Gallop Government commits to express route to South-West

13/9/04
Travel time between Perth and Bunbury will be slashed by 30 minutes following today's announcement that the Gallop Government will commit $170million towards building the new Perth-Bunbury Highway.
Premier Geoff Gallop said the State Government's funding commitment enabled construction to start on the Peel Deviation and Kwinana Freeway Extension Project in 2007 and would see the link completed in 2009.
In the meantime, significant preconstruction works are already under way including surveys, geotechnical investigations, design and the development of environmental management plans.
"The days of bumper-to-bumper long weekend congestion over the Mandurah Estuary Bridge are set to be a thing of the past," Dr Gallop said.
"For the first time, Western Australian motorists will have a continuous dual carriageway from Perth to the South-West providing a safer and