Pittwater Online News

July 16-22 2023: Issue 590

Mona Vale Road East Upgrade Update: July 2023 Pictures

Work continues on the Mona vale Road Upgrade (East) with a shortened travel time already obvious by those commuting along the sections now being finalised. The shortened sections becomes apparent in this July 2023 Pictorial Update as there are far less photos to take than were needed to show the progress of works from the last update in April 2023.

Unfortunately an accident occurred in late April. Contractors for the MVR East Upgrade stated then the works at a dangerous roundabout at the intersection with Ponderosa Pde. and Samuel St. will be completed by June 2023. Residents had been stating for months the intersection is dangerous and any works proposed there should have been prioritised.

On Thursday April 27th two trucks collided on Mona Vale Rd at the intersection with Ponderosa Pde and Samuel St. One of the vehicle's occupants was injured and trapped in the cab for a period of time. A man in his 50s complained of pain in his chest and knee. Another man, in his 60s, was not injured. Both were taken by ambulance to Royal North Shore Hospital.

Traffic was diverted for hours while the trucks were cleared.

Northern Beaches Police Area Command was appealing for dashcam footage of the accident - details in NBPAC graphic below.

Photos/Graphics: NBPAC and Sharon Ignacio
The Mona Vale Road Upgrade (East) Project Webpage has not been updated since January 2022 for Project Notifications, March 2022 for Construction Updates, and January 2016 for Community Updates, although an out of hours work notice was posted in February 2023.
Nor is the Live Traffic maps, app or webpages updated for any works or road closures associated with the build that may impact residents - leaving people to figure out what may be going on by taking their eyes off the road to read lit signs alongside it alike this photographed on Saturday July 8th:

In May 2023 runoff alike that reported by Bayview Golf Club on January 1st 2023 recurred. Although this was not confirmed as associated with the roadworks, the colour, grade and scale of the amount of clay running down through local creeks and into the golf course creek and then into Pittwater had to be associated with a large building project. Council stated to inquiries, that they would refer this to the EPA (as this is a state road, even though running through/polluting sensitive areas in the LGA), which had placed the contractor on a month to month assessment of potential site hazards following an earlier runoff flow of pollutants through the Warriewood-Narrabeen creeks and into Narrabeen Lagoon.

The May 2023 report is available in: Clay Stormwater Still Polluting Bayview Golf Course, Pittwater Estuary: Bayview GC's 3 Year Battle To Save The Environment and Waterways 'Like Banging Your Head Against A Brick Wall' - The polluting of Warriewood/Narrabeen is in: Sediment Flowing Into Warriewood Creek System Reported To EPA - July 2021 and follows on from a report by residents who recorded from the outset sediment runoff problems during rain events associated with the build.

The EPA had issued a Penalty Notice to the contractors on June 22nd 2022. None has been issued since, with a now established EPA requirement for a monthly report and publicly available documents on the EPA website listing the MVR East upgrade requirements by the licence granted to the contractors.

The fauna overpass has progressed with the sections to the west and east now in place, as seen when travelling west in this photo taken by Margaret G Woods on Friday July 7th 2023:

As reported earlier, the budget for the project has increased substantially.

The previous Coalition Government announced in June 2022;

$340 million over the next 4 years to upgrade Mona Vale Road West. Work on the $250 million Mona Vale Road East project is expected to be completed within the next 12 months.
$11 million to continue upgrading Mona Vale Public School (total project cost $52.8 million).
$15.5 million to commence the upgrade of the Narrabeen Education Campus (total cost subject to tender).
$40 million for safety and capacity improvements on Wakehurst Parkway (total project cost $150 million over next 3 years).
$2.4 million for the construction of a dedicated pedestrian/cycling link between Newport Beach and Bilgola Beach.
$1.09 million for ongoing campus configuration improvements at Mona Vale Hospital.

The $100 million increase in costs can be attributed in part to the increase in costs of all construction post-Covid, see; Increases In Building Materials Costs Adds Pressure To Fixed Price Contracts - Construction Industry and may even be costs associated with modifying the Truck Arrestor bed. However, this significant cost increase which has never been officially explained in any detail.

Further, the signage that was installed when the project commenced is still in place as of July 8th 2023 and continues to state the project cost is $140 million:

The Mona Vale Road upgrade project comprises changing the road sections from two lanes to four lanes between Terrey Hills and Mona Vale. The upgrades are being planned in stages and are aimed at improving safety and traffic efficiency.

The projects include the:

Mona Vale Road East upgrade; Upgrade of 3.2 kilometres of Mona Vale Road from two lanes to four lanes between Manor Road, Ingleside and Foley Street, Mona Vale. The NSW Government had allocated $140m to complete the project, and the then named Roads and Maritime Department appointed Georgiou Group to construct the road upgrade.

Mona Vale Road West upgrade; Upgrade of 3.4 kilometres of Mona Vale Road from two lanes to four lanes between McCarrs Creek Road, Terrey Hills and Powder Works Road, Ingleside.

The latest batch of mages run below.