Qld: Cost blowout prompts calls for bypass to be scrapped

AAP General News (Australia)
12-06-2006
Qld: Cost blowout prompts calls for bypass to be scrapped

BRISBANE, Dec 6 AAP - The federal government has been urged to drop its plan to fix
Queensland's notorious Ipswich Motorway because of a gigantic cost blowout.

A $10 million independent study commissioned by the federal government shows the cost
of its preferred option - an 8km northern bypass - has doubled to $2 billion.

Ipswich City Councillor Paul Tully today seized on the report, saying it strengthened
the state government's push to have the existing motorway between Ipswich and Brisbane
upgraded.

The state government has long battled with its federal counterpart to ease chronic
congestion on the national highway by upgrading the existing road to six lanes.

Mr Tully called on Canberra to abandon its bypass proposal and fund an upgrade.

"The Ipswich Motorway could be upgraded and six-laned for less than $300 million but
the government has procrastinated for two years and the cost of its bypass proposal has
blown out by a billion dollars," Mr Tully said.

"This will be a major issue at next year's federal election when the Ipswich Motorway
is gridlocked every day and the people of Ipswich and south-east Queensland will be voting
with their feet over the federal government's inaction on the issue."

Proposed to begin at the intersection of the Cunningham and Warrego highways, cross
the Brisbane River and join the Logan Motorway south of Brisbane, the bypass is estimated
to slash the number of motorists using the motorway daily from 100,000 to 40,000.

AAP jvb/sc/drp/bwl

KEYWORD: MOTORWAY QLD

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