Roads

The much-anticipated official opening of the new Towong Bridge to traffic on Tuesday was celebrated by communities on both sides of the Murray River, with the first cars officially driving over it soon afterwards.

The Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) has released the planned location of the proposed Toowoomba North South Transport Corridor, which will direct traffic away from the New England Highway through Toowoomba.

Victorians should be alert – and probably alarmed – at a deal that has been kept quiet by the State Government that will give indigenous groups in Western Victoria a huge say over water, roads and biosecurity ... The land mass covered by the agreement is nearly 36,000 sq km and involves ten local councils: Ararat, Horsham, Buloke, Hindmarsh, Pyrenees, Northern Grampians, Southern Grampians, Yarriambiak, Mildura and West Wimmera ... “There is so much to be worried about in relation to this ‘unprecedented’ agreement:” Member for Western Victoria, Bev McArthur.

The Towong Bridge will soon be open to traffic after being closed for more than a year. Residents and landowners on both sides of the Murray River will be bouyed by news that the new Towong Bridge will be officially opened next week after being closed for more than a year.

Southern Downs residents can expect more activity on the road network and additional construction crews being deployed across the region to undertake flood repairs, with final approvals for last year’s flood event now secured.

Nearby resident Len Patterson with his dog Smokey check out the repaired Kital Road Bridge. The Bridge was badly damaged following the flooding in Dalrymple Creek early 2022 and has been impassable for the past 15 months.

The NSW Government has declared the Northern Rivers a formal reconstruction area to help support the building of homes after last year’s devastating floods. Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully said the declaration allows the NSW Reconstruction Authority (NSWRA) to make prompt decisions to influence reconstruction and aligns with the election commitment to accelerate the approval of new housing...

Donald has experienced a few floods in its lifetime; however, usually there is at least some warning from the encroaching Richardson River. The flood occurring on Thursday morning, June 22, was not due to the river, though. The cause of this flood, and subsequent main highway shutdown in Woods Street, was due to a burst water pipe.

The 2023-24 Queensland State Budget, delivered last week, has been harshly condemned by Member for Condamine Pat Weir, who says the people of his electorate have again missed out on significant investment.

Premier Peter Malinauskas and his Cabinet Ministers will visit Kangaroo Island today [22 June 2023] and tomorrow as part of the State Government’s Country Cabinet. Demonstrating the Government’s commitment to regional South Australia, this is the fourth in a series of Country Cabinets – which has already taken the Premier and Ministers to Port Pirie & Port Augusta, Mount Gambier and Yorke Peninsula.

Victoria’s roads will continue to worsen after the State Government confirmed this week there is no additional funding for repairs after floods last year. Roads Minister Melissa Horne was lost for answers on Wednesday as a Public Accounts and Estimates hearing heard that the Government’s road asset management budget has been cut 25 per cent in this year’s budget.

Leader of the Opposition and Shadow Minister for Transport Shane Love MLA has strongly condemned the State Labor Government for its continued unlawful use of traffic monitoring devices throughout WA. An Auditor General Report has exposed Main Roads WA for utilising 180 vehicle monitoring devices on local roads, despite being fully aware since 2016 that such usage is strictly limited to highways and main roads under the Surveillance Devices Regulations 1999.

When the Mitchell Fwy extension to Romeo Rd opens next month motorists using Wanneroo Rd will be able to access the freeway via Romeo Rd while the duplication of Wanneroo Rd continues.

“We don’t drive on the left side of the road, we drive on what’s left of them”. That is the strong message from the Nationals’ Member for Mildura, Jade Benham, after more roads funding cuts in a brutal State Budget. Road maintenance funding has been slashed by 25 per cent from 2022 to 2023. In total, it has been cut a whopping 45 per cent since 2020.

A final seal was laid on Lights Road last week signalling the end of the $700,000 road upgrade which is expected to be finished at the end of this month ... Local contractors and the Shire have faced weather delays, but the project is set to be delivered within budget and with minimal environmental impact on the community.

After around 30 flat tyres which were speared by stones, James Road is finally on the Naracoorte Lucindale Council’s list of things to do. Almost 13 kms long, 400 metres of James Road was resheeted around three years ago with material including the overburden of a porphyry mine in the Kingston District Council area.

On 23 May 2023, the Premier Daniel Andrews said: “We’re doing everything we promised Victorians we’d do – and we’re not wasting a moment getting on with it”. What he perhaps should have said was: “We promised some things – we even promised to govern for all Victorians – but we will deliver only some things, dump plenty of others, and govern for a few.” For me there’s only one headline from this budget: Victoria is broke.

Victoria’s State Budget reveals that regional Victorians and farmers are being unfairly forced to pay the price of the Andrews Government’s infrastructure cost blowouts and years of fiscal mismanagement in Melbourne. VFF President Emma Germano said regional Victorian’s were being made to pay as a consequence of the government’s decisions.