Footpath repairs will be faster in Canberra with a new team of workers to be employed by the ACT government to respond quickly to trip hazards and cracks.
The ACT budget will include $5.81 million over four years to employ a crew of 10 full-time positions and new equipment to complete speedier footpath repairs.
The budget will also include $8.6 million as part of a 50-50 funding deal with the Commonwealth for works on the duplication of Athllon Drive in Tuggeranong, and funding for design work on a new arterial road into Molonglo.
The 2.4-kilometre section of the road between Sulwood Drive and Drakeford Drive will be duplicated.
Work will begin in the coming months to relocate overhead electricity wires, water and sewer works, and new walking and cycling connections, along with new lighting and wider paths, the government said.
City Services Minister Tara Cheyne said: "The duplication of Athllon Drive will improve safety for motorists, walkers and cyclists alike, and result in a smoother, safer and faster journey from Tuggeranong to Woden."
Funding will be allocated for design work on road projects across Canberra, including the Molonglo Parkway-Drive Connector, which will provide access between the future Molonglo Town Centre and the Tuggeranong Parkway.
Transport Minister Chris Steel said the arterial road would run east-west between John Gorton Drive and the Tuggeranong Parkway, providing a third major road link into the fast-growing district.
"Importantly the road will provide access to the Molonglo Town Centre and provide another bridge over the Molonglo River and access to the Tuggeranong Parkway just south of the National Arboretum," Mr Steel said.
Road upgrades in Gungahlin
Design work will also begin on road upgrades in Gungahlin, including projects to potentially widen roads and overhaul intersections, after a transport plan for the district is completed later this year.
The government said the budget would include funding to finish upgrades to Beltana Road in Pialligo and the Gundaroo Drive duplication in Belconnen. The works would be completed in the coming financial year, the government said.
Other works to be funded in the budget include $1.85 million spread across a renewal program for green road signs around the city, an upgrade to the Diddams Close boat ramp in Belconnen and improvements to the Parkes Way tunnel in Acton.
The government will spend $2 million on what it said were critical bridge upgrades and improvements to traffic signals.
An extra four full-time positions will be created in City Services' in-house line-marking team at a cost of $1.16 million to renew road and path line marking.
The insourced footpath crew will mean works no longer need to be packaged into larger work orders that have taken several months to be completed, the government said.
"The crew will also have the ability to construct small-scale aged-friendly improvements across Canberra, such as building new ramps, kerbs and missing sections of paths, which currently create impediments to those with limited mobility," the government said.
Completing missing path links
More than $1.4 million will be spent in 2024-25 to complete missing path links, while $500,000 will be spent on new lighting to improve safety on the path network at night. The government said areas identified by women and vulnerable people as needing improvement would be prioritised in the lighting program.
"In Belconnen, an additional $3 million will be invested in major works to renew the Emu Bank foreshore as part of the next stage of the Lake Ginninderra Path Upgrade," the government said.
"These works will include completely reconstructing the ageing lake retaining wall, replacing the pavers which are presenting ongoing trip hazards, and widening the path along the foreshore to create a safer and more pleasant environment, and unlock the destination potential of this area."
Planning and design work for additional walking and cycling routes, identified in the government's active travel plan, would also be funded.
