RiverCity Motorway
Encyclopedia
RiverCity Motorway Group is a Queensland company that operates Brisbane
’s first private tollway—the Clem Jones Tunnel (CLEM7). They also established FLOW Tolling, a tolling service provider. Rivercity Motorways Group won the rights to be the maintain the Clem Jones Tunnel. When the tunnel opened in 2010 it was to have a concession period of 45 years before it hands the tunnel back to the City of Brisbane.
In June 2010, the toll for cars was dropped to $2.00 in an effort to increase patronage. Despite this the number of vehicles using the tunnel never significantly rose above about on third of forecast numbers. The price increased in November to $3.00 and again in April 2011 to $3.95. The last toll rise led to a decrease in usage of the tunnel.
Due to much lower than forecasted patronage of the tunnel it has been unable to generate enough revenue. Debts still owed by Rivercity Motorway totalled A$1.3 billion. The company was placed into receivership
in early 2011. The Rivercity Motorways Group was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange
in June 2006. Shares in the company went into a trading halt
on 24 February 2011.
The collapse of this toll road operator follows similar failures for Sydney's Lane Cove Tunnel
and the Cross City Tunnel
.
The forecasts for traffic modelling in the tunnel were conducted by AECOM
. The class action
lawsuit alleges that AECOM did not properly disclose various sets of figures related to traffic forecasts.
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
’s first private tollway—the Clem Jones Tunnel (CLEM7). They also established FLOW Tolling, a tolling service provider. Rivercity Motorways Group won the rights to be the maintain the Clem Jones Tunnel. When the tunnel opened in 2010 it was to have a concession period of 45 years before it hands the tunnel back to the City of Brisbane.
In June 2010, the toll for cars was dropped to $2.00 in an effort to increase patronage. Despite this the number of vehicles using the tunnel never significantly rose above about on third of forecast numbers. The price increased in November to $3.00 and again in April 2011 to $3.95. The last toll rise led to a decrease in usage of the tunnel.
Due to much lower than forecasted patronage of the tunnel it has been unable to generate enough revenue. Debts still owed by Rivercity Motorway totalled A$1.3 billion. The company was placed into receivership
Receivership
In law, receivership is the situation in which an institution or enterprise is being held by a receiver, a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights." The receivership remedy is an equitable remedy that emerged in...
in early 2011. The Rivercity Motorways Group was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange
Australian Stock Exchange
The Australian Securities Exchange was created by the merger of the Australian Stock Exchange and the Sydney Futures Exchange in July 2006. It is the primary stock exchange group in Australia....
in June 2006. Shares in the company went into a trading halt
Trading halt
A trading halt occurs in the U.S. when a stock exchange stops trading on a specific security for a certain time period. The halt usually lasts for one hour, but is not limited to that. Trading halts occur during the trading day , while a trading delay occurs at the beginning of the trading day...
on 24 February 2011.
The collapse of this toll road operator follows similar failures for Sydney's Lane Cove Tunnel
Lane Cove Tunnel
The Lane Cove Tunnel is a A$1.1 billion, 3.6 km twin tunnel tollway in Sydney, Australia, connecting the M2 Motorway at North Ryde with the Gore Hill Freeway at Artarmon. It forms part of Sydney Metroad 2 and the 110 km Sydney Orbital Network...
and the Cross City Tunnel
Cross City Tunnel
The Cross City Tunnel is a 2.1 km-long tunnel located in Sydney, Australia. It links Darling Harbour on the Western fringe of the central business district to Rushcutters Bay in the Eastern Suburbs...
.
Lawsuit
Investors of RiverCity Motorway Group sounded out the possibility of legal action against the troubled operators of Brisbane's first major tunnel project in late 2010.The forecasts for traffic modelling in the tunnel were conducted by AECOM
AECOM
AECOM Technology Corporation is a professional technical and management support services firm. The company is ranked as the number one design firm for 2010 and 2011 by Engineering News-Record and number one by Architectural Record. It provides services in the areas of transportation, planning,...
. The class action
Class action
In law, a class action, a class suit, or a representative action is a form of lawsuit in which a large group of people collectively bring a claim to court and/or in which a class of defendants is being sued...
lawsuit alleges that AECOM did not properly disclose various sets of figures related to traffic forecasts.