Page 1766 - Week 06 - Thursday, 14 May 2015
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and ongoing commitment to providing high quality road infrastructure. Construction works for key projects that will improve our road network are underway. Importantly, the next stage of investment is being planned.
Today I would like to talk about the single largest road infrastructure investment ever made in the ACT, the Majura Parkway project. Construction on the Majura Parkway, a $288 million investment in our regional transport network, commenced in early 2013. The Majura Parkway has been included in the ACT territory plans since the 1970s. In recognition of the importance of this project, the Australian and ACT governments agreed in 2011 to jointly fund the design and construction of the Majura Parkway, each committing $144 million.
This important economic project will deliver 11.5 kilometres of dual carriageway connecting the federal highway through to the Monaro Highway, which is accompanied by another investment to upgrade the intersection of the Federal Highway and Majura Road, which will become the connection to the Majura Parkway. The road will run through the Majura Valley, duplicating the existing Majura Road, in the northern section, and a new road will continue south of the Molonglo River on an alignment to the west of the existing Majura Road.
From a national perspective, the parkway will improve an important freight route. Residents of surrounding New South Wales and the ACT depend on the national freight network. It is anticipated that the amount of freight that will be carried on our roads will double over the next 10 to 15 years. The Majura Parkway alone is forecast to carry around 40,000 vehicles a day, including up to 6,000 trucks, by 2030.
Currently the existing two-lane Majura Road carries over 18,000 vehicles a day, of which 2,800 are commercial or heavy freight vehicles. For projected future traffic growth, a higher standard link is needed and being delivered. From a regional perspective, the parkway will also provide greatly improved access to Canberra Airport and add to the capacity of the arterial road network.
The Majura Parkway will help take pressure off residential streets and main road corridors in the inner north by removing heavy vehicles and diverting traffic onto the city’s outer ring-road. This will also contribute to improving the safety of the local road system in the north of Canberra.
It is estimated that by 2021 it will take seven minutes to travel from the Federal Highway to Fairbairn Avenue via the Majura Parkway, as opposed to 20 minutes via the current Majura Road. Reducing travel and commute time is an important task for any government in Australia. It is one that this government takes seriously and tirelessly works towards achieving. The national and regional benefits of the Majura Parkway are not far from being realised. Almost 80 per cent of the works are complete, with the northbound section of Majura Parkway north of Fairbairn Avenue near completion.
As mentioned earlier, Madam Speaker, an off-road shared user path, which will run parallel to the parkway from the Federal Highway to Morshead Drive, is also being constructed. The path will connect with the paths from Morshead Drive-Pialligo
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