Major upgrades to the Monaro Highway to keep Canberra moving
15 April 2019
Major safety improvements
to key intersections along the
Monaro Highway will improve traffic flow,
with a
tender being released this week and design work starting in
coming weeks, announced today by Senator for the ACT Zed Seselja and ACT
Minister for Roads Chris Steel.
The Monaro Highway upgrades are supported by the
Commonwealth Government
and
ACT Government with up to $200 million in funding committed to the
Highway’s upgrade projects, making our
roads safer, improving travel times and capacity and supporting the
freight corridor.
A tender for feasibility and preliminary design will be released this
week to investigate intersection upgrades from Johnson Drive in the
south through to the access road to the Alexander Maconochie Centre.
This will include the intersections with Lanyon Drive and Isabella Drive
and intersections with Mugga Lane, Tralee Street and Sheppard Street
into Hume.
Senator for the ACT, Senator Zed Seselja, said he was delighted to see
the upgrades moving forward, after campaigning for funding to fix
congestion and safety issues on the Monaro since 2016.
“In 2016, I committed $1 million to a scoping study into easing
congestion for Canberrans on the Monaro and was thrilled to be able to
deliver $100 million last year to carry out the recommendations of the
study, a commitment I’m pleased has been matched by the ACT Government,”
Senator Seselja said.
“The aim of the Monaro Highway upgrades will be to safely achieve a
consistent speed limit of 100km per hour from Johnson Drive to Hindmarsh
Drive, to keep Canberrans moving,” Minister Steel said.
“The designs will look at providing a faster and safer commute for
motorists on the Monaro by removing traffic lights, roundabouts and
other intersections and replacing them with grade separated
interchanges.”
Further South on the Monaro Highway, detailed design work will also
start in coming weeks for an overtaking lane and median barrier
treatments between Royalla Drive and Williamsdale Road.
This stage of work focuses on the best options for a northbound
overtaking lane approximately one kilometre in length as well as various
treatments that could be used to further separate north and southbound
traffic.
It is anticipated that construction on the overtaking lane and median
improvements between Royalla Drive and Williamsdale Road will commence
in the 2019-20 financial year.
“The Monaro Highway is an important recreational and freight route
between the ACT and NSW and these upgrades will significantly improve
safety on the stretch of the Monaro south of
Canberra and decrease travel times during the busy ski season,”
Minister Steel said.
“The Commonwealth investment in the Monaro Highway Upgrade Package
delivers important infrastructure funding to ensure Canberrans, and many
residents over the border in
NSW, are able to effectively commute to and from the south of the
ACT,” Senator Seselja concluded.
In addition to the Monaro Highway works, preliminary designs will also
be prepared in coming weeks for the duplication of Pialligo Avenue
between the
Canberra Airport and NSW border including improvements to
the intersection with Beltana Road.
--ENDS--
Source: ACT Government - www.cmd.act.gov.au
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