Covid-19, Federal Government, NSW, Scott Morrison, sydney,
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Scott Morrison announces $1 billion cash splash to fix roads
The Federal and State Liberal and Nationals Governments will support nearly 5,500 jobs across New South Wales through a joint $1 billion investment in shovel-ready infrastructure projects and road safety upgrades.
The funding will be allocated to three key priorities:
- $240 million to fix 11 congestion hotspots around Sydney, supporting 1,000 direct and indirect jobs;
- $382 million to help local councils upgrade roads across regional NSW, supporting 3,500 direct and indirect jobs; and
- $398 million for road safety projects in regional areas, supporting 950 direct and indirect jobs.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said further investment in infrastructure would play a critical role in the Commonwealth’s JobMaker plan and help the New South Wales economy as it 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,” the Prime Minister said.
“This funding injection means we have brought forward or provided additional funding of more than $2.7 billion across New South Wales in the past eight months.
“This package builds on the fast tracking of $570 million for infrastructure in New South Wales which we announced last November, locking in priority upgrades that will bust congestion, increase productivity, improve safety, and boost jobs at a time we need it most.”
The jointly funded package is supported by investments from the Commonwealth ($451 million) and New South Wales Government ($569 million).
Premier of New South Wales Gladys Berejiklian said the stimulus package would drive thousands of jobs and improve the safety and travel times of journeys in both the city and the regions.
“This stimulus package builds on NSW’s record infrastructure investment of $100 billion over 4 years, including an extra $3 billion to accelerate projects and create jobs,” the Premier said.
“Projects equal jobs and fast-tracking these infrastructure projects are more important than ever as the economy recovers from the pandemic.
“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.”
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack said the Government had worked closely with State, Territory and Local governments to identify shovel-ready projects to help reignite the economy and get money flowing into jobs and businesses as soon as possible.
“This funding will help turbocharge the NSW Government’s Fixing Local Roads program, jointly funding $382 million of projects on a 50:50 basis on the local roads that communities use every day,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.
“The Fixing Local Roads package will help to repair, maintain or seal priority council roads and see projects start construction in the next 12 months, creating thousands of jobs in the bush.”
NSW Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Paul Toole said the first round of jointly funded projects would deliver more than 258 projects across 83 Local Government Areas.
“This is money for small projects that make a big difference in people’s everyday lives in regional NSW,” Mr Toole said.
“It means communities right across the State will see work starting on the local roads in their area as soon as next month.”
Federal Minister for Population, Cities and Urban Infrastructure Alan Tudge said the funding injection would also deliver shovel-ready, urban projects.
“We’re investing $240 million to jointly fund on a 50:50 basis a Pinch Point Program that will bust congestion for freight and bus services across Sydney’s metropolitan road network,” Mr Tudge said.
“These small-scale road improvements will make all the difference for mums and dads doing the school drop off, and people on their way home from work.
NSW Minister for Transport and Roads Andrew Constance said the program was saving Sydney drivers from millions of hours spent in traffic each year.
“Since coming into government we have completed 217 projects with huge benefits across the Sydney network. These include improving safety while busting congestion,” Mr Constance said.
“We’ve already spent $579 million on the Pinch Points program, but we have seen $1.37 billion in realised benefits. 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.
The jointly funded package is supported by investments from the Commonwealth ($451 million) and New South Wales Government ($569 million).
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.
The Commonwealth Government has now committed more than $35.4 billion to transport infrastructure in New South Wales.
NSW Infrastructure Package
Shovel-ready projects
| Project | Federal funding | Total funding |
|---|---|---|
Pinch Point Program – addressing congestion impacting freight and bus services on the Sydney metropolitan road network
|
$120 million | $240 million |
| Fixing Local Roads – repairing, maintaining or sealing priority council roads | $191 million | $382 million |
Road safety upgrades
| Project | Federal funding | Total funding |
|---|---|---|
| Safer Roads Program – including mass action rollout of rumble strips (audio-tactile line marking) |
$140 million | $398 million |
| Total | $451 million | $1.02 billion |
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