Northern Connector: Work to start on crucial $985 million Adelaide road link
PRIME Minister Tony Abbott says a $788 million federal contribution to the Northern Connector motorway is a sign the entire nation believes in the future of South Australia.
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PRIME Minister Tony Abbott says a $788 million federal contribution to the Northern Connector motorway is a sign the entire nation believes in the future of South Australia.
Mr Abbott and Premier Jay Weather have announced the construction of the $985 million corridor project will begin within months.
The Prime Minister and Premier unveiled a funding deal for the six-lane, 15.5km road, connecting the Northern Expressway and South Rd Superway.
The near five-year project is expected to support about 480 jobs each year in a much-needed boost for Adelaide’s north, which is bracing for the closure of Holden at the end of 2017.
“This state has so much going for it - it really does have so much going for it,’’ Mr Abbott said this morning, amid renewed speculation about a leadership challenge.
“But what it needs right now is a sign that the whole country believes in the state and its future and its prospects and that’s what I am doing today.
“I am saying that the national government is prepared to support South Australia through a couple of difficult years to the opportunity which I believe will open up for this state in the years to come.’’
Mr Weatherill said the project would create jobs in the suburbs most impacted by the closure of Holden.
“We’re going to make an effort to ensure that locals get these jobs,’’ he said.
Urban development opportunities around the salt pan area would also be created as the road improved the ability of SA businesses to export their goods.
“We have a fantastic opportunity with our premium food grown in a clean environment to actually export it to the world,’’ Mr Weatherill said.
“But to do that effectively and efficiently you need first class freight networks. This completes an important part of that network from the northern suburbs through to our port and also our airports.’’
Billed as the state’s next major project, the Northern Connector is forecast to generate up to $4.9 billion in economic benefits throughout the road’s lifetime — in a state now saddled with the nation’s highest unemployment rate of 7.9 per cent.
The completed motorway will cut transport costs for export businesses in Adelaide’s north, west and regional SA, bypass six traffic light intersections on Port Wakefield Rd andshave at least seven minutes from present commuting times.
More than 52,000 vehicles are expected to use the Northern Connector every weekday, particularly given most of Adelaide’s freight movements are concentrated in the north and west.
The Federal Government will plough $788 million into the project, which has been planned since 2008, and the state will commit the remaining $197 million.
Just over a year ago, the connector project appeared doomed, because assistant Federal Infrastructure Minister Jamie Briggs wanted the State Government to use toll roads or the sale of government assets to fund the project. Transport Minister Stephen Mullighan ruled out both options.
The funding deal that has been hammered out by Mr Briggs, also the Mayo MP, and Mr Mullighan does not include toll roads.
Instead, South Australia wants to be the testing ground for a national trial of charging trucks a “network” fee, based on road use and impact rather than registration charges. The state and federal ministers have agreed to further talks on the idea.
The green light for the project is the second major South Australian announcement in five weeks from Mr Abbott, following a $20 billion frigate construction project at Osborne, as he attempts to overcome a poll slump and renewed leadership speculation.
The Northern Connector is part of a joint $9.3 billion plan to create a 78km non-stop corridor between Gawler and Old Noarlunga within a decade.
Mr Weatherill said: “A fully upgraded North-South Corridor is also at the heart of revitalising Adelaide to stimulate urban renewal, strengthen local communities and create economic growth.”
Mr Mullighan told The Advertiser that export businesses would benefit from non-stop travel through Adelaide’s north to Port Adelaide once the road was completed by 2020.
“When you think about freight that comes from the north of the state, or the Barossa, the Riverland, Angle Vale and Virginia, this is a massive benefit,” he said.
Mr Briggs said the Northern Connector would unlock massive investment opportunities in Adelaide’s north and enable primary producers to take goods to market more cheaply and efficiently.
Business has been urging approval of the Northern Connector to drive economic growth, saying it is the state’s prime “shovel-ready” project.
Business SA policy director Rick Cairney, in an Advertiser opinion piece last month, said the motorway would cut costs for export-oriented business in Adelaide’s north and beyond.
“It also has the potential to open up new land to industrial development on the back of improved freight links to Port Adelaide,” Mr Cairney said.
The Northern Connector was first proposed in 2008 by then transport minister Patrick Conlon and included a parallel rail line.
An embankment for the rail corridor will be built during the road construction but further works are not covered in this funding package.
Preliminary site works will start on the road corridor by January and major construction will start by May next year.
The Northern Connector go-ahead means three road upgrades supporting hundreds of jobs and worth about $2.5 billion, overwhelmingly from federal funds, have been given the green light in SA in the past 18 months.
The other two are the $900 million Torrens to Torrens South Rd upgrade and the $600 million Darlington Interchange project, upgrading a 2.3km section of South Rd between the Southern Expressway and Ayliffes Rd.
Deal buys time for parties, pending decision on subs
Analysis — Paul Starick
EVERY player wins a prize with the $985 million deal struck for the Northern Connector’s go-ahead.
Adelaide’s embattled north and export industries in the regions beyond will receive an economic boost, through hundreds of construction jobs and transport times and costs being slashed once the expressway has opened.
This delivers a political benefit for both the state and federal governments.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott is under intense pressure, assailed by renewed leadership speculation and South Australian Liberal MPs worried about losing their seats.
Mr Abbott is spending billions of dollars and days of his own time in SA in a bid to counter a slump in Liberal support and fears that Senator Nick Xenophon’s party will wreak havoc at a federal election expected in the second half of next year.
The Northern Connector announcement follows the unveiling last month of a $89 billion naval shipbuilding plan, which Mr Abbott declared would be “centred” on South Australia.
Mr Weatherill’s State Labor Government might be riding high in the polls and not facing an election until 2018.
But he has been mugged by an unemployment rate hovering around 8 per cent.
And there is little prospect of dramatic improvement any time soon.
Since large state tax cuts unveiled in the June Budget were favourably received, Mr Weatherill has seemed to be in the doldrums.
The “bold” moves he promised after unexpectedly winning last year’s state election and outlined to Parliament in February are becalmed.
The $2.5 billion in road spending across three projects is substantially funded by the Federal Government but delivers a substantial economic and political impact in critical areas, including the north.
For this, Mr Weatherill has his Transport Minister Stephen Mullighan to thank, particularly because of the effective working relationship he has struck with Assistant Infrastructure Minister Jamie Briggs, who has his hands on the federal purse strings.
This relationship preceded Mr Weatherill’s cosying up this year to Mr Abbott and was maintained during open hostility between the state and federal governments, particularly between Mr Briggs and Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis.
Delivering major projects in his home state is important for Mr Briggs too, given that his Adelaide Hills and Fleurieu Peninsula seat of Mayo has been earmarked for attack by Senator Xenophon.
The elephant in the room remains the $50 billion Future Submarine project.
Unless the promise to build submarines in SA is kept, the political benefits of billions of dollars in road spending are likely to quickly evaporate.