The peak representative body for livestock transporters has welcomed a new $360m Northern Australian Road Program.

The program is an 80:20 funding partnership between the Federal Government and the Queensland, Western Australia and Northern Territory Governments.

“Improved road transport connectivity is the key to developing the northern areas of Australia,” Australian Livestock Rural Transporters Association (ALRTA) national president Kevin Keenan said.

“Our communities in this part of our vast country rely more heavily on primary industries such as agriculture because there are so few other viable options.”

‘To be successful, remote northern communities need reliable and efficient roads to connect them with markets and opportunities elsewhere in Australia or internationally.”

‘I thank the Federal Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, the Hon Barnaby Joyce MP, and the Federal Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, the Hon Darren Chester MP for establishing the new Programme.  Quite obviously, both of these politicians deeply appreciate the value of road infrastructure for supporting the development of our rural communities.”

Representatives from LRTAQ and LRTAWA participated in roundtable forums held earlier in the year to assist in targeting the new investment.

Key projects in Qld include:

• Over $33 million for two projects along the Flinders Highway, one between Townsville and Torrens Creek and the other between Charters Towers and Richmond
• Close to $43 million for works on the Kennedy Developmental Road
• Close to $5 million for intersection upgrades on the Barkly Highway in Mount Isa
• $60 million for expansion of the Capricorn Highway between Rockhampton and Gracemere

NT projects include:

• Close to $8 million to seal 8.4km of an unsealed section of Tjukaruru Road
• $20 million to upgrade sections of unsealed sections of the Plenty Highway to a two-lane sealed standard, including flood immunity works, as well as sealing further sections of the highway
• Close to $40 million for upgrades of the Keep River Plains Road to support Project Sea Dragon and the development of Ord Stage 3
• Over $62 million to upgrade the Arnhem Highway, to improve flood immunity at the Adelaide River floodplain
• Over $360 million is being rolled out for new road upgrade projects in northern Australia, with $130 million being invested in the first four Northern Australia Roads Programme projects in the Northern Territory

WA projects include:

• Over $24 million to widen an 18.6km section of the Great Northern Highway – Wyndham Spur Stage 2
• Over $20 million to improve the road alignment and build new passing lanes on the Maggie’s Jump Up section of the Great Northern Highway
• Over $43.5 million to realign and rebuild a section of Marble Bar Road that passes through Coongan Gorge

Source: ALRTA