7.1.2.1  Existing capacity

The national highways considered by the Audit measure 34,656 km, comprising:

■  20,022 km of interstate routes connecting capital cities; and

■  14,635 km of key freight routes.

Figure 29 shows the national highways covered by the Audit. These carried an average of 1.87 million vehicles per day in 2011.175

Figure 29: National highways

The map shows highways identified in the Audit. Data was not available for all of these highways.

Source: Infrastructure Australia

Across Australia, the Audit found that the average national highway utilisation in 2011 was:

■  3,550 vehicles per day per kilometre on interstate routes connecting capital cities, consisting of:

-  2,602 light vehicles (73 per cent); and

-  948 heavy vehicles (27 per cent)

■  1,648 vehicles per day per kilometre on key freight routes, consisting of:

-  1,339 light vehicles (81 per cent); and

-  308 heavy vehicles (19 per cent).176

The Audit found that the total DEC generated by national highways in 2011 was $9.5 billion. Table 19 provides details of DEC by state and territory, expressed in millions of dollars and as a percentage of the national total.

Table 19: DEC for national highways by state and territory in 2011 ($ million, 2011 prices)

Source: ACIL Allen Consulting (2014a)

NSW had the highest DEC for national highways in 2011, with a total value of $3.6 billion, or 37.9 per cent of the national total. The ACT did not have any national highways outside the urban transport area measured by the Audit.

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175.  ACIL Allen Consulting (2014a)

176.  ACIL Allen Consulting (2014a)