Melbourne’s west has enthusiastically welcomed a game-changing announcement from the Hon Catherine King, Minister for Infrastructure Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, committing $1.1 billion to fix the Western Highway.
The Western Highway is an aged and rural-standard highway. It is a critical national road link and is the second largest freight carrier of any national highway, carrying more than 5,400 trucks and around 86,000 vehicles on the stretch of highway between Melton and Caroline Springs daily.
Melton Councillor Dr Phillip Zada, Chair of LeadWest said the announcement of $1.1 billion to fix the Western Freeway is a ‘more than welcome’ win. "With Melbourne’s western suburbs on track to match Adelaide’s population, these infrastructure investments are not just welcome – they are essential. This level of commitment helps our transport network to keep pace with our booming communities.
“LeadWest is delighted that today’s announcement is hot on the heels of last week’s announcement by the Albanese Government for an additional $2 billion funding towards transforming Sunshine Station as part of the Melbourne Airport Rail project. “The Prime Minister also announced that the Victorian Government will bring forward its Melbourne Airport Rail funding to enable the works at Sunshine Station to begin earlier and transform it into a hub for regional rail services connecting to Melbourne Airport. A further $300 million in federal funding was committed to boost rail services in the Melton growth corridor including electrification of the Melton line,” Dr Zada said.
Over recent months transport and infrastructure projects have been central to LeadWest’s advocacy efforts, including the desperately needed upgrade to the Western Highway, construction of the Melbourne Airport Rail and the development of the Sunshine Precinct, coupled with the electrification of the Melton and Wyndham lines.
"The recent wave of infrastructure funding - Melbourne Airport Rail, the Melton Line electrification, Plumpton Aquatic Centre, Footscray’s Creative West arts and cultural hub, and now the Western Highway upgrade is an exciting vision for Melbourne’s west. We look forward to seeing these projects come to fruition,” said Dr Zada.
While this funding goes a long way to improving connectivity and infrastructure throughout the west, LeadWest continues to advocate for the country’s fastest growing region to ensure the delivery of the Western Intermodal Freight Terminal, the electrification of the Wyndham line, increased green spaces and shade across the west, the Western Aquatic and Early Years Centre in Hobsons Bay, and the environmental wetlands centre in Altona’s internationally recognised RAMSAR wetlands.
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