The strategic case identified three problems: travel delays, road closures and vehicular crashes.
The problems
In consultation with key partners, the strategic case identified the following three problems:
- Problem 1 – A growth in freight traffic and changing mix of vehicle types is resulting in travel time delays with economic impacts.
- Problem 2 – Key sections of State Highway 1 are vulnerable to closure from forces of nature and crashes resulting in delays and economic impacts.
- Problem 3 – State Highway 1 is an unforgiving route in places underestimated by time constrained drivers which results in fatigue, risk taking and growing number of crashes.
A fourth problem, increasing traffic on State Highway 1 through urban areas is impacting local community safety, was found to require further investigation so the problem could be understood better. This will happen during the early part of the programme business case.
Benefits of addressing the problem
Key stakeholders identified the following benefits that could be realised if the problems were addressed:
- Improved predictability of travel times – the potential to increase trip time reliability by reducing travel time variability.
- Reduced economic impact of road closure – the potential to increase trip time reliability by reducing travel time variability.
- Improved road user safety – the potential to reduce the crash rate of deaths and serious injuries by improving the road assessment rating.
Conclusion
The investigation shows the scale of problems will differ along the corridor depending on traffic volumes, traffic composition and the environment. The Transport Agency has determined that this investigation should progress to the next phase not only to review and confirm the problem statements and benefits, but also to assess smaller segments of the state highway corridor to gain a more detailed understanding of the scale of the problems.
