Truckies’ opinions to be sought for the building and upgrading of rest areas
Assistant minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Carol Brown, has confirmed that the Albanese will deliver on its commitment to truckies through an $80 million commitment to new and refreshed rest areas.
The funding is in addition to the $60 million already set aside to fund rest areas and supplements the existing Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity Program funding.
Brown says the $80 million commitment the Labor Party took to the election brings the total commitment in dedicated funding for heavy vehicle rest areas to $140 million.
“In delivering the Rest Area Program, the Government will be working side by side with truckies and industry experts to deliver a suite of heavy vehicle rest areas across the country,” Brown advises.
“Truckies will be at the table, providing their expert advice for the targeted rest area projects.
“On top of this, the Government has committed $12.4 billion to infrastructure this financial year and $55.1 billion dollars over the next four financial years.”
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Brown says the funding the Government has committed to through the budget will include upgrades to freight routes heavily used by truck drivers across the country – from the Bruce Highway in Queensland, through to the Bass Highway in her home state of Tasmania.
“We’re continuing to invest in the Roads of Strategic Importance (ROSI) initiative which supports the upgrade of key freight routes, and to help connect regional businesses to local and international markets, and better connect regional communities,” she adds.
“The ROSI initiative is ensuring our key freight roads efficiently connect areas of regional and remote economic activity to ports, airports and other transport hubs.
“ROSI is delivering works such as road sealing, flood immunity, strengthening and widening, pavement rehabilitation, bridge and culvert upgrades and road realignments.
“We know that the improved access provided through the ROSI initiative is making work easier and, importantly, safer for truckies by improving freight routes you travel often.”
Brown says the Albanese Labor Government has also committed $65 million per year through the Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity Program. The Program provides funding for projects which work to make the most utilised freight routes safer for truckies, and other road users.