Nearly $592M funding has been “put on ice” including the construction of Picton Bypass, Picton Road upgrades and Princes Motorway M1 improvements between Bulli and Picton, opposition MP Angus Taylor said.
Mr Taylor, the Shadow Treasurer and Hume MP, said he has been keeping an eye on the delivery of major infrastructure projects in his electorate because it is an area experiencing a population boom requiring improved services.
Mr Taylor said the completion of those major roadworks urgently needed in the Macarthur region.
Mr Taylor also revealed the list of other local infrastructure projects which funding has drastically reduced, and construction expected to be delayed following changes to budget allocations in the soon to be announced expenditures.
• $23.5 million cut from Appin Road in the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025.
• $900,000 cut from Silverdale Road, Silverdale with completion delayed by one year for upgrades and safety improvements.
• Camden Valley Way and Hilder Street intersection upgrade delayed by one year.
• $700,000 cut from the Remembrance Driveway Corridor Upgrade in Camden.
“The Albanese Government has caused uncertainty to the infrastructure pipeline with repeated budget cuts, despite bringing 1.5M more migrants into the country,” Mr Taylor said.
“Residents in Hume have yet again been snubbed with more infrastructure cuts and delays following the outcome of Labor’s Infrastructure Review.”
Both the Federal and NSW governments are funding the Appin Road arterial improvements to safety and support housing developments in the Macarthur region as a growth area in the state.
The major roadworks between Gilead and Appin are jointly funded with Lendlease as part of the Voluntary Planning Agreement between Rosemeadow and Gilead.
The road improvement is widening of the stretch of Appin Road from two to four lanes.
More than 12,000 vehicles pass Appin Road daily, the Transport for NSW said in its brief of the project with Lendlease and federal government.
The roads are within the council areas of Campbelltown, Wollondilly and Wollongong.
Labor’s Campbelltown MP and parliamentary secretary for Western Sydney, Greg Warren said in January that the Appin Road upgrade was critical to the transport and housing needs of the southwest region.
Mr Warren said the region’s population was projected to grow by 40 percent over the next 30 years they would need a better road network to support the new housing estates.
“Community feedback has been critical in ensuring that the needs of the Appin community are met by this upgrade,” Mr Warren said in a statement last January.
“This upgrade will be a part of a number of projects designed to improve the safety of everyone who utilises Appin Road.”