A continued lack of inaction by the government to deliver on important infrastructure upgrades is causing traffic headaches for Launceston residents.
Labor Leader Rebecca White said the lack of progress on the government’s election commitment of upgrades to the Charles Street bridge is leading to increased traffic congestion in the area.
“Local councils and the RACT have looked into solutions to ease Launceston’s traffic congestion, but the Government has barely done a thing and have broken their 2018 election promise to start work on the Charles St bridge by now.
“This upgrade was promised to the electorate of Bass as an election commitment by the government who said ‘substantive’ construction would begin in the 2018-19 financial year – but there still isn’t a shovel in the ground.
“The community has expressed concern about the impact of the extended delay – the intersection with Lindsay Street is already one of Launceston’s worst crash sites and tragic congestion is only getting worse.
“We know from Australian Bureau of Statistics data released yesterday that Tasmania has the second worst public capital investment of any state or territory in Australia. With a significant underspend by the Government on infrastructure this comes as no surprise. The Liberal Government has promised to build Tasmania out of recession but Michael Ferguson has demonstrated an inability to build anything.
“Michael Ferguson’s track record of failing to deliver on key infrastructure projects is directly impacting his own electorate.
“Labor identified upgrades to the Charles Street Bridge as a project of regional importance in our COVID-19 Recovery Package, and the government needs to listen and commit to getting the job done.”
Rebecca White
Labor Leader
