Federal budget to include $3b infrastructure blitz for Victoria

Your daily commute is set to get easier, with these congestion-busting road upgrades part of a federal budget infrastructure blitz. Here’s where the upgrades will be.

Outer Melbourne will be transformed by a massive freight terminal and plans for a new suburban super-highway in a $3bn federal budget infrastructure blitz.

The package, to be announced by Scott Morrison on Monday, also includes $510m for a series of upgrades to bust congestions at key choke points in the city’s southeast.

The Herald Sun can reveal the federal government has committed $2bn to the Melbourne Intermodal Terminal, to be established in Truganina or Beveridge, which will connect to the 1700m Inland Rail link and take up to 5500 trucks off the roads every day.

And $10m has been set aside to ramp up planning the Outer Metropolitan Ring Road, a proposed 12-lane freeway between Melbourne’s outer southwest and outer north that would also connect to the freight hub.

The Prime Minister said more than 3000 jobs would be created by the budget investment.

“Our record funding commitment is creating jobs, boosting business investment, while securing Australia’s COVID recovery,” Mr Morrison said.

It’s hoped a massive freight terminal will take up to 5500 trucks off the roads every day. Picture: Mark Stewart

The package adds $87.8m to the government’s $405m commitment to build thousands of commuter car parks, which has been bogged down by planning issues and delays.

Multi-deck car parks will now be built at Frankston, Heathmont and Ringwood stations, while two ground-level car parks will be built at Ferntree Gully station. Up to 500 spaces will be built at Berwick station in a project expanded by $49.2m.

Urban Infrastructure Minister Paul Fletcher said the road projects in the southeast — which were initially worth $120m — built upon previous commitments to enhance traffic flow.

In Pakenham, a total of $380m will now be spent duplicating Racecourse Road between Princes Freeway and Henry Street and upgrading the McGregor Road interchange, in a project that will create 940 jobs and is expected to be finished within two years.

Another $250m will be used to upgrade Clyde Road intersections with Kangan Drive and Monash Freeway, which are crucial for access to the Berwick health and education precinct.

The federal government is also injecting an extra $267.7m into existing projects, including to cover cost increases on the upgrade of key east-west corridor Hall Road between McCormicks Road in Skye and Cranbourne-Frankston Road in Cranbourne West.

Its estimate $169m price-tag has now soared to $282.5m, with the commonwealth upping its investment by $56.8m in a 50-50 split with the state government.

Canberra also expects Victoria to stump up half the cost of the $4bn intermodal terminal, which is expected to support 1350 direct and indirect jobs.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg will deliver the federal budget on Tuesday. Picture: Gary Ramage

Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said the project would “transform the way freight moves, not just in Victoria but right across the country”.

And Josh Frydenberg, who will deliver his third federal budget on Tuesday, said it would set Australia “up for the future”.

“An intermodal terminal in Melbourne will help to boost the productivity of the nation by helping businesses get their products to domestic and international markets faster following the completion of inland rail,” the Treasurer said.

Other new projects including $17.5m to upgrade key dairy freight routes in the state’s southwest, and $10m for road safety improvements on Mallacoota-Genoa Road in the bushfire-hit coastal region.

Tuesday’s budget will also allocate $91.5m for roads of strategic importance. Mr McCormack said that includes the Ballarat to Ouyen, Echuca to Robinvale, Green Triangle, Melbourne to Mildura, Stawell to South Australian border and Toowoomba to Seymour corridors.