Infrastructure Australia has compiled a list of 93 projects to avoid gridlock such as the Sydney Metro North West Rail Link currently under construction in Sydney. Picture: Bradley Hunter

Infrastructure Australia, which advises the government on infrastructure priorities, released a list of 93 projects on Wednesday that it recommends should be implemented over the next 15 years.

And if we do nothing? Gridlock as Australia’s major cities, particularly Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane seize up.

Major national projects are also highlighted, including a high speed rail line along the east coast and inland freight link, but it’s the Sydney and Melbourne metros and Brisbane’s cross river rail link that can’t come fast enough.

Launching the report, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said boosting infrastructure will be “absolutely critical” to Australia’s success in the 21st century.

“We have this phenomenal opportunity,” Mr Turnbull told reporters in Brisbane. “We’ve been less imaginative than we should have been ... in terms of funding infrastructure.”

By 2031, the number of people living in Sydney is expected to go from 4.5 million to more than six million people, residents of Melbourne are set to swell by two million to around six million while both Brisbane and Perth will add a million more people a piece. Even smaller cities are expecting a boom in residents with the Gold Coast growing in size by half.

Labor’s infrastructure spokesman Anthony Albanese said the agency’s report highlighted more than two years of missteps and inaction by the governments of Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull. “This is a government that has talked big about infrastructure but failed to deliver,” he told reporters in Sydney.

Major Projects Minister Paul Fletcher said the Turnbull government would consider the report, but the bulldozers were unlikely to appear overnight. “It’s a 15-year plan, these are not projects that can all be funded overnight,” he told ABC radio.

STATE-BY -STATE: THE MOST URGENT PROJECTS

NSW

Sydney Metro

Sydney Metro North West.Source:Supplied

The first phase currently under construction, the $10 billion Sydney Metro will connect the city’s Hills District, currently lacking a rail line, with the city’s transport network. Fully automated, driverless trains will operate to north west Sydney from 2019 with further extensions through to Sydney’s CBD and to Bankstown in the city’s south west.

However, the project has been criticised for failing to initially connect up to the CBD, with services terminating at Chatswood until a second harbour crossing is completed, and the inoperability of the new trains on the current network.

Bus rapid transit

Artists impressions of the B-Line buses set to transform public transport on Sydney's Northern Beaches with buses running from Mona Vale to the City every 10 minutes.Source:News Corp Australia

Another area of Sydney bereft of trains, the northern beaches, is set to benefit from enhanced bus services. The agency recommends that be extended to the Parramatta and Victoria roads linking the north west and west of the city to the CBD.

“Inadequate investment in bus systems along the three corridors will result in greater reliance and use of private passenger vehicles,” the report says.

WestConnex and M4 motorways

Artist's impression of the proposed new King Georges Rd Interchange on the WestConnex motorway at Beverly Hills.Source:Supplied

The first sod is about to be turned on one of Australia’s largest road building projects which will see 33km of interconnected highways plough under Sydney’s inner west. The controversial $15 billion project, which critics say is the wrong answer to congestion and will destroy homes, will see the M4 western motorway extended towards Sydney’s CBD and provide a connection to the M5 motorway in the south west. The report also recommends improvements to the current M4 motorway.

Southern Sydney light rail

An artists impression of the Sydney Light Rail at the Queen Victoria Building. Picture: supplied.Source:Supplied

Sydney’s once bustling thoroughfare of George St is now devoid of cars as a new tram is constructed through the CBD and the south eastern suburbs. The report recommends the light rail be extended to the major Green Square residential development to the south of the CBD and possibly even to Sydney Airport.

QUEENSLAND

Cross River Rail

A 2010 impression of the possible Albert Street Cross River Rail station.Source:Supplied

The current rail connection into Brisbane’s CBD is expected to reach capacity by the early to mid-2020s, while parts of the road and bus network are already close to or at capacity.

The $8 billion Cross River Rail would see a second rail crossing of the Brisbane River from Bowen Hills to Salisbury, travelling via Roma St station, reducing demand for buses which currently clog the city. However, it’s yet to get off the drawing board.

Ipswich Motorway Rocklea-Darra

Traffic on the Ipswich Motorway between Gailes and Goodna outbound. Picture: Nathan RichterSource:News Limited

The Ipswich Motorway corridor is one of the most heavily congested freight corridors in Queensland, with 12,000 HGVs a day, costing the state around $40 million a year in lost revenue. A suite of road upgrades are needed, including widening the current motorway.

VICTORIA

City Link — Tullamarine motorway widening

Traffic at Essendon on the Tullamarine freeway. Picture: Nicole GarmstonSource:News Corp Australia

The motorways provides a vital, and congested, link between the Port of Melbourne, Australia’s busiest, and Tullamarine airport. Road widening and priority lanes for buses are recommended.

East West Link

Artist impression of the Royal Park junction for the now axed East West Link.Source:Supplied

Massively controversial, and dumped by Labor when it came to power, the East West Link motorway project remains a priority says the agency. Without it, the current West Gate Bridge won’t be able to cope and road congestion costs will blow out to $144 million by 2031, the report states.

Melbourne Metro

An artists' impression of Melbourne Metro station CBD South station beneath Flinders St station.Source:Supplied

What the East West Link was dumped for, preliminary work has begun on a $10 billion underground railway which will travel from north to south beneath the main thoroughfare of Swanston St relieving pressure on the City Loop rail system.

Hoddle St

Traffic congestion along Hoddle St and Punt Rd. Picture: Andrew TauberSource:News Corp Australia

The major arterial road provides a link between the Eastern and Monash motorways and the Victorian Government estimates that more than 300,000 people travel along or across Hoddle St every day. Heavily congested, and an accident black spot, average travel speeds during the rush hour can be as low as 10km/hour. If nothing is done, traffic could stop completely.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Gawler rail line upgrade

Gulfview Heights Mum Heather Krombholz, 40, and daughter Kahlee, 4 at Mawson Lakes railway station where the report says electrification is urgently needed to replace old diesel trains. Pic: Keryn StevensSource:News Corp Australia

Population growth along the Gawler corridor in Adelaide’s northern suburbs is expected to lead to a doubling in passengers by 2031 but the railway line is already close to capacity. The diesel trains and the signalling system on the line are reaching the end of their reliable service life, meaning an upgrade is essential.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Perth CBD northern corridor

Congestion heading north on Perth’s Mitchell Freeway.Source:News Limited

Perth’s northern corridor, towards Joondalup and Yanchep, is projected to become the most congested corridor in WA, with demand expected to exceed capacity well before 2031.

Additional road capacity and a shift to public transport is needed to stave off gridlock.

AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY

Canberra light rail

Artist’s impressions of the Canberra Light Rail proposalSource:Supplied

Demand for public transport is expected to outstrip available supply along the capital’s northern corridor towards Gungahlin. The Government has plans for a $1 billion light rail system along the road to the CBD.

— with AAP.