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.
