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The Queensland Government has offered $200m towards the first stage of upgrading the Ipswich Motorway between Rocklea and Darra.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced the project during a media conference last Wednesday with the project set to expand the motorway from four lanes to six lanes, reducing congestion for motorists and road freight during peak hours.
Ms Palaszczuk, Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey and Infrastructure Minister Jackie Trad called for the Turnbull Government to ensure the project is delivered by meeting them halfway with funding the $400m project.
“This $200 million announced today is an enormous step in seeing this project move forward, and means relief is in sight for Motorway users who currently face mass congestion in peak times,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“However, in order for this $400 million project to become a reality, we need the Turnbull Government to come to the table and meet our commitment 50:50. They should make that commitment and put their allocation back in to this project tomorrow.
“Throughout Queensland, the Federal Government usually funds major road projects on an 80:20 basis with the State Government – including projects on the Warrego, Toowoomba, the Bruce, the Gateway and Cape York.
“We know upgrading the Ipswich Motorway is crucial to ease congestion for both motorists and road freight, and so we’ve significantly increased our share of the funding to 50 per cent, from $80 million to $200 million.
“We’ve got our money on the table, ready to go – now we just need the Federal Government to step up and match our commitment.”
“However, in order for this $400 million project to become a reality, we need the Turnbull Government to come to the table and meet our commitment 50:50. They should make that commitment and put their allocation back in to this project tomorrow.
“Throughout Queensland, the Federal Government usually funds major road projects on an 80:20 basis with the State Government – including projects on the Warrego, Toowoomba, the Bruce, the Gateway and Cape York.
“We know upgrading the Ipswich Motorway is crucial to ease congestion for both motorists and road freight, and so we’ve significantly increased our share of the funding to 50 per cent, from $80 million to $200 million.
“We’ve got our money on the table, ready to go – now we just need the Federal Government to step up and match our commitment.”
The current condition of the motorway costs the state more than $40m annually in lost revenue with an estimated 470 jobs expected to be created during construction of the final 7km of the motorway.
The upgrade will also ease access to the major industrial precinct of Rocklea and the Acacia Ridge Inter-model Transport Centre to the Port of Brisbane and Trade Coast.
Construction is predicted to start early next year if funding is secured.
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James Just
James Just is a recent Journalism graduate from Griffith University who has lived in the Brisbane area for the majority of his life. He is passionate about journalism, and loves reporting on the latest and greatest happenings in Brisbane. He enjoys lovecraftian horror, philosophy and local events around Brisbane.
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