of the Ultimo site continues to remain uncertain.
Outlining the government's plans for a new dedicated museum with a domed
planetarium and an exhibition space for travelling international
blockbusters, the NSW Minister for Arts, Don Harwin, said there were no
plans to demolish the
heritage-listed buildings of the Museum of Applied Arts and Science's
inner-city museum.
The member for Parramatta, Geoff Lee, takes a selfie with NSW Premier Gladys
Berejiklian at an announcement of the site of the Powerhouse Museum in
Parramatta on Saturday. Photo: Cole Bennetts
But he did not rule out the sale of airspace rights nor the partial sale and
residential redevelopment on the 2.6-hectare site along Harris Street. A
masterplan had yet to be started and a final business case was still to be
completed setting out the government's financial investment options at
Ultimo.
Once the building is decommissioned at the end of 2019, Mr Harwin said he
supported a creative industries precinct similar to New York's Meatpacking
District with a lyric theatre and a design and fashion museum. It is
believed the
Powerhouse Museum's Boiler and Turbine Halls have been appraised for
conversion into commercially tenanted performance spaces.
A lyric theatre could also be built in the halls or as a requirement of
residential redevelopment for the Hardwood Building where the bulk of the
museum's 500,000 plus item collection is housed.
Defending the lack of detail around the Ultimo site, Mr Harwin said he had
received a number of approaches from creatives keen to be involved in
planning for the new cultural precinct in Ultimo and wanted to get the best
outcome for the state.
Yesterday, Public Service Association secretary Stewart Little said museum
staff were shattered by the announcement.
"They are genuinely worried that priceless artefacts, including the world's
only working Boulton and Watts Steam Engine, will be irreparably damaged
during the move.
"They believe other exhibitions will be locked away from easy public access.
They love this institution, they see its value every day, and they cannot
believe this government is seriously shutting it down.
Museum of Applied Arts and Science director Dolla Merrillees thought her
staff would be "extraordinarily excited" at the opportunity.
"I can safely say for my institutional counterparts being given that
opportunity to do a 21st-century museum that is purpose-built and iconic and
showcase our collections is what we are all about.
"Museums at the end of the day serve their communities and I think with the
expertise and extraordinary professional skills of our staff, we're the team
to do it."
The government has put the "net cost" of the museum move at $645 million,
once revenue sources are taken into account, but, according to the business
case summary, the costs of land purchase and moving operations, including
wages, is
estimated to be $1.179 billion.
With the project's benefits about $1.2 billion, this gives the project a
cost-benefit ratio of 1:02.
The business case was prepared by Infrastructure NSW and started with the
decision by former NSW premier Mike Baird in 2015 that the existing
Powerhouse Museum should be decommissioned and its collection moved to
Parramatta to rectify cultural funding inequity in western Sydney.
The analysis considered three options at Parramatta, two of which had a
benefit-cost ratio above one, the point of which a project is deemed to have
more value than cost.
The biggest risks to the project were deemed to be the need to shift the
MAAS' collections from Ultimo to the museum's new riverside location.
Consultants Taylor Thomson White identified measures to mitigate potential
flood risks for inclusion in the project's eventual architectural and
structural design, and that had been factored into the cost estimates.
Although Option 3 had greater construction costs with a planetarium and
large amounts of exhibition and education spaces, it was deemed to have
greater functionality and draw the greatest visitor numbers.
<www.smh.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/costs-of-moving-powerhouse-to-w
estern-sydney-to-top-1-billion-20180428-p4zc7h.html>

One company owns the bulk of Sydney's toll roads. Will it buy WestConnex
too? 28 April 2018 48 comments
<www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/one-company-owns-the-bulk-of-sydney-s-toll-road
s-will-it-buy-westconnex-too-20180427-p4zbzr.html>

Energy deal website swamped over $50 power bonus. paywalled, with tdu.
Herald Sun, 28.4.18
<www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/energy-deal-website-swamped-over-50-powe
r-bonus/news-story/315f1027f6bf9ae349c030930ccd47c0>

Flinders Street Station's new Yarra River entrance to be revealed.
Herald Sun April 28, 2018.
FLINDERS Street Station's facelift continues with the unveiling of the new
Yarra River entrance planned for Monday.
The striking wood and metal entrance will provide access from the riverside
walk and Evan Walker Bridge to platforms 10, 12 and 13, the main concourse
and the Degraves Subway.
It directly links platform 10, used by the Werribee and Williamstown lines,
to the Southbank bridge.
As it happened: Flinders St camp cleared
Flinders Stink Station: What's the smell causing commuters to gag?
Bright green Yarra liquid mystery solved
Workers have been at the site since January and are planning to finish the
redevelopment this weekend.
Flinders Street Station's Yarra River entrance. Picture: Tamsin Rose
Artist's impression of the finished entrance. Picture: supplied
The entrance is part of the State Government's $100 million Flinders Street
Station revitalisation plan, first announced in 2015.
Minister for Public Transport Jacinta Allan said: "This will benefit
passengers by easing congestion and improving access for all Victorians.
"Flinders Street is the heart of our train system and the heart of our city
- we're restoring it and making it more accessible and safer for the
thousands of people who use it every day."
The plan includes upgrades to platforms and entrances "to ease passenger
congestion at peak times and allow people to move through the station
faster."
Heritage works in the plan include repairing and restoring the facade and
roof, ensuring the station's structural stability and making it watertight.
The underpass will also be renewed.
<www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/flinders-street-stations-new-yarra-river
-entrance-to-be-revealed/news-story/e0123583ba2f3343e1dc0b32a03c27ed>