POPULAR WORDS

Brisbane’s road network is struggling to cope with congestion, with claims the south-east of the State will be gridlocked by 2020.

Queensland Auditor-General Glenn Poole has released a report criticising departments of Main Roads and Queensland Transport for poor planning and having next to no external analysis carried out on road network performance.

“State strategies have not developed a clear definition of congestion as the issue being addressed nor have they defined the specific outcomes at the strategic level to be achieved through the list of initiatives,” the report says.

“Building new infrastructure and utilising existing infrastructure is not the solution to congestion in all cases.

“While there are plans and frameworks in place in all entities to consider transport options, audit found that they are inconsistently used and therefore decisions about the transport network may not be well considered.”

Both the Minister for Transport Rachel Nolan and Minister for Main Roads Craig Wallace welcomed the findings, but were quick to defend themselves saying they had plans to deal with the issue.

“The auditor general has rightly said that congestion has an impact on our lifestyle and our environment and needs to be managed as efficiently as possible,” Nolan says.

“We are tackling that challenge and that’s why we are rolling out Australia’s biggest infrastructure program- $18.2 billion worth this year alone.”

Wallace meanwhile says the report highlighted the need for better communication between all government agencies.

“The premier has already amalgamated the Department of Transport and the Department of Main Roads into one entity,” Wallace says.

But opposition spokeswoman on transport Fiona Simpson however says the Government’s lack of leadership, “systematic weakness” and “out of date” transport plans were to blame for the state of the road network.

“This report confirms the Bligh Government can’t plan, can’t manage and can’t deliver infrastructure,” Simpson says.