Federal Labor vows to get moving on Marion Rd upgrades in Boothby faster than the Coalition

Labor streaks ahead in the race to reduce traffic congestion on Marion Rd, which is a hot-button issue for voters in Boothby who are fed up with waiting.

Plans to reduce congestion on Marion Rd between Cross Rd and Anzac Highway will progress more swiftly if Labor wins the federal election, according to a joint federal-state Labor announcement on Monday.

Flanked by federal and state MPs, Labor’s candidate for the marginal electorate of Boothby, Louise Miller-Frost, pledged to “get moving” on Marion Rd.

“People in Boothby who use Marion Rd have raised their concerns with me, and I have been working hard to deliver action for our community and get the necessary investment we need in better road infrastructure,” she said. “This announcement is a big win for the community and for Boothby.”

State local MP Jayne Stinson, Boothby candidate Louise Miller-Frost, and federal MP Catherine King at the announcement on funding for Marion Rd between Anzac Highway and Cross Rd on Monday. Picture: Supplied

Federal Labor has met the Coalition’s $200m commitment to remove the Marion Rd level crossing and upgrade intersections with both Anzac Highway and Cross Rd, but brought the spend forward.

The $400m project is a partnership with matching funding from the state government.

state Transport and Infrastructure Minister Tom Koutsantonis said he’d “prefer to work” with federal Labor’s Catherine King and Anthony Albanese, “because they’re more likely to have that money upfront” rather than spread over seven years.

“In the most recent federal Budget, the Morrison government only allocated $40m for this $400m project, which means most of the money that they’re allocating for this project is outside the forward estimates and after the next state election,” he said.

“That means that nothing would happen here for nearly four years. Well, that’s not good enough. It makes no sense ... if Anthony Albanese becomes prime minister, we‘ll get our skates on straight away. I think the choice is simple.“

Opposition spokeswoman for Infrastructure and Transport, federal Labor’s Catherine King, said the Liberal government could not be trusted to deliver on the project.

“We know the Morrison government has had a decade to deal with this issue, they've been in power for a decade, they’ve had a couple of planning studies. And of course on the eve of an election, they somehow think that they’re going to fix it,” she said.

“But what I’d want to say is that the federal Labor government and Albanese Labor government isn’t just about all talk, we actually want to deliver.”

State MP Tom Koutsantonis with Louise Miller-Frost, Jayne Stinson and Catherine King at the Marion Rd-Anzac Highway level crossing on Monday. Picture: Supplied

The federal transport and infrastructure website lists the project as “in planning” with construction expected to start late 2023 and be completed mid-2026.

The solution was first flagged by former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull six years ago, on the eve of the 2016 federal election.

At the time, Mr Turnbull appeared with Liberal Boothby MP Nicolle Flint to announce $2m for a planning study for the upgrade. The study was marred by delays and not completed until late last year.

The federal government has been contacted for comment.