Ministers Jenny Aitchison, Kristy McBain, Catherine King and Andrew Leigh.
The Labor Party are claiming a major milestone for the Barton Highway with just seven kilometres unveiled on Tuesday morning to much fanfare. Originally funded by the Coalition at a State and Federal level, the question now must be asked, will this improve travel times or will it just enrage drivers further, when they are bottlenecked, down the road?
The first vehicles travelled on the final alignment for the first time Tuesday and although it will be praised and it has been praised as a major milestone, the duplication has been talked about since the early 1970’s and has been a failure for successive governments since.
Until the duplication is done in full it will continue to be a failure and any work to date nothing more than a band aid and an appeasement to the people living in the bush in a south west direction all the way around the compass in a clock wise direction to the north.
The Australian and New South Wales governments committed $200 million towards the upgrade of the Highway, with $150 million provided by the Australian Government and $50 million by the NSW Government. Both done under the Coalition. The politicians have jumped the gun in their celebration with all northbound Barton Highway traffic set to switch onto the new lanes, while work is carried out to prepare the existing highway for southbound-only traffic.
When the reconfiguration of the existing highway is complete, the seven kilometre length of duplication from just north of the NSW-ACT border to just south of Kaveneys Road intersection, will be open to four lanes, signalling the completion of the first stage of the Barton Highway upgrade.
What other stages will be completed, at what length and at what cost is really yet to be determined and as history shows, unlikely to proceed. According to the media release, planning is now well under way for the second stage of duplication, which will start at the northern end of the first stage, near Kaveneys Road, and extend north towards Gooda Creek Road, no time line has been provided.
Former Coalition Minister and current Member for Goulburn Wendy Tuckerman is not impressed with the future plans for the road or lack thereof. She said, “It is great news to see one of the milestones completed and for the Labor party to have their photo op for the project which was advocated for, announced and initiated back in 2019 by Liberal Nationals Governments.”
She went on to say, “I note that neither the State or Federal Labor Governments have committed to the full duplication of the Barton Highway, instead dividing the $200 million allocated by former Governments across two stages.”
“The community is crying out for a commitment of full duplication of the Barton – to get the job completed.”
“I will continue to seek further information surrounding the timeline for the completion of the proposed alternate route/tie-in to the ACT along the Barton Highway.”
“It is absolutely imperative that we continue to seek full funding for the complete duplication which will ultimately be the significant contributor to safety on the road.”
Labor had little to say on where to next, but where quick to jump on the funding of the previous governments. Federal Minister for Infrastructure Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, Catherine King said, “It is great to see strong progress on this project, which has battled the poor conditions of La Nina weather conditions resulting in higher-than-average rainfall.
“Despite this, work has carried on, with an impressive 254,000 cubic metres of earthwork completed and 60,000 tonnes of road surface rolled out.”
Federal Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories and Member for Eden-Monaro Kristy McBain said, “The Barton Highway is a strategically important rural highway linking the southern and western areas of NSW to the ACT, and this duplication will help improve safety for all motorists making this journey.
“The ultimate goal will be a fully duplicated Barton Highway between the ACT and the Hume Highway, providing motorists with consistent, separated two-lane driving conditions in each direction and constant overtaking opportunities without the need to merge.”
NSW Regional Transport and Roads Minister Jenny Aitchison said, “We’re improving safety by separating traffic with a central median, improving travel time and increasing capacity of this major highway to better meet the needs of the future population.
“We’re also listening to the community and have another opportunity for the community to find out more about the overall project at the upcoming Murrumbateman Field Days on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 October at Murrumbateman Recreation Grounds.”
It appears that the Assistant Minster for Competition, Charities and Treasury, Assistant Minister for Employment, Member for Fenner, Andrew Leigh missed the mark with some of his quotes. He said, “The safety of the Barton Highway has been a serious problem for many years. This is a project that will save lives and improve the commute of the thousands of Canberrans who use the Barton Highway every day. Many Canberrans have campaigned for years for the duplication of the Barton Highway. It’s great to see state and federal governments working together to deliver for the community.”
It’s not really the result of Canberrans who have been campaigning for this road to be upgraded but those who live outside the area and travel to Canberra regularly. Those who have lost family members have also campaigned. Those who have lost their lives on this road campaigned before they lost them.
