“Roads Australia has long advocated a longer, less lumpy and more transparent pipeline of projects, around which our members can plan and marshal their resources to deliver key projects efficiently and effectively,” RA President, David Stuart-Watt, said today.
“The Queensland Government and Building Queensland deserve credit for heeding these calls and taking positive steps to provide greater rigour and clarity around project assessment and prioritisation.
“It’s also encouraging to see the Government’s response this week in announcing a $800 million in-principle funding commitment for the Cross River Rail, one of the four projects prioritised by Building Queensland for Government funding consideration.
“This is a critical infrastructure project that will unlock massive benefits for the people of south-east Queensland and the State’s economy.
“Given that this project is already on Infrastructure Australia’s radar, it’s to be hoped the State and Commonwealth governments can reach an agreement on funding to get it out to market as soon as possible.”
Mr Stuart-Watt said the roads industry would also be pleased to see the Cunningham Highway – Yamanto Interchange to Ebenezer Creek section and the Pacific Motorway – Mudgeeraba to Varsity Lakes section identified as high priority projects in the Queensland Pipeline, ready for funding consideration.