Welcome to tomorrow’s traffic

TRAFFIC on the local bypasses has reached dangerous levels, doubling initial predictions, an Auditor-General’s report states.
The report, titled Management of Major Road Projects, was tabled in State Parliament this week. It states that the volume of traffic on the Pakenham and Hallam bypasses had dangerously overshot earlier forecasts.
“Over most of the Pakenham Bypass’s length, daily traffic in 2010 exceeded the 2011 forecasts by more than 50 per cent and was close to the volumes expected in 2031,” the report states.
“The Hallam Bypass’s daily traffic in 2010 overshot the 2011 forecasts from 15 to 29 per cent for different sections.”
The report also stated that the consequences were serious.
“The decision to fund these schemes was based on an assumption that they would give sufficient capacity for the next 20 to 25 years. By 2010, this capacity has been used up.”