A Shorten Labor Government will invest more than $850 million to upgrade congested roads, create new jobs and slash travel times for residents in Melbourne’s south-eastern suburbs.

Federal Labor will partner with the Andrews Labor Government to deliver this major infrastructure package to tackle traffic congestion and make Melbourne’s suburbs more liveable for families.

Labor will help upgrade more than 300 kilometres of road, including:

• Adding an extra lane in each direction to Healesville-Koo Wee Rup Road in Pakenham South, between Princes Freeway and Manks Road, with a new bridge over Deep Creek;
• Adding an extra lane in each direction to Lathams Road in Seaford, between Oliphant Way and Dandenong-Frankston Road, with a new bridge over the Peninsula Link;
• Adding an extra lane in each direction to Hallam North Road in Endeavour Hills, between Heatherton Road and James Cook Drive;
• Adding an extra lane in each direction to Narre Warren-Cranbourne Road in Cranbourne, between Thompsons Road and the South Gippsland Highway;
• Adding an extra lane in each direction to Pound Road West and Remington Drive in Dandenong South, between Abbotts Road and South Gippsland Highway, and building a new bridge over the Cranbourne train line;
• Upgrading Golf Links and Grant Roads in Langwarrin South, and upgrading the six-way roundabout at Golf Links, Grant, Warrandyte and Baxter-Tooradin Roads.

 
Work on these six priority road projects will commence in early 2020 and be completed by 2025.

In addition, a Shorten Labor Government will help duplicate Racecourse Road in Pakenham between the Princes Highway and the Princes Freeway, supporting the Andrews Labor Government’s work to remove all level crossings in Pakenham. This stretch of road is used by over 20,000 motorists daily. We want them moving, not stuck in traffic.

Federal Labor will contribute $787 million to these upgrades.

Beyond those seven priority projects, we will also contribute $65 million towards the completion of the upgrade and duplication of the 10.7 kilometre stretch of Thompsons Road between Dandenong-Frankston Road and Berwick-Cranbourne Road.  This will complement the removal of the level crossing near Merinda Park Railway Station.

We will make sure that one in 10 of the jobs on the new project sites are filled by an apprentice – delivering training and job opportunities for young Victorians.

Federal Labor will also invest $2 million to expand the parking capacity at the Officer Railway Station from 100 to 150 spaces. This funding will be delivered from Federal Labor’s National Park and Ride Fund, and matched by the state government.

Traffic congestion isn’t just frustrating for families – its hurts our economy.  Without proper investment in roads and rail, the annual economic cost of congestion will triple to $9 billion by 2031.

Melbourne is Australia’s fastest-growing city. Despite being home to a quarter of the country’s population, Victoria has received as little as seven cents in every dollar spent on infrastructure by the Federal Government.

Melbourne families deserve better than Morrison’s Liberal cuts.

A Shorten Labor Government will make sure families in Melbourne get a fair go and their fair share from Canberra.

We will deliver more roads, more rail and more jobs for Victorians.

We can afford to invest better roads because we’ll make multinationals pay their fair share and close tax loopholes used by the top end of town.