Almost $10 million will be spent on duplicating Aikman Drive in Belconnen to help cope with increased traffic expected from the new University of Canberra Public Hospital.
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The ACT government announced on Thursday that the duplication of Aikman Drive, between Ginninderra Drive and Emu Bank, will be funded in next week's budget.
The upgrades are aimed at improving traffic flow into the town centre and easing access to the under-construction University of Canberra campus hospital, due for completion in 2018.
Transport Minister Meegan Fitzharris said the work would begin by the end of the year and is likely to be completed before the hospital's opening.
"This is a key road into the Belconnen town centre, and a very important part of the road network, alongside the University of Canberra campus that has many exciting developments... not least of which is the new University of Canberra hospital," she said.
The work will cost $9.8 million and takes the total budget announcements for roads to $99.2 million so far, including significant upgrades to Ashley Drive in Tuggeranong, the Cotter Road, and Horse Park Drive.
The opposition have questioned the timing of the string of road announcements five months out from the ACT election, and say the upgrades should have been done "years ago".
Belconnen Community Council chair Damien Haas welcomed the announcement on Thursday, saying the road would be placed under increased pressure from the hospital development.
"The duplication of Aikman Drive is certainly something that Belconnen needs," he said.
"The timing is certainly very good, we expect the duplication will occur roughly around the same time that the hospital will be built."
The number of concurrent road projects occurring across the city has raised some concerns of delay and congestion.
But Ms Fitzharris said a number of major projects, including upgrades to Gungahlin Drive, were nearing completion.
"We've asked Canberrans on a number of occasions whether they'd like us to stage road works, but they tell us pretty clearly that they want us to get on and do it."
"There are many people who say there are a lot of roadworks underway, that's because our city is growing and the Labor government continues to make major investments in our road network and our transport network."
The upgrades to Aikman Drive will include a shared path along Ginninderra Drive for pedestrians and cyclists,
Shadow transport spokesman Alistair Coe welcomed the work, but criticised the delay in upgrading Aikman Drive, and questioned the timing of the series of road announcements.
"It is of course no coincidence that we've got an ACT election looming, and this is a government that knows they have been mismanaging Canberra roads for a very long time," Mr Coe said.
"Rather than spacing these roads announcements over the previous three or four years, they're all happening five months before the territory election."
One road that has not yet seen major works is William Slim Drive, a major Gungahlin thoroughfare that has some congestion problems.
Transport Minister Meegan Fitzharris signalled on Thursday that duplication work on William Slim Drive would not be funded in next week's budget.
"Not in this year's budget, but we will have some other announcements to make," Ms Fitzharris said.
"But certainly looking at the road network as a whole, how we move around Canberra, the Labor government is making significant investments in transport and road networks across Canberra."