With one lane in each direction, Fifteenth Avenue quickly becomes congested during peak times. Photo: Google Street View.
As Australia closes in on a federal election by May, the Albanese Government has been busy announcing investments in major infrastructure projects as it seeks to try to win a majority government.
One such project announced on Sunday (19 January) is a $1 billion pledge to upgrade Fifteenth Avenue in Sydney’s Liverpool Council area.
Described as a “road to nowhere” by local residents, Fifteenth Avenue runs between Cowpasture Road at Hoxton Park through the growing suburbs of West Hoxton and Austral to where the new Bradfield City Centre is being developed southwest of Kemps Creek.
Once a semi-rural country lane, a huge growth in development in the area has seen the road quickly become saturated. Some 22,000 vehicles – nearly 2000 of them trucks – now use the road every day, making it one of Sydney’s most congested roads.
With Western Sydney Airport and its Aerotropolis business park due to come online from next year, and plans for new housing for 63,000 more people by 2041, the Federal Government has joined with the NSW Government to each invest $500 million to not just double the number of lanes along its length, but to repair its foundations which are crumbling.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he wanted Western Sydney to be a gateway to the rest of the world.
“We want it to thrive as the engine room for jobs, economic growth and opportunity,” he said.
“This half a billion dollars’ worth of new funding from the Australian Government is part of our commitment to delivering more resilient infrastructure for all Australians.”
NSW Premier Chris Minns described the project as a critical investment and a game changer for Western Sydney that would connect thousands of jobs at Western Sydney Airport and the Aerotropolis with Liverpool.
“We promised to deliver Fifteenth Avenue and I’m very proud that together with the Albanese Federal Government – we are delivering this project,” he said.
“The Aerotropolis has the opportunity to transform Western Sydney and this road link is critical to delivering the jobs of the future in Australia’s fastest growing region.
“Without this critical road we couldn’t deliver the growth and jobs the Aerotropolis has the potential to deliver.”
Fifteenth Avenue connects the city of Liverpool with the rapidly expanding Austral and Bradfield regions of southwest Sydney. Image: Google Maps.
Federal Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Catherine King said the road upgrade would make for better connections in the region but also boost jobs and unlock housing.
“From Liverpool to Parramatta, Bankstown to Cabramatta, we’re not just building roads, we’re building Australia’s future,” she said.
Member for Werriwa Anne Stanley said she had been advocating for this upgrade for 15 years.
“Now with the opening of the Western Sydney Airport less than two years away, it has taken a Federal and State Labor Government working together to deliver the much-needed upgrade,” she said.
NSW Member for Leppington and former Liverpool councillor Nathan Hagarty said the announcement was a massive one for the region.
“Christmas has come early in Leppington,” he said.
