FEDERAL Opposition Leader Tony Abbott recommitted at the weekend to funding an upgrade of the Midland Highway if his party is elected to government.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The opposition has promised $400 million over ten years to upgrade the highway to a dual-carriageway between Launceston and Hobart.
No indication has been given whether the figure would be updated to take into account inflation.
A spokesman for Mr Abbott said the first year of funding would be 2014-15 and that the project would be fully costed.
State Opposition Leader Will Hodgman said the Coalition's recommitment to the Midland Highway upgrade was welcome news for Tasmania.
``It will provide a much needed boost to the state's ailing road network that Labor and the Greens have allowed to crumble over years of neglect,'' he said.
``An investment of this significance will also provide much needed economic stimulus to the Tasmanian economy, as well as a boost for jobs in the construction sector.''
In 2010 then Premier David Bartlett said a 20-year-plan, agreed to by seven councils, included transforming the highway into a dual carriageway, but it appeared only the busiest sections of the highway had a chance of receiving federal funds.
