Queensland Motorways

Last updated

Queensland Motorways
TypePublic
IndustryTransport
Founded1980
Defunct2015
Headquarters,
Australia
Area served
South East Queensland
ServicesRoad infrastructure
Subsidiaries Port Motorway Company
Logan Motorway Company
Website www.qldmotorways.com.au

Queensland Motorways was the company that managed the 70 kilometre long Linkt (formerly go via) network of tolled roads in Brisbane which includes the: Clem Jones Tunnel (CLEM7), Go Between Bridge, Gateway Motorway (including Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges and the Gateway Extension) and Logan Motorway. [1] It had its headquarters at Eight Mile Plains.

Contents

In July 2014, it was acquired by Transurban Queensland, a consortium comprising Transurban, AustralianSuper and Tawreed Investments. It was rebranded Transurban the following year.

Ownership

The company began operating in 1980 as the Gateway Bridge Company.

On 2 June 2009, the Queensland Government announced the 'Renewing Queensland Plan' that would sell assets to raise $15 billion, and avoid a further $12 billion required in future capital investment. [2] [3] Queensland Motorways was included in this process.

In 2011, the Queensland Government transferred ownership of Queensland Motorways to the Queensland Government’s Defined Benefit Fund (a superannuation scheme for Queensland public servants) managed by the Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC). Queensland Motorways now operates under a 40–year Road Franchise Agreement with the state. [4] This transfer set out that the Queensland Government would continue to own the road and bridge infrastructure on the Gateway and Logan Motorways, while QIC would own the QML business and the right to toll the motorways. It also limited toll increases to not exceed CPI increases. [5]

In December 2013, Queensland Motorways acquired the rights to manage and toll the CLEM7 tunnel in a $618 million deal with RiverCity Motorway's receivers. [6] On 12 December 2013, QIC announced that Queensland Motorways, with an estimated value of more than $5 billion, would be auctioned off. It was claimed that a change of ownership would not have any impact on existing tolls. Indicative bids will be made by the end of January, and then shortlisted bidders will then be requested submit binding bids, with the process scheduled for completion in April 2014. [7] On 2 July 2014, a consortium comprising Transurban, AustralianSuper and Tawreed Investments completed financial close on the acquisition of Queensland Motorways for $7 billion. [8] [9] [10] The consortium was later known as Transurban Queensland. [11] The consortium was later known as Transurban Queensland. [12]

In late January 2015, the Queensland Motorways corporate brand was replaced by the Transurban brand and logo.

Tolling system

Queensland Motorways launched its toll payment brand, go via (now known as Linkt) in 2009 [13] to support the introduction of a non-stop, electronic tolling system on its toll road network and on other Australian toll roads.

Vehicles are detected as they travel through a toll point and tolled in two ways. Firstly, with an in-vehicle tag device. [14] Alternatively with video sensors identify the vehicle and registration plate number as it passes through a toll point. [15] Motorists have three days to pay their tolls. If tolls are not paid within that time, offending motorists will receive toll notices, which will include an administration fee, in addition to the toll charge. If payment is still not made upon receipt of the toll notice, a motorist may be issued with a Penalty Infringement Notice. [16]

See also

Related Research Articles

Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges Bridges in Queensland, Australia

The Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges are a side-by-side pair of road bridges on the Gateway Motorway (M1), which skirts the eastern suburbs of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The western bridge carries traffic to the north and the eastern bridge carries traffic to the south. They are the most eastern crossing of the Brisbane River and the closest to Moreton Bay, crossing at the Quarries Reach and linking the suburbs of Eagle Farm and Murarrie. The original western bridge was opened on 11 January 1986 and cost A$92 million to build. The duplicate bridge was opened in May 2010, and cost $350 million.

Westlink M7

The Westlink M7 or M7 Motorway, formerly Western Sydney Orbital, is a tolled urban motorway in Sydney and is a part of the Sydney Orbital Network. Owned by the NorthWestern Roads (NWR) Group, it connects three motorways: M5 South-West Motorway at Prestons, M4 Western Motorway at Eastern Creek and M2 Hills Motorway at Baulkham Hills. It opened on 16 December 2005, eight months ahead of schedule.

