We Think our West Link is Bad?
10.12.2005
Senator Shane Ross and the blogospheres very own twentymajor are but some of the natives here who get vexed at the first mention of that poxy bridge across the liffey. Considering the ire of many of those who are doomed to pass through its barriers daily, paying a toll in same manner one would pay to Dick Turpin, the government toyed with action only for consultants to (probably) lampoon the idea of a competing freely available bridge.
Anyway, consider our plight as being bad but consider the mess of a contract the Aussies wrote with their very own version of NTR. The company, Cross City Motorways, who operate the tolled city harbour tunnel for the next thirty years or so, has a deed that would make even NTR weep. The Sydney autorities are looking to improve public transport across the city and obviously the harbour too, this is hoped to impact on some of the car traffic in the city.
This means potentially bad news for our Toll Road owning friends in the antipodes, but hark, here comes their saviour. Written into the deed is a clause which apparently requires City Motorways to be compensated should better infrastructure eat into the margins, profits or other euphamism for cash in the arse-pocket, by the government.
I cant believe it either. Looks like someone is in dire need of consultants to write a decent contract. According to the report this aint the first case of it either as a motorway (M2) is subject to the same deal.
Not alone are they stuck paying for the yolk to make a profit but it seems to be utter shite at its job of keeping traffic moving. We know that story.
Story is here.
Blogger reaction, 1, 2, 3,(indymedia Sydney solely included to annoy rightists...its the little things)
Criticism seems to be unflinching and typically abrupbt. The design of the tunnel seems to have been deeply flawed to miss the major traffic spots and now many people get to indulge in the wests favourite passtime of 'i told you so'. Well we win, we could have told everybody so. So there.
RR
Categories: Comment, Australia, Media
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