TO COMPLETE the duplication of the Pacific Highway to the Queensland border by 2016, the federal and state governments need to find close to $8 billion and dramatically increase the pace of construction.
But while both governments insist they do not want to play politics on funding for the road, they remain in dispute over where most of the money will come from.
The federal Transport Minister, Anthony Albanese, has presided over an increase in federal spending on the 664-kilometre highway.
Mr Albanese's government has spent, or committed, $4.1 billion on the highway since coming to power, compared to $1.3 billion spent on the highway under the Howard government.
Yet the duplication of the highway, or ensuring there are two lanes heading in each direction, remains only half finished, despite commitments to complete the job going back to Paul Keating's transport minister, Laurie Brereton, in 1996.
Yesterday, after two fatal accidents since Sunday, Mr Albanese said an extra $6 billion would be needed to complete the duplication of the road and that the state and federal governments should share the burden.
''What we've said is that both governments need to do more,'' Mr Albanese said. ''We've said let's end the politics; let's have 50-50 funding.''
But in an interview with the Herald, the Premier, Barry O'Farrell, played down the chance of a 50-50 funding split.
''I do note, and I don't want to create a political fuss here, I do note there's been some shifting of ground by the federal government in that the ask now is for 50-50 funding for that road, which is certainly a higher load on the state than it has been in the past,'' Mr O'Farrell said.
The state government's submission to Infrastructure Australia in November put the total cost of duplicating the road by 2016 at $9.1 billion, after accounting for inflation. Of that, $1.4 billion has already been committed after the state government agreed to boost funding for the road by $750 million in its recent budget. Nevertheless, that leaves $7.7 billion still to be found.
The state's submission requested an 80-20 funding split.
Both Mr Albanese and Mr O'Farrell have personal reasons for wanting to improve driving conditions on the highway, which remains single carriageway for about 320 kilometres, or just under half of its length.
Mr Albanese is named for a young cousin who was killed on the highway. Mr O'Farrell's mother-in-law was also killed on the road.
''No one has to impress upon me the importance of the dual carriageway of the Pacific Highway,'' Mr O'Farrell said yesterday.
Urunga, the scene of Sunday morning's truck accident that killed 11-year-old Max McGregor and 38-year-old ute driver David Levett, is part of a section of highway where construction on a bypass is due to start next year.
The Port Maquarie to Raleigh section of the highway, which takes in Urunga, was nominated as the second priority stretch by the state government's submission, with the estimated cost of completion requiring another $2.8 billion.
Crash statistics show that accident rates reduce dramatically when sections are duplicated.
In the decade to 2006, the fatality rate on the Pacific Highway was almost double that of the rest of the state. But since then, as more of the road has been made dual carriageway, the fatality rate has fallen to be in line with the statewide fatality rate.
The federal Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, said yesterday he doubted ''very much'' whether the federal government would complete the highway's duplication by 2016.
Mr Abbott said it was far more important to spend money on the Pacific Highway than the national broadband network.
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