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I am surprised that you would persist with this. Your use of the Barton-Federal alternative as an upper-bound is technically correct, but its a mighty high upper bound. It would require that people drive an extra 55-60 kilometres to travel a distance of 85 kilometres. As I said, the competitive discipline that the owner of the Barton-Federal could place on the owner of the Hume is miniscule. As for what you presumably consider to be lower bounds, I have driven or cycled virtually all the roads in the area you mentioned and know that they are all very poor alternatives to the Hume, including the pre-bypassed sections of the Hume itself. Most of the roads (eg the Breadalbane to Gunning part of the old Hume, and the loop that leaves the freeway, goes through Yass and then relinks) are indirect, narrow and twisty in places, and go through various localities that require slowing down. I think it is fanciful to suggest that owners of these roads could put any significant competitive pressure on an owner of the Hume, or that one would be foolish enough to invest in an upgrade in an attempt to attract custom from the Hume. As for your Canberra-to-Albury road proposal, firstly such roads already exist - I have driven them - but there is a slight obstacle (the Snowy Mountains) which makes them markedly slower than the Canberra-Yass-Albury alternative. Perhaps you envisage autostrada-style bridges to span the valleys. Somehow, though, I doubt that the Canbera-Albury or even the Canberra-Melbourne traffic would be sufficient to cover the cost.
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