Budget 2021: More than $3bn announced to improve critical NSW roads
More than $3 billion worth of NSW road upgrades will be announced in this week’s budget, supporting more than 6,500 jobs.
NSW
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Safer roads and congestion busting upgrades worth more than $3 billion will turbocharge the state’s COVID-19 recovery and support more than 6,500 jobs.
The 2021-22 Budget handed down on Tuesday will include funding for eight new road projects in NSW as well as extra cash for upgrades currently under construction.
Across the country the federal government will spend more than $10bn on new road infrastructure, bringing the total cash splash to $110bn over the next 10 years.
The centrepiece of the infrastructure spend in NSW is a $2.03bn investment in the Great Western Highway to separate local traffic and freight travelling through the Blue Mountains between Katoomba and Lithgow, cutting down travel time and improving safety.
This project is expected to support 3,902 direct and indirect jobs alone.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison will unveil the shovel-ready road upgrades to get a share of the multi-billion dollar investment over the next four years.
“From upgrading the Great Western and Princes highways, to improving the key road connections in the outer suburbs and regional areas – these projects will support more than 6,500 direct and indirect jobs across NSW,” he said.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is preparing to hand down his third federal Budget on Tuesday, which is expected to include significant spending on aged care, mental health and domestic violence prevention.
Mr Frydenberg, who on Sunday ran the Mother’s Day Classic in Canberra with his wife, Aime, to raise awareness for breast cancer, told The Daily Telegraph essential services were a “critical” component of the Budget.
“This is a very targeted approach to get Australians to the other side of the pandemic,” he said.
The new infrastructure upgrades include $48 million for a new overpass with on and off ramps to enter and exit the Pacific Highway at Harrington Road.
In February a 74-year-old woman died in a collision at the intersection, confirming local fears visibility at the crossing was not sufficient.
The government will also spend $400m on 20km of the Princes Highway between Jervis Bay Rd and Sussex Inlet Rd, where there were 126 crashes, including five fatal ones, between 2014 and 2018.
The upgrades will support about 980 direct and indirect jobs, and include the addition of new safety barriers, widening of the road at intersections and also increasing the width of centre lanes to better separate the two directions of traffic.
Also on the Princes Highway, an additional $100m will be spent for a new bridge for motorists to cross Jervis Bay Rd and head north.
There is $240m allocated in the Budget to replace the Mount Ousley interchange on the Princes Motorway.
The new version will be able to separate cars from heavy traffic to improve travel times and transport access to Wollongong and Port Kembla.
The government will spend $87.5m for a new two-lane bridge over George’s River and rail line connecting the M5 Motorway and Moorebank Ave to the Hume Highway. This will 343 direct and indirect jobs.
About $52.8m will go toward multiple intersection upgrades on Manns Rd to improve safety, pedestrian and cyclist safety and reduce congestion on Central Coast.
There will also be $25m to develop a final business case to upgrade Stacey St in Bankstown, which is the only part of Sydney‘s north south corridor that is four and not six lanes.
A further $39.1m has been allocated to existing NSW projects, including an additional $19m for the Far North Collector Road Network in Nowra.
Deputy Prime Minister and Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Minister Michael McCormack said this additional investment demonstrated the government’s commitment to “nation-defining infrastructure” in NSW.
“Our more than $2 billion investment in upgrading Great Western Highway will bring enormous benefits, both in road safety and in the ongoing jobs that construction will support,” he said.
“The government is driving the delivery of major infrastructure projects to map the economic road back from the pandemic, building the economy and providing certainty for businesses over the long term.”
Urban Infrastructure Minister Paul Fletcher said the government was also focused on “key urban pinch points,” such as the Moorebank Ave and Hume Highway intersections with the M5.
“This is complemented by targeted road investments along key commuter corridors, including $240m for the Mount Ousley Interchange near Wollongong and an additional $18m for Appin Road upgrades,” he said.
“Major projects delivered over the last year include the Pacific Highway – Woolgoolga to Ballina, which completed the duplication between Hexham and the Queensland border, as well as NorthConnex, which bypassed one of NSW’s most congested routes – Pennant Hills Road.”
The road projects also include investment from the NSW state government.
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Originally published as Budget 2021: More than $3bn announced to improve critical NSW roads
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