The highway authorities in Australia have committed to investing in road infrastructure in Northern Territory, Queensland and South Australia. The Queensland Government's Nation Building Programme is setting aside an impressive US$8.81 billion in the state's rail and roads infrastructure. The government is to realign and widen Bruce Highway along Sheehy Road and Ray Jones Drive to shorten the travel distance for 550,000 motorists and solve congestion. The Bruce Highway project should be open for traffic by 2013 and work is expected to start in 2012. The final contract will be awarded to the firm selected at the end of 2011 after carrying out preliminary design and planning work with the government in the selection stage. In the 2011-2012 financial year nearly $629 million will be spent by Australia's Federal Government on road and rail infrastructure in South Australia state. This plan forms part of its investment in the state through the National Building Programme. It will set aside the AUD 585mn for the new South Road Superway; safety work on the Dukes Highway; as well as alleviating congestion in urban areas. Over $150 million is being set aside by Australia's federal government for road repairs in Northern Territory. Government funds will also pay for an upgrade to the Central Arnhem Road and measures to reduce flooding on the Port Keat Road. Included in the plans are 18 new overtaking lanes between Darwin and Katherine on the Stuart Highway, work to repair and asphalt surfacing on a series of highways and widening and strengthening of the Stuart, Victoria and Barkly highways. In addition, a new bridge will be built over the King River for Stuart Highway and measures will be carried out to stop flooding on the Victoria and Stuart highways.
