This has just arrived…

Afternoon all,

Just a quick update for our CRG members following last week’s presentation on the issue of trucks on St Kilda Road.

We had hoped to have the newly proposed route for loaded trucks travelling to the Westgate approved and in use this week, unfortunately we haven’t been able to do so. The Road Safety Audit has been completed, as has a count of bicycle numbers that was also requested of CYP.  We have been asked to do an analysis of the turning circles of trucks from Linlithgow Avenue onto Alexandra Avenue that is now complete and has been sent to RPV and City of Melbourne to review as of yesterday.  Subject to approval from both parties, we are now aiming to have the route in use by Monday 17 August. As per previous advice, if we are able to put it in place earlier, we will.

We also spoke about repairing the road surface along the northbound stretch of St Kilda Road. We’re currently booking in a crew and a time slot for a road closure to do some work to fix a particularly bad dip in front of the Domain building. As discussed in the CRG, if there are any other areas of particular concern, please forward these through ASAP and we’ll review and determine if we can also do these while we fix the dip in front of the Domain building. In the meantime, we have temporarily patched the section in front of the Domain building ahead of the more permanent fix.

Regarding compliance, I received some reports that drivers were headed down St Kilda Road and the Nepean to head to the South East. We understand that the reason the drivers were not heading down the M1 for loads headed South East was to avoid roadworks that were underway on the M1. We’ve informed them that the M1 is to be used unless the road is closed entirely.  

Finally, we’ve also been informed that in response to the community feedback on the issue of trucks, our main subcontractor has now appointed a dedicated resource to oversee compliance. They have been asked to review the adherence to truck routes and the reports of speeding as their first priority.   

Thanks for everyone’s patience as we resolve these issues.

Rob Mair

---

I’m sure that they meant to add…..sorry for 5 weeks of broken sleep.

Trucks

It seems like the trucks from Edmund Herring Oval are now dumping in the South East and are going along the approved route. That route takes them over the Swan St Bridge and on to the Monash.

They should have been using that route all along but it seems that they are now (mostly) getting it right. Last night there was none between 10pm and 5:28am. Then we had a spate of them and speeding too…. But at least you can sleep without ear plugs tonight, I think.

On a separate trucking matter – trucks are removing spoil from the void in front of us during the DAY TIME ONLY. The route they have been taking has been a lucky dip. Earlier in the week they were turning left into Toorak Rd and heading towards Punt Rd. Today they decided that a U turn at St Kilda Rd / Toorak Rd corner was a good idea. They then came past us and all the way back to Linlithgow and over Swan St Bridge. They should now continue straight down St Kilda Rd and Nepean Hwy.

Vibration

Not sure if others have noticed but the vibrations have decreased in the last 36 hours for me. They have made a small change and bigger mods will come through over the next couple of days. If you notice a difference, good or bad please let me know.

I have just been looking at the recent stats for the blog. The numbers are really gratifying, thanks to everyone who has been clicking.

Last month we hit 1000 views, the second highest ever. The only time the blog hits were higher was when we had the floods out the front and the blog had some v graphic photos/videos.

You may know but I do get paid for all the clicks – in July I had $0.33 dropped into my account. That takes the total for 2020 to a grand total of $1.41, in that time you’ve been shown over 10 000 ads.

I should add that I can’t get the money out until get to a total of $100 – so more months like this and I’ll be rich in about 25 years.

I must apologise by yesterday’s post, my tongue in check about the new station was badly misunderstood by several readers. One reader in Greece even sent me photos of the Athens Station

The above photo is more like what the new Anzac/Domain Station will look like.

Yesterday’s photo was of a temporary structure for workers, to keep them dry getting to and from their crib rooms.

I know that times are tough and that we’ve had to cut the cost of the new Anzac Station back to just under A$1Bn but I think it looks cheap.

Architects have told me that the extensive use of ‘forest friendly’ timber throughout helps ensures that the station receives a 17 star green rating. I also understand that the polycarbonate roofing has a ripple effect to match the corrugated iron commonly found in outback Australian dunnies of the 19th century…a strong link to our past.

Want to understand more about the tunnel boring. Here are two v good videos

See attached pack of information presented today

We discussed trucks and truck routes, lots of info.

Truck monitoring system

The amazing system that tracked truck routes and monitored speed is not being used at all. The company that has that system in their trucks is now not the company that is hauling the dirt…hmm not happy, not told until we asked.

When I pointed out that it seems a very high proportion of drivers are speeding, I was told that the trucking company has been asked to tell the drivers not to speed. I questioned whether that would work and remined them I’d given them evidence that MOST of their trucks are speeding every hour of every night.

Routes

They explained that could no longer use Southbank Blvd for full trucks due to the lane narrowing and also that City of PP and City of M asked them to stop using Dorcas St.

They are working very hard to find another route. An audit has been done on a possible route for full trucks. It is in the pack but essentially trucks would turn right onto Linlithgow and left onto Alexandra. A road safety audit has been completed and trucks may be able to go that way next week.

When I asked why trucks are heading down St Kilda Rd to Nepean Hwy, Rob Mair explained that some truck drivers were doing that to avoid night works on the Monash. He stressed that they were only permitted to go down Nepean Hwy if there was a major accident on the Monash. I said it seems that every truck day and night is doing it.

Bottom line – next week hopefully trucks that are destined for the Westgate (it would seem to be no trucks at the moment) will not go past us. Sometime in the future empty trucks may go an alternate route. I asked if they could use Dorcas St 2-3 times a week, to give us a break. Rob Mair said that such a scheme would be too hard for the truck drivers.

CYP is also looking to fix the various bumps in St Kilda Rd to make the noise levels lower.

Vibration

CYP’s vibration expert (Kym Burgemeister) talked at some length. He said that the vibration he recorded back in June was around 17-18 Hz. This is below the audible hearing range but can cause items to vibrate (and we could hear those items vibrate).

The Slurry Treatment Plant at Edmund Herring Oval has two banks of three shakers. They are designed to get the water out of the slurry. One of those shakers is running at a different frequency.

CYP are looking to bring a device across from a Perth site that shifts the phases of the shakers. This is akin to getting soldiers to march out of step as they cross a bridge.

Kym commented that this issue is quite rare and unusual that the vibration has travelled so far. MAY also vary due to weather conditions. He requested that it would be useful if people keep a diary of good and bad days.

Melbourne Grammar also having similar issues.

My guess is that we may see an improvement towards the end of August. That allows for gear to be shipped from Perth and installed here…and that it works!!

I decided to be a little more scientific and look at every truck between 10pm-11pm. Most are still speeding

A number of you commented that the trucks were particularly bad last night. I agree and ran my new system across the video file. You can see them all here.

So between 10:15pm and 6am, there was 135 trucks – almost one every 3 minutes.

…and the speeding question?? Harder to be definitive but this video shows a handful that I checked. Not exactly admissible in court but pretty definitive.