One of Canberra's major roads has officially been renamed, ahead of its long-awaited duplication.
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William Slim Drive has been renamed to Gundaroo Drive, after ACT Planning Minister Mick Gentleman signed off on the change.
It comes as works to duplicate the road are expected to start imminently.
But the physical evidence of the change has yet to occur as street signs have not been changed. The name was quietly changed last Friday.
The name change will simply extend the existing Gundaroo Drive from Gungahlin to Belconnen.
It previously ran from Horse Park Drive to the Barton Highway, where it transitioned to William Slim Drive.
Mr Gentleman said the name was changed to coincide with works to upgrade the road. He has previously announced William Slim Drive would be renamed.
"We are renaming William Slim Drive as a continuation of Gundaroo Drive coinciding with works to upgrade the road," he said.
The road is set to be duplicated to create a dual carriageway on William Slim Drive between Ginninderra Drive and the Barton Highway.
Work on the duplication is expected to start shortly. The federal Infrastructure Department says that construction will start in early 2021.
The duplication is expected to cost $44.5 million. The Commonwealth will put $20 million towards the project.
The ACT government allocated $101,000 to the project this financial year in last week's territory budget. A territory government tender for the construction of the project closed late last year.
Mr Gentleman announced he would change the name of William Slim Drive in 2019. It followed a review into place naming in the territory.
"William Slim Drive has an association and legacy that contravenes our values... as a modern, inclusive city," Mr Gentleman said in 2019.
Sir William Slim, Australia's 13th Governor-General, is alleged to have sexually abused children in the 1950s at the NSW home for migrant children, Fairbridge Farm.
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The allegations against Slim did not surface publicly until decades after his death in 1970.
Slim's alleged abuses were examined as part of the royal commission into child sexual abuse.
The royal commission accepted evidence of abuse at Fairbridge Farm but it did not make a specific finding against Slim, who was a patron of the farm.
Mr Gentleman said he decided to change the name after careful consideration of representations from the community, as well as findings from the royal commission.
"The royal commission found that institutions should review their existing institutional honours, dedications and memorials," he said.
"The ACT government is making sure the commemoration of people through place names is consistent with an inclusive and progressive Canberra."
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Lucy Bladen
Lucy Bladen has been a journalist at The Canberra Times since 2019. She is an ACT politics and health reporter. Email: l.bladen@canberratimes.com.au
Lucy Bladen has been a journalist at The Canberra Times since 2019. She is an ACT politics and health reporter. Email: l.bladen@canberratimes.com.au
