State governments are dragging their feet on applying for a share of the $140 million in federal funding for truckies’ rest areas, reveals WA Senator Glenn Sterle.
Speaking at the announcement of the third tranche of approved projects, the chair of the Heavy Vehicle Rest Area Steering Committee told Big Rigs he was disappointed in the states’ overall responses so far.
“We know where we need to do the upgrades; for crying out loud it shouldn’t be that hard,” Sterle said.
“I wanted to get the money out quicker. I wanted to be inundated with projects.
“Hopefully the message has got out and I’m going to see some quality proposals put forward to help us improve the lot for our truckies.”
In NSW, operator Scott Hannah is still waiting for state authorities to return his calls about his concept for a megastop on a large empty block of land at Eastern Creek.
As revealed in the April 12 issue of Big Rigs, Hannah has the answer to all of Sydney’s rest stop woes with a site that could accommodate 600 trucks, just a stone’s throw from the M7 and M4.
But Hannah hasn’t heard a peep from anyone in authority, despite state Roads Minister John Graham repeatedly announcing that he wants a new site for truckies in Western Sydney as soon as possible.
So far just 15 projects have been announced under the Heavy Vehicle Rest Area initiative, with $26.5 million in funding from the Australian Government. None of them are in the Sydney metro area.
Projects announced in tranches 1 and 2 are currently in planning, with some projects set to start construction later in 2024 and through 2025.
The steering committee need more rest area proposals from states. Image: Glenn SterleWith so much money in the fund still to allocate – $113.5 million over the next eight years – Sterle is at least pleased to now have the services of the rest area committee, made up largely of truckies, until June 30, 2025.
They assess and shortlist the applications before Infrastructure Minister Catherine King signs off on the final spend.
“They are absolutely brilliant,” Sterle said.
“Every single proposal that has come across, the truck drivers on the committee know the bay or area, and what they’re proposing.
“For example, Bruce Skelton from Queensland. There was a proposal somewhere out of Townsville.
“He knew the bays and said no, that’s not the right one, it should be over here, and we ticked off on it.”
The latest rest area projects are:
• Ted ‘Greendog’ Stevens Truck Parking Bay Renewal (NSW) – total cost $392,700.
• New Pindari Tops Rest Area on Thunderbolts Way (NSW) – $300,000.
• New heavy vehicle rest area on the Bourke to Milparinka Road at Goonary (NSW) – $84,000.
• Mukinbudin Heavy Vehicle Rest Area (Western Australia) – $83,000.
• Asphalt surfacing of Road train / truck stop area at intersection of Bayley Street / Great Eastern Highway and Ladyloch Road in Coolgardie (Western Australia) – $990,000.
• Northern Territory – Five Heavy Vehicle Rest Areas on Buntine Highway to be upgraded – $5m.
A spokesperson said Tranche 4 of the fund is currently open to applications, closing on September 30, 2024.
“So, we encourage communities to raise heavy vehicle rest area projects in need of funding with their states, territories and local governments.”
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