Scott Morrison to announce federal funding for transport package

Both state and federal money will go into an initative to be announced today by Prime Minister Scott Morrison which it is hoped will slash commute times for drivers. SEE WHERE THE MONEY WILL BE SPENT

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A billion-dollar cash injection to bust congestion points on Sydney’s roads and improve safety in country areas to prevent hundreds of fatal and serious car accidents has been brought forward to boost jobs and stimulate the NSW economy.

The joint federal and state government funding agreement to be unveiled by Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday includes $240 million to fix 11 congestion hotspots in Sydney, $382 million for local councils to upgrade roads and $398 million for safety projects in country areas.

Combined the road projects are estimated to support 5,450 direct and indirect jobs, with some construction expected to start as early as next month in an effort to soften the impact of the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is expected to announce the new roads spending on Monday. Picture: AAP Image/Lukas Coch

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The “pressure point” road upgrades in Sydney will save drivers from spending millions of hours in traffic every year, and include upgrades to Oxford St at Bondi Junction, a new bike lane at Centennial Park to Kingsford along Doncaster Ave, and improved access for buses along Epping, Herring, Lane Cove and Waterloo roads in Macquarie Park.

Intersections including the Pacific Highway and Finlay Rd, Parramatta Rd and Woodville Rd, Georges River Rd and Milton St, and King Georges Rd and Canterbury Rd are also slated for improvement.

As part of the safety upgrades to regional roads about $23 million will be spent on the mass rollout of “rumble strips” – lines on the side of the road that make a loud noise if a car veers to one side – which are expected to prevent 394 fatal and serious injuries due to run-off road and head-on crashes in NSW a year.

The money is designed to ease pressure points in Sydney traffic. Photo: Adam Ward

Further details about the council roads due to receive cash for resealing, asphalt resurfacing, improving paving, drainage and fixing potholes are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
Mr Morrison said the infrastructure investment would help the NSW economy “at a time we need it most” as the state recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Partnering with state and territory governments to invest in more major infrastructure projects across Australia is a key part of our JobMaker plan to rebuild our economy and create more jobs,” he said.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the stimulus package, which includes $569 million in state funding, would drive thousands of jobs and improve the safety and travel times of journeys in both the city and the regions.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian will tip in over $500 million in state money as well. Picture: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

“Projects equal jobs and fast-tracking these infrastructure projects are more important than ever as the economy recovers from the pandemic,” she said.

“Building infrastructure will be key to our economic recovery which is why we have already accelerated a number of infrastructure projects, creating thousands of jobs.”

The first round of regional road upgrade funding includes 258 projects across 83 Local Government Areas, with most expected to start construction in the next 12 months to generate employment in the bush.

Mums and dads on school drop off and commuters travelling to work will avoid wasting hours in Sydney traffic once the 11 congested intersections identified across Sydney are fixed.

Transport Minister Andrew Constance says the projects will save drivers time. Picture: AAP Image/Lukas Coch

NSW Transport and Roads Minister Andrew Constance said the Pinch Points program had so far delivered double the economic benefit compared to the cost of construction.

“It’s these smaller scale, local projects that really help to deliver those massive time savings for drivers and make our road network more efficient.”

Commonwealth funding for the package has been drawn from the recently announced $1.5 billion allocation for priority, shovel-ready projects and targeted road safety works.

The additional NSW funding is sourced from the $3 billion Project Acceleration Fund.

Originally published as Scott Morrison to announce federal funding for transport package