The federal government has last night handed down its latest budget for 2025, with road infrastructure set to get a major boost for the nation’s transport sector.
The budget will provide $17.1 billion over 10 years for a range of road and rail infrastructure projects that are designed to boost productivity, resilience and sustainability.
The largest of these investments is already known, with the $7.2 billion safety upgrades announced for Queensland’s Bruce Highway part of the budget.
The budget provides $2.3 billion for projects in the growing Western Sydney region, including $580 million to upgrade Townson Road, Burdekin Road and Garfield Road West. It also added $500 million to upgrade Fifteenth Avenue.
Down in Victoria, rail dominated with a $2 billion Sunshine Station upgrade listed, but $1 billion will also go towards the government’s road blitz in the state.
Western Australia’s Kwinana Freeway is next on the rung of funding, receiving $350 million for freight upgrades, while both Tasmania’s Arthur Highway and the duplication of the Northern Territory’s Stuart Highway between Darwin and Katherine will receive $200 million. On top of this, a further $200 million will ensure the delivery of Queensland’s Rockhampton Ring Road, while $70 million will seal the remaining 11km of unsealed pavement on the state’s Kennedy Developmental Road between The Lynd and Hughenden.
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South Australia’s Curtis Road level crossing removal has been allocated $125 million, while the final project involves $50 million for upgrades to the ACT’s Monaro Highway.
In response, Roads Australia has welcomed the investment, saying continued investment and reform across road and rail will deliver significant community benefits.
“Transport plays a vital role in improving living standards and enabling access to housing,” Roads Australia chief executive Ehssan Veiszadeh says.
“Even in a deeply constrained budgetary environment with significant economic challenges both domestically and abroad, we need to invest in the resilience, safety and productivity of our transport system.
“Investments such as $7.2 billion to upgrade the Bruce Highway in Queensland, an additional $1 billion towards Victoria’s Road Blitz and $1.8 billion for Western Sydney road projects, will have a transformative impact on those communities.”
Veiszadeh reiterates Roads Australia’s calls for nationwide reform to address rigid government procurement processes and design standards, which are hampering the adoption of innovation in the transport sector.
“Australia needs a long-term plan for the future of our transport system, supported by a continued focus on supporting industry innovation and addressing the construction sector’s long-standing productivity challenges,” he says.
“Construction sector productivity is continuing to decline, dropping from 0.3 to -0.8 over the past 12 months. At a time where all government budgets are under considerable pressure, rigid procurement processes, overly onerous and outdated technical standards and poor labour productivity are collectively driving up the costs of project delivery.
“In these challenging economic times, it’s more important than ever that government embrace the opportunity to unlock innovation, deliver better value for our growing communities and support a sustainable infrastructure sector.”
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