ROADS look to be amongst the winners in this week’s federal budget announcements. The upgrade of the Pacific Highway has received a funding boost worth $1.37 billion over the next financial year.
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NRMA local Director Wendy Machin welcomed the ongoing commitment to the Highway duplication, but urged the Government to invest the money as soon as possible.
“The NRMA has continually urged the Federal and State Governments to work together to accelerate the pre-construction timetable so the project is finished before 2020,” Ms Machin said.
“This additional funding is welcomed but it needs to be invested promptly and smartly.
“That stretch of road is one of New South Wales’ busiest highways and was voted the state’s worst road for the fifth year running in 2015, according to thousands surveyed by the NRMA’s annual Seeing Red on Roads campaign.”
This was despite a $5.6 billion investment in the Pacific Highway duplication from Hexham to the Queensland border.
In a welcome boost for regional NSW, the Government also announced it increased funds for the Roads to Recovery Program to $234.7 million ($170.6 million: 2015/16), giving local councils a greater pool from which to draw funds to improve local roads, such as Great Lakes Council’s road network of about 1,282 km.
Road funding across Australia has increased $2.2 billion to $9.3 billion this year, while road funding across NSW increased to $3.3 billion this year (up from $2.2 billion: 2015/16).
Revenue collected from motorists through the petrol tax has increased by $800 million to $15.6 billion. Revenue from the petrol tax is forecast to increase an additional $700 million in 2016/17.
In 2016/17, 22.5 cents out of the 39.5 cents per litre petrol tax (57 per cent) will be reinvested back into roads – up from 18 cents out of the 39 cents per litre tax last year.