Australia highway projects being planned

Key highway projects are progressing in Australia. In the state of Victoria, the authorities are planning a road widening project for the Monash Freeway that will cost an estimated US$289.54 million (A$400 million). The project calls for the route to be widened to five lanes in either direction for the stretch between the EastLink and the South Gippsland Highway. Other sections of the route will be widened to three lanes in either direction. Toll road firm 891 Transurban has been working with the Victoria State Government on infrastructure upgrades and the improvements to the Monash Freeway form part of a larger $3.98 billion (A$5.5 billion) plan to reduce the traffic volumes on the West Gate Bridge.

Meanwhile in New South Wales there are cost concerns over the WestConnex motorway project. This has now risen to $11.98 billion (A$16.8 billion) compared with the original estimate of $10.98 billion (A$15.4 billion). The Sydney Gateway has cost more than originally expected. The project is scheduled to open to traffic in 2023. A consortium comprising Spanish firm 4761 Dragados of Spain, Koreaon company Samsung C&T and local firm CIMIC Group (CIMIC) will undertake Phase II of the WestConnex highway project. The contract is worth some $2.03 billion (A$2.8 billion) and is due for completion at the end of 2018. The consortium is required to upgrade existing interchanges, build a 9km stretch of tunnel of 9km and build a 33km link road for M4 and M5 highways.