Coolgardie-Esperance Highway gets $1.35million intersection upgrade

Transport Minister Simon O'Brien today announced a $1.35million contract to improve road safety on the Coolgardie-Esperance Highway near Grass Patch south of Salmon Gums.

Mr O'Brien said the project involved realigning the road and upgrading facilities between the rail-line and highway, effectively improving safety for road trains entering and exiting Tom Starcevich Road.

"There is a safety issue at the moment for 36.5m road trains using the railway crossing at the Tom Starcevich Road intersection," Mr O'Brien said.

"We have found that the stacking distance (the distance required for a truck and its trailers to safely pull off a main road and onto a subsidiary road without intruding onto railway tracks) between the Coolgardie-Esperance Highway and the railway line is insufficient at a number of intersections.

"The work will help alleviate this issue by providing a left turn arrow and bulb on the western side to accommodate road trains entering from the side road and providing adequate stacking distance for a 36.5m road train."

Eyre MLA Dr Graham Jacobs said: "It is a solid step forward for road safety in Grass Patch and for all users of this main transport link between Esperance and the Goldfields."

Macmahon Contracting was the successful tenderer to upgrade the intersection and is expected to complete the work by the end of February 2009.