Official opening of Agnew-Leinster Road
9/6/99 The landing of a Royal Flying Doctor Service aircraft on a section of the Agnew-Leinster Road today marked the official opening of the road by Transport Minister Murray Criddle.
9/6/99
The landing of a Royal Flying Doctor Service aircraft on a section of the Agnew-Leinster Road today marked the official opening of the road by Transport Minister Murray Criddle.
The 25km road forms part of the Mt Magnet-Sandstone-Leinster Road, upgraded and sealed as part of a joint project involving the Shire of Leonora, Main Roads Western Australia and several private organisations related to the transport, mining, construction and fuel distribution industries.
The project cost $7 million with half being contributed by industry in the form of plant, labour and goods.
"Traffic has increased substantially on this road as a result of mining activity and population growth and the Coalition Government sees the sealing of this important transport route as a priority for the region," Mr Criddle said.
The Minister said the Agnew-Leinster section was part of a bigger project that would ultimately see the
Mt Magnet-Sandstone-Leinster Road upgraded and sealed.
"Under the TransformWA package announced by the Government just over a year ago there will be a fully-sealed transport connection between Great Northern Highway at Mt Magnet and the Goldfields Highway at Leinster," he said.
"The benefits of this will be enormous because of reduced transport costs, improved safety and the general enhancement of access to mining and other commercial developments in the region."
A feature of the road is provision to land aircraft over a 1.2km stretch, about 20 km west of the Goldfields Highway turnoff.
The emergency strip to be used by the Royal Flying Doctor Services is the second of its type in Western Australia. The other is south of the Nanutarra Roadhouse on the Great Northern Highway.
"This will be invaluable in the event of nearby airstrips being washed out and the RFDS has to land," Mr Criddle said.
He gave credit to the project steering committee which consisted of representatives from Main Roads, the Shire of Leonora, Hampton Transport and Western Mining Corporation.
"The steering committee's responsibilities included assessing and agreeing on construction requirements, identifying resource requirements and approaching industry for contributions to the project," Mr Criddle said.
"Typically, industry has contributed significantly to infrastructure in this region which provides project benefits for the overall timing and delivery of the work.
"For this project to be constructed ahead of its programmed date it was imperative that the steering committee seek industry contributions of a monetary or resource nature.
"On behalf of the Coalition Government I would like to take this opportunity to thank the numerous industry members who provided contributions to the project."
Although some contributing organisations did not wish to be named, those that were included the following:
- . Western Mining Resources . Hampton's Transport
- . CSR Readymix . Omni Drainage
. Homestake Gold Mines . Consolidated Gold Mines
. Coates Hire . Shire of Leonora.
"Materials and equipment are an integral part of any projects success and without help from local and regional industries the Agnew-Leinster road project would have suffered.
"Furthermore, the collaboration of all parties ensured that the project was successfully completed within budget and time constraints."
The State Government has allocated funds to projects in remote areas to further enhance the existing road transport network, in an effort to reduce the social and economic costs of transport inefficiencies and road crashes.
The Agnew-Leinster section was a high priority, as it provides access to one of Western Australia's key remote mining regions, which contributes significantly to the State's economy by providing employment and export opportunities.
Media contact: Doug Cunningham 9321 7333