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Cross City Tunnel

The Cross City Tunnel is a 2.1-kilometre long (1.3 mi) twin-road tunnel tollway located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The tunnel links Darling Harbour on the western fringe of the central business district to Rushcutters Bay in the Eastern Suburbs. Each of the twin tunnels has a different alignment, with the westbound tunnel running underneath William Street and Park Streets and the eastbound tunnel running underneath Bathurst Street.

The Gateway Motorway is a major tolled motorway in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia which includes the Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges. The motorway is operated by toll road operator Transurban.

Logan Motorway

The M2/M6 Logan Motorway is a 30-kilometre toll road between Ipswich and the M1 or Pacific Motorway at Loganholme, and the Gateway Motorway, providing access to the Gold Coast on the eastern seaboard and to the rural areas of the Darling Downs to the west. The M6 portion runs from the Pacific Motorway to the junction with the Gateway Motorway at Drewvale, where it then becomes the M2, continuing on to merge with the Ipswich Motorway at Gailes.

Lane Cove Tunnel

The Lane Cove Tunnel is an A$1.1 billion, 3.6 km twin-tunnel tollway in Sydney, Australia, which connects the M2 Motorway at North Ryde with the Gore Hill Freeway at Artarmon. It is owned by toll road operator Transurban and forms part of the M2 and the 110 km Sydney Orbital Network.

TransApex is a road transport plan devised by Brisbane Lord Mayor Campbell Newman in the early 2000s to connect existing motorways and major arterial roads with new transport links and divert cross-city traffic out of the Brisbane CBD. The plan is currently being delivered by Brisbane City Council at an estimated total cost of over $10 billion across five stages. According to the Brisbane City Council website, TransApex is "the biggest urban road project proposed in Australia".

Clem Jones Tunnel

The M7 Clem Jones Tunnel (CLEM7), known during its development as the North-South Bypass Tunnel (NSBT), is a A$3.2 billion motorway grade toll road under the Brisbane River, between Woolloongabba and Bowen Hills in Brisbane, Queensland. The tunnel was progressively opened to traffic from late on 15 March 2010 until just after midnight on 16 March 2010. It was completely open by 12:02 am.

Airport Link, Brisbane

The Airport Link is a tunnelled, motorway grade, toll road in the northern suburbs of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It connects the Brisbane central business district and the Clem Jones Tunnel to the East-West Arterial Road which leads to the Brisbane Airport. It was built in conjunction with the Windsor to Kedron section of the Northern Busway in approximately the same corridor.

M5 Motorway (Sydney)

The M5 Motorway is a 29-kilometre-long (18 mi) motorway located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia that is designated with the M5 route and forms part of the Sydney Orbital Network. The M5 route number comprises two connected parts, separately owned and operated:

Inner City Bypass, Brisbane

M3 Inner City Bypass (ICB) is a major motorway standard road in Brisbane, Queensland. The 4.5 kilometres (2.8 mi) bypass is north of the city. Bypassing the Brisbane central business district, it connects Brisbane’s Pacific Motorway and Go Between Bridge at Hale Street to Kingsford Smith Drive, Legacy Way Tunnel, Clem Jones Tunnel, AirportLink Tunnel and Lutwyche Road following the Exhibition railway line for the majority of its length.

Legacy Way

The M5 Legacy Way is a 4.6 kilometres (2.9 mi) long tunnel linking the Western Freeway at Toowong and the Inner City Bypass at Kelvin Grove, Brisbane. The project consisted of two bored tunnels carrying two motorway grade lanes of traffic in each direction. It opened on 25 June 2015 and is the fourth of five components of Brisbane City Council's TransApex Project. The tunnels will be tolled for approximately 45 years.

Toll roads in Australia

This article lists and outlines tollways or toll roads in Australia. Tollways are found in the eastern states of New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. All except one are currently within the urban limits of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. The other toll road is in Toowoomba, Queensland. There are plans to make the final stage of the future North-South Motorway as a toll road in South Australia.

Linkt

Linkt is Transurban's e-TAG tolling brand in Australia. Linkt first replaced the Roam Express brand in Sydney in 2017, followed by the go via brand in Queensland in May 2018, and then the Citylink brand in Melbourne in July that year. In August 2020, it also replaced the E-way brand that was used by Interlink Roads, the operator of M5 South-West Motorway and fully-owned by Transurban since October 2019.

Go Between Bridge

The Go Between Bridge, formerly known as the Hale Street Link, is a toll bridge for vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists over the Brisbane River in inner-city Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The bridge connects Merivale and Cordelia Streets in West End to Hale Street and the Inner City Bypass at Milton. It is Brisbane's first inner-city traffic bridge in 40 years and carries around 12,000 vehicles per day. The bridge opened to traffic in the early hours on 5 July 2010 and is now operated by Transurban Queensland.

WestConnex is a 33-kilometre (21 mi) predominantly underground motorway scheme in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. As of 2021, it is partially completed and partially still under construction. A joint project of the New South Wales and Australian governments, the motorway scheme will create around 26 kilometres (16 mi) of new tunnels between Homebush and Kingsgrove, passing underneath Inner West suburbs including Haberfield and St Peters. The first of the tunnels, the M4 East, opened to traffic in July 2019. The second of the tunnels, the M8 Motorway, opened to traffic a year later in July 2020. The rest of the tunnels are expected to open to traffic in 2023.

Toowoomba Bypass

The Toowoomba Bypass, known as Toowoomba Second Range Crossing during planning and construction, is a 41.3 km (25.7 mi) grade separated, dual carriageway bypass and partial ring road constructed to the north and west of Toowoomba, Queensland. Construction commenced in April 2016. It opened to traffic on 8 September 2019.

NorthConnex is a 9-kilometre (5.6 mi) twin-tube motorway tunnel in northern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, opened on 31 October 2020. It acts as a tunnel bypass of the congested Pennant Hills Road, connecting the M1 Pacific Motorway to the M2 Hills Motorway. Owned by NorthWestern Roads (NWR) Group, it is one of the longest road tunnels in Australia along with the M8 Tunnel. It is also the deepest road tunnel in Australia, with more than half of the tunnel 60 metres (200 ft) deep or more, and the deepest point is underneath the Sydney Metro Northwest, about 90 metres (300 ft) below ground.

Deagon Deviation is a major road in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It provides part of the road connection between the Brisbane CBD and Redcliffe. It is designated State Route 26 throughout its length.

References

  1. "About Queensland Motorways". Queensland motorways. qldmotorways.com.au. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  2. Marissa Calligeros (2 June 2009). "Queensland asset sales to reap $15 billion". Brisbane Times. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 20 June 2010.
  3. "Queensland assets sale". qld.gov.au. Archived from the original on 14 April 2010. Retrieved 20 June 2010.
  4. "QML transfer finalised". statements.qld.gov.au. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  5. "Qld Motorways transferred in $3bn deal". Brisbane Times. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  6. "Queensland Motorways reaches settlement of CLEM7 Tunnel". www.qldmotorways.com.au. 13 December 2013. Archived from the original on 17 December 2013.
  7. "Queensland confirms $5 billion toll road auction". Sydney Morning Herald. 13 December 2013. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  8. "Transurban Group Buys Queensland Motorways". Bloomberg. 23 April 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  9. "Queensland Motorways seels for $7 billion to private consortium". ABC News. 25 April 2014.
  10. "Acquisition of Queensland Motorways complete". 2 July 2014. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  11. "Transurban announces financial close on AirportlinkM7" (PDF). ASX. Transurban. 4 May 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 June 2016.
  12. "Transurban announces financial close on AirportlinkM7" (PDF). ASX. Transurban. 4 May 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 June 2016.
  13. "About go via". /www.govia.com.au. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  14. "go via tag". govia.com.au. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  15. "go via video". govia.com.au. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  16. "How to pay a toll?" . Retrieved 2 February 2017.