PM commits federal funding for Victorian infrastructure projects, Airport Rail

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced $3 billion in new funding to fast-track Melbourne Airport Rail and fix crumbling roads, in a win for Victoria’s civil construction industry.

Addressing the Future Victoria business lunch in Melbourne today, Mr Albanese said the federal government would commit $2b to the Airport Rail project, on top of its existing $5b investment.

And in a pre-election pitch, the Prime Minister also announced $1.2b to urgently fix crumbling suburban roads, including:

• Sealing and upgrading Old Sydney Road, connecting with Cameron’s Lane, in the Hume LGA, supporting growth and new jobs on the Beveridge Intermodal Terminal;
• Upgrading the intersection of McLeod Road and Station Street, Carrum (Kingston LGA), and;
• Evans Road between Duff Street and Central Parkway in Cranbourne West (Casey LGA).

“This is great news for our civil construction infrastructure pipeline in Victoria,” CCF Victoria CEO Lisa Kinross said.

“Moreover, this is fantastic and most welcome news for our contractors, who continue to prove resilient in the face of a challenging market and political climate.

“The Melbourne Airport Rail project – funded by the federal investment to bring forward the early stage works – is, as the Prime Minister pointed out, a critical infrastructure missing link for a global city and state like Melbourne and Victoria.

“The roads funding announcement is also very welcome, not least because of the growing community concerns around the extremely poor state of urban, suburban, regional and rural roads. Public assets like roads and rail transport are enabling infrastructure that leads to more homes being built.”

The funding announcement coincides with a separate federal funding announcement of $69.7 million – matched by the Victorian government – to deliver a string of road safety program upgrades in metro and regional areas.

Upgraded traffic signals to boost pedestrian safety will be rolled out at dangerous intersections in suburban Melbourne areas of Frankston, Banyule and Bayside.

Regionally, $22m will be spent on line marking improvements at high-risk intersections across the Gippsland, Hume, Loddon-Mallee, Grampians, and Barwon South-West regions, while $10m will be provided to improve safety for motorcyclists, through improved protections on barriers, skid resistance, shoulder sealing, and curve signage.

Up to 172 new construction jobs are expected to be created over the life of the federal Road Safety Program across Victoria.

Watch the full Future Victoria presentation, including the Prime Minister’s address, here: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/future-victoria/video/2ddc8f9d68eaeebefa80bd8cd208b938

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