Minister for Roads and Freight Duncan Gay and Member for Monaro John Barilaro have announced an extra $30 million to upgrade three major roads in the Monaro.
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“The Kings and Monaro highways and the Kosciusko Road will each receive an additional $10 million for upgrades and safety improvements,” Minister Gay said.
Minister Gay said the focus would be on providing extra overtaking lanes and safety works, such as road shoulder widening and wire rope barriers.
“In the coming months, Roads and Maritime Services will begin community consultation and detailed scoping work to determine ideal locations for extra overtaking lanes and safety works with preconstruction activities to commence later in 2015,” Minister Gay said.
Mr Barilaro said “These highways experience a lot of local and also seasonal tourist traffic making them vital transport links for the people and businesses of the Monaro”.
“A great example of the Liberals & Nationals Government ongoing commitment to improving roads in the Monaro is our historic spend on upgrading the Kings Highway making it safer and easier for families to commute.
“Since coming to office in March 2011, and with this announcement of an extra $10 million drawn from existing Restart NSW funding, we will have invested more than $62.5 million to upgrade the Kings Highway, making it safer and cutting travel times.
“This is a 26 per cent increase in funding for upgrades to the Kings Highway compared to NSW Labor’s last four years in office.”
Labor Candidate for Monaro Steve Whan responded to the announcement; “The Nationals are now promising they will spend $10 million extra over two years, at the moment that is adding to just $9 million committed to the Government for 2015-16. In other words from 2015-16 through to 2018-19 the Coalition has a commitment of just $19 million for the Kings Highway. Labor has a commitment of $60 million.”
“Minister Gay included six years of coalition expenditure in his comparison of four years of Labor. It’s the only way he could make it look like they have given more” said Mr whan. “Frankly though motorists don’t have to look at the amounts of money they can look on the ground. While I was local member we had seven new overtaking lanes built on the Kings Highway between Queanbeyan and the Clyde Mountain – under the Nationals they have just started their first” he added.
