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Road dips raise motorists’ ire

The unfinished road surface on the eastbound lanes of the new Kings Avenue overpass.

CONCERNED motorists have been complaining to the National Capital Authority about the state of unfinished roadworks at the new Kings Avenue overpass.

While officially open and the 80kph speed limit restored, there is a 40mm dip between the roads that connect Kings Avenue to Parkes Way.

According to a spokeswoman, final road work on the intersection is still at least a fortnight short of completion and since complaints from the public, the NCA has installed signs warning cyclists of the conditions and a “gradient”, and most recently a variable message sign.

She said the final layer of asphalt is still to be laid, but depending on weather and resources that, could take up to two weeks.

“It’s something we talked to our construction contractor about and it’s not unusual,” she said.

Transport Industry Skills Centre senior trainer Clinton Ernst says if a driver is unaware of the uneven surface on the road, the car could take on its own path.

However, he says so long as a motorist has seen the change in road conditions, a vehicle could handle the drop in the road surface at the speed limit.

Going down... uneven road surface at the new Kings Avenue overpass, westbound. Photos by Silas Brown
Construction of the overpass began in September 2009, replacing the Russell roundabout, which had recorded the highest number of accidents of any intersection in the ACT with an average of two a week.

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One Response to Road dips raise motorists’ ire

Grant4PM says: 6 October 2011 at 10:50 pm

But that’s Canberra’s thing. We love leaving road surfaces with a horizontal rut across the entire width of the road several inches below the rest.

Is it not part of the entertainment programme watching wheels crack and cars destroyed?

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