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Business View Australia - March-April 2016 15

INFRASTRUCTURE

Troy Junction, but until October 2015

higher productivity heavy vehicle

combinations including B Doubles

and Road Trains were not permitted

to use this access.

Boothenba Road comes off the

Newell Highway, the main Melbourne

to Brisbane highway running south

to north through Western NSW, but

the highway runs directly beside the

railway line. Both were so close to

each other (15 metres or so) that a

road train was never permitted to turn

there because if a train happened to

be coming it would need to stop with

its trailer still hanging out across the

highway. Conversely if a road train was

trying to turn onto the highway and had

to stop for traffic at the intersection,

the trailer was left hanging over the

railway line and could have been a

collision hazard for trains. McLeod

said the solution was quite simple.

“Rather than having the railway line

running parallel to the highway, we

put a curve into the railway line at the

point where the level crossing was

and moved the crossing 120 metres

further from the highway so that

now there is a 120+m gap between

where the railway crossing is and the

Newell highway is. Now if three road

trains happened to be following one

another, they will be able to turn off

the highway and still have room to

be stacked until a train passes by