Drivers on the M1 facing more time stuck in traffic each day have been taken for granted by LNP Member for Forde Bert van Manen, who has failed to deliver a single dollar of Coalition funding during the last three years in office.
Two weeks ago Malcolm Turnbull visited Forde, where he also failed to commit any funding to the project, which appears on Infrastructure Australia’s priority list, confirming only an elected Labor Government will fix the M1.
Traffic congestion remains one of the nation’s most serious economic challenges with Infrastructure Australia warning the problem will cost the nation $53 billion a year in lost productivity without action now.
Congestion also affects quality of life for local communities. It is a tragedy Australian parents are increasingly spending time sitting in traffic instead of at home with their kids.
A Shorten Labor Government will cut travel time on Queensland’s M1 by investing $168 million toward building additional lanes between Eight Mile Plains and Springwood on the southbound M1-Gateway merge.
Under existing conditions, seven lanes merge into three at this bottleneck.
Labor’s funding would be topped up by a $42 million investment from the Queensland Labor Government.
The $210 million upgrade, to be delivered in conjunction with the Queensland Labor Government, will significantly improve productivity by reducing travelling times, not just for commuters, but also for freight trucks along the corridor.
Increased productivity means more jobs. It’s that simple.
Labor has a strong record of investing in the M1, with millions of dollars’ of upgrades to the road paid for and completed when we were last in office.
But Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show under the Coalition, public sector infrastructure investment fell by 20 per cent between the September quarter of 2013 and the September quarter of 2015.
The former federal Labor Government almost tripled annual infrastructure spending from $109 to $301 per person in Queensland.
Queenslanders know only a Shorten Labor Government will deliver the infrastructure they need to create jobs, tackle urban congestion and ensure our cities are productive, sustainable and liveable.
