The Victorian Transport Association (VTA) has welcomed the release of Infrastructure Australia’s Priority List of projects, and in particular the priority given to upgrading and maintaining roads around Australia.
The List contains a number of high priority projects throughout Australia that would deliver much needed maintenance and improvements to regional and urban roads, which would help to improve safety and reduce congestion on key thoroughfares, many of which are freight routes.
“It is encouraging that Infrastructure Australia has heeded the calls of the transport industry to encourage all levels of government to make road improvements a high priority,” said VTA CEO, Peter Anderson.
“A safe, reliable and efficient road transport network is absolutely essential for our economy to continue to grow and prosper. For Infrastructure Australia to acknowledge this by prioritising maintenance and improvements regional and urban roads shows that they get the contribution of the transport industry to our national economy.
“We encourage the Commonwealth and state governments to heed the advice of Infrastructure Australia, which was established to provide independent advice to government on prioritising infrastructure expenditure, and move quickly to implement their recommendations,” said Anderson.
Anderson highlighted two projects priorities in Victoria that would improve cycling access to Melbourne’s CBD and improve public transport connectivity in Frankston.
“Any project that encourages greater use of public transport is beneficial to the transport industry because it takes cars off the road, which reduces congestion," he said.
“Greater investments in rail projects are welcome news for the transport industry in Victoria because every sector of the supply chain - including road transport operators – benefits from more widespread use of intermodal transport.”
