DRAFT RIVERINA-MURRAY REGIONAL PLAN 35 GOAL 2 – Improved regional transport networks and utility infrastructure to support economic activity The Riverina-Murray region is unique on the condition, alignment, or impediments to high eastern seaboard because of its strategic productivity vehicles. This issue will become location at the confluence of all of the major increasingly challenging as freight movements freight corridors between Adelaide, Melbourne, increase. Sydney and Brisbane (see Figure 10, page 36). This gives the region a competitive advantage Councils have already initiated and engaged in to maximise economic activity. collaborative partnerships to collectively improve and better manage the local road Economic growth in the Riverina-Murray will be network. The draft Plan aims to support and driven by efficient, capable, reliable and grow these efforts. sustainable transport networks and utility infrastructure. Improvements to the transport The private sector has started to capitalise on network (see Figure 11, page 42) and upgrades the region’s locational competitive advantage of utility infrastructure across the region will by committing investment to a number of deliver increased benefits to communities and intermodal terminals across the region. These industries. proposals offer business and industry the opportunity to move freight more efficiently Agricultural output and productivity is and competitively. projected to increase, generating increased freight. Freight volumes across NSW are The NSW Government already has a suite of projected to double by 2030 and triple by strategies to improve transport infrastructure 2050.28 A portion of this growth is expected to across the region, including the: occur in the Riverina-Murray and will result in Newell Highway Corridor Strategy (2015) the need to significantly expand and upgrade • and Albury to Cowra Corridor Strategy the existing transport networks. Cross-border (2010); connections to Victoria, via road and rail river crossings, will remain a critical component of • NSW Freight and Ports Strategy (2013); the regional freight transport network, enabling Murray Murrumbidgee Regional Transport the continued movement of freight to the Port • Plan (2013); and of Melbourne. • NSW Long Term Transport Master Plan Much of the freight generated from the region’s (2012). agriculture, and food and beverage manufacturing and processing, starts and Transport for NSW and Roads and Maritime travels on local roads. These roads were not Services are progressively preparing network Left: designed, or expected to take the load of larger and corridor strategies to cover every State Dean Street vehicles. Some local roads are either failing road in NSW, to better manage transport pedestrian access under the pressure of freight movements, or infrastructure and maximise benefits for all bridge over the limiting the ability to move freight due to their road users. Hume Motorway, courtesy of Albury City Council 36 Left: Heavy freight from Visy Pulp and Paper Mill, Tumut, courtesy of Visy Right: Grain haulage from Coolamon, courtesy of Emerald Grain Regional infrastructure requirements and Botany, Port Kembla and the Adelaide investment need to be coordinated to maximise domestic market through better east-west the benefits to the economy and broader connections such as the Sturt, Riverina and regional community. A coordinated and Mid-Western highways and Burley Griffin Way. collaborative approach to improving local road networks, and connectivity to the wider regional and State networks, will better link the Connections to the Port of region to Sydney, Melbourne and other markets, and improve the region’s economic Melbourne competitiveness. Connections to the Port of Melbourne The NSW Government will continue to work are critical for the region’s economy. A with stakeholders to improve network reliability large majority of the region’s exports are and efficiency; make best use of infrastructure; transported south to the Port of and provide ongoing network capacity to allow Melbourne, for example, approximately the region’s settlements, industries and 35 twenty-foot equivalent units of bulk agribusinesses to grow. and bottled wine from Casella Wines in Yenda (in the Griffith Local Government Area) are transported to the Port of DIRECTION 2.1 Enhance the Melbourne every day, destined for the international market.29 Maintaining region’s freight networks connections and access to the port will through coordinated become increasingly important as investment agricultural production and output increases into the future. There is a strategic need to improve connectivity, reliability and efficiency across the region’s freight network (see Figure 10), to The agribusiness sector relies heavily on increase economic growth and to provide a transport infrastructure to efficiently move its competitive advantage for its industries, products to market. Maximising industry particularly the agribusiness sector. productivity and output and reducing industry transport costs, will help to increase industry The majority of freight transported from the growth into the future. region, either by road or rail, is moved most efficiently via established north-south Freight and logistics growth will be supported connections focused on the Port of Melbourne, into the future by identifying the region’s with road and rail links bridging the Murray defined freight network and road pressure River. During consultation, stakeholders points, and then developing a program of works identified a need to improve access to Port in collaboration with councils to undertake the necessary network improvements. DRAFT RIVERINA-MURRAY REGIONAL PLAN 37 Transport for NSW administers two programs ACTION 2.1.1 Identify and prioritise to coordinate investment in the freight network: pinch points in the freight network • Fixing Country Rail is a program to remove productivity and efficiency constraints on More than 41 million tonnes of freight are the regional rail network; and moved annually between NSW and Victoria, and six million tonnes between NSW and South Fixing Country Roads is a program to • Australia, with the majority traversing the provide targeted funding to local councils Riverina-Murray by either road or rail.31 for road projects that will eliminate connectivity constraints on local roads in Identifying and addressing potential network NSW. impediments will help to improve network efficiency. Country Regional Network The NSW Government has announced funding Upgrades to address freight pinch points on regional roads and rail including: Transport for NSW has consulted with • $200 million for a Regional Freight Pinch major grain receivers and regional Point and Safety Program; transport operators to identify key sites • $50 million for a Western NSW Freight for potential upgrades across the Country Productivity Program; Regional Network. The NSW Government has committed over $3.4 million to • $443 million for Fixing Country Roads; and extend the existing rail siding in $400 million for the Fixing Country Rail Ardlethan (in the Coolamon Local • Program (Rebuilding NSW). Government Area) as one of the first projects under the rail sidings program Bypasses announced in the 2014-15 NSW Budget. Together with new ‘over-rail’ loading Town and city bypasses help to improve freight equipment, this upgrade is expected to efficiency, reduce travel times and costs, save seven hours in loading time by improve safety for road users and increase the reducing train shunting.30 amenity of towns. The NSW Long Term Transport Master Plan (2012) proposed to develop a program of town bypasses, based on The NSW Government collects information on priorities determined through community the goods and commodities generated within consultation and defined criteria.32 Councils and and transported out of the region, as well as State agencies should consider the viability of through freight movement from other areas local bypasses and strategically plan for bypass and interstate, to better inform freight network corridors. planning. 38 FIGURE 10: TRANSPORT NETWORK Regional City Town/Village Cross-Border Town/Village Railway National Highway State Road Regional Airport National Parks and Reserves Local Road Intermodal Terminal State Forest Proposed Melbourne-Brisbane Proposed Intermodal Terminal Inland Rail Corridor (2015) Waterway DRAFT RIVERINA-MURRAY REGIONAL PLAN 39 40 Bridge crossings Temora Town Centre Bypass Bridge crossings provide important regional connections that support the existing freight Currently, there is no heavy vehicle bypass network, critical connections to the Port of at Temora on the Goldfields Way. Between Melbourne, and attract and enable industry to 1,500 and 2,000 heavy vehicles use this locate in NSW. The NSW Government manages highway daily and travel through the main bridge upgrades and improvements through the centre of Temora. Temora Shire Council has Bridges for the Bush initiative. funded the development of a strategy to identify a suitable alternate route for heavy vehicles which may yield an alternative route. Bridges for the Bush Griffith CBD Bypasses The $145 million Bridges for the Bush initiative will improve the capability and capacity of a number of bridges in the Two bypasses are proposed by Griffith City region to support modern freight Council – a southern bypass and northern vehicles: bypass. The proposed southern bypass will significantly reduce the traffic pressure on • Kapooka Bridge on the Olympic Willandra