Construction of new Sydney highway begins
West Sydney citizens will have to wait four years before they can drive the new $2 billion free highway.
The NSW and federal governments have welcomed the project as a sign of cooperation as infrastructure ministers across the country look to coordinate resources.
Canberra and Sydney are jointly funding the M12 motorway. This his M12 motorway is designed to be the main access route to Western Sydney International Airport and also has a rail connection.
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The 16-kilometer highway between the M7 motorway and Luddenham is scheduled to open in 2026, before the airport becomes operational in December.
Federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine King said there will always be debate among governments about who takes the tab on expensive construction projects.
She said it was in the country’s best interest to work together as the economy recovered from the economic shock of COVID-19.
“The construction industry has really been the hero of the pandemic,” King said Friday.
Prime Minister Dominic Perrottet said the M12 would reduce commute times and make western Sydney the “engine room” of the national economy.
He said highways and railroads will be ready when the airport opens, but warned that current labor and material shortages are putting pressure on infrastructure projects.
“But that doesn’t stop our determination to build the infrastructure that will transform our city and state,” Perrotet said.
“It is much better to be in this position than not to build anything.”
Perrottet suggested that state governments cooperate on issues such as competition for tunnel workers to ease the pressure of material and labor shortages.
Mr King said infrastructure ministers had been discussing ways to avoid “ripping off” each other’s projects.
“I really hope that over the next five to 10 years, there will be pipelines nationwide that are complementary to each other,” she said.
The federal government has put $1.6 billion into the M12, in addition to the $11 billion cost of splitting the rail link to the airport.
A recent study recommends the NSW government postpone large infrastructure projects, with labor and material shortages posing the risk of large cost explosions.
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Peter Frey
Editor-in-chief
Construction of new Sydney highway begins
Source link Construction of new Sydney highway begins
