The federal government will invest $100 billion over 10 years to meet the national freight challenge, improve road safety and to better connect the regions.
In its 2019-20 Budget, the federal government increased its investment in key freight routes including $1b for the Princes Highway between Wollongong and Port Augusta through Victoria, $400 million for upgrades to the Newell Highway, $1.6b for the M1 Pacific Motorway extension to Raymond Terrace in NSW and $1.5b towards the remaining sections of the North-South Corridor in South Australia.
The government has also committed an additional $1b to the $4.5b Roads of Strategic Importance initiative.
It will provide $510m towards the Toowoomba to Seymour corridor between New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria, and $235m to the Alice Springs to Halls Creek corridor in Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
From 2019-20 the new, five year Roads to Recovery program will begin.
This includes an additional investment of $500m through the 2019-20 Budget from the Local and State government road safety package on top of the $2b existing program from 2019-20 to 2022-23.
The government has committed an additional $200m from 2019-20 to 2022-23 to the Black Spot Program.
It aims to fund safety works in places where there have been serious crashes or where serious crashes are likely to occur.
In the 2019-20 Budget the government has committed an additional $100m from 2019-20 to 2022-23 to the Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity Program.
There will be an additional $100m from 2019-20 to 2022-23 to the Bridges Renewal Program to provide funding for upgrades and repairs to bridges that enhance access for local communities and vehicles to enhance the local economy.
A Road Safety Innovation fund to support research and development activities including improving safety in regional and remote areas will get $12m from 2019-20 to 2022-23.
As part of the National Freight and Supply Chain Strategy, the government will invest $3.3m over four years for 2019-20 to strengthen freight data sets
While $8m over four years from 2019-20 will go to improving the capabilities for remote and regional local governments to better manage their road infrastructure assets.
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Rail will get $40m to fund five business cases for fast rail between Sydney and Parkes (via Bathurst and Orange), Melbourne and Albury-Wodonga, Melbourne and Traralgon, Brisbane and the Gold Coast, and Sydney and Wollongong.
Roads funding will go to:
- An additional $320m for the Warrego Highway, Queensland
- $287.2m to construct the Cairns Ring Road
- $100m for the Gladstone Port Access road extension in Qld
- $700m for stages two and three of the South Geelong to Waurn Ponds rail upgrade in Victoria
- $259.8m for the South Australian Rural Roads package
- $200m towards the Hawkesbury River third crossing in NSW
- A further $121.6m for stages two and three of the Bunbury Outer Ring Road in Western Australia
- $60m for the Tiwi Island Roads upgrade in the Northern Territory
- $510m for the Toowoomba to Seymour Corridor between Qld, NSW, and Victoria
- $60m for the Toowoomba to Ipswich Corridor in Qld
- $235m for the Alice Springs to Halls Creek Corridor in the NT and WA
- $150m for the Port Augusta to Perth corridor through SA and WA
- $140m for the Tenterfield to Newcastle corridor in NSW
- $130m for the Hobart to Sorrell corridor in Tasmania
- $80m for South West Victoria
- $70m for Renmark to Gawler corridor in SA