About time! NSW government promises to spend $450MILLION fixing some of Sydney's most congested roads
- Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced major upgrades to Sydney roads today
- The removal of bottlenecks is just one part of major plan to cost a total of $1.2B
- Ms Berejiklian also will announce an army of 100 drones to fly above NSW roads
The NSW government has promised to tackle 12 of Sydney's worst bottlenecks in a new $450 million plan to upgrade congested.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced the Liberal's and National's plan to remove the major 'pinch points' across Sydney today, targeting suburbs such as Carlingford, Beverly Hills, Fairfield and West Ryde.
The welcome upgrades are just part of the plan, with Ms Berejiklian also set to announce a pledge to fund a fleet of 100 government controlled drones that will fly over NSW roads.
The drones will record real-time traffic information to motorists which will help avoid bottlenecks.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced today the Liberal's and National's plan to remove 12 major 'pinch points' across Sydney - including bottlenecks in Beverly Hills and Fairfield
The '12 pinch points' around Sydney are believed to be the worst bottlenecks and include roads in Fairfield, Smithfield and Peakhurst
Traffic congestion costs Sydney $6 billion every year and is a major concern for voters.
The upgrades will include adding extra turn bays, replacing roundabouts with traffic lights and widening small sections of road, but each will be tailored to that specific intersection.
The bottleneck at The Grand Pde and President Ave in Brighton-Le-Sands have already been upgraded and travel times have seen an improvement of 12.5 per cent in the morning peak and 21 per cent in the evening.
The number of incidents involving collisions have also decreased.
The upgrades are just part of the plan to ease Sydney's traffic congestion problem with Ms Berejiklian also set to announce a pitch to release an army of 100 drones that will fly above NSW roads
Ms Berejiklian also plans to announce a separate pitch to release the horde of drones to battle congestion-prone roads. One-hundred drones will over roads in Sydney, the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Lake Macquarie and Newcastle
The enormous $450 million investment comes on top of the $825 million that has already been budgeted to fix bottlenecks - taking the total expenditure of road congestion to $1.2 billion.
'We are making this investment to keep our roads moving so drivers can spend less time sitting in traffic and more time doing what they need to or what they enjoy,' Ms Berejiklian said during the announcement last night, the Daily Telegraph reports.
'We will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to ease congestion, whether it is through methods such as eliminating pinch points or new technology such as drones.'
Ms Berejiklian also plans to announce a separate pitch to release the horde of drones to battle congestion-prone roads.
One-hundred drones will hover over roads in Sydney, the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Lake Macquarie and Newcastle.
They will be flown by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority and will cost an extra $15 million.
THE 12 'PINCH POINT' BOTTLENECKS TO BE REMOVED IN SYDNEY
The $450 million plan is set to battle traffic congestion and car accidents
● Pennant Hills Rd/Carlingford Rd, Carlingford
● Pennant Hills Rd between the M2 Motorway and Woodstock Ave, Carlingford (southbound)
● Traffic lights at intersection of Baker St and Pennant Hills Rd, Carlingford
● Forest Rd and Stoney Creek Rd, Beverly Hills
● Forest Rd at Boundary Rd and Bonds Rd, Peakhurst
● The Horsley Dr/Polding St, Fairfield
● Henry Lawson Dr at Rabaul Rd and Haig Ave, Georges Hall
● Linden St, between River Rd and The Grand Pde, Sutherland
● Cumberland Highway at Horsley Dr, Smithfield
● The Horsley Dr at Nelson St, Fairfield
● Princes Highway at Bates Rd, Kareela
● Victoria Rd, West Ryde, at the rail bridge between West Pde and Hermitage Rd
