The National Road Transport Association has welcomed the Federal Government’s announcement of a $250 million shake-up of its infrastructure programs to keep road freight moving efficiently and safely around Australia.
NatRoad CEO Warren Clark said the $250 million committed to the Bridges Renewal Program (BRP) and the Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity Program (HVSPP) programs needed to be applied swiftly.
He said aligning the programs to operate concurrently makes sense from a planning perspective.
“Our roads and bridges are the arteries of our road freight system so continually renewing and upgrading them is essential in a country ruled by distance,” Mr Clark said.
“Time and time again, we’ve seen situations where one bridge with an inferior weight tolerance compared to others on a road freight route acts as a bottleneck on productivity.
“Funding an upgrade strategically can make the freight task so much more efficient.
“The better we can assess and classify road freight routes to reflect their capabilities and weaknesses, the easier it is to make them safer and more productive.”
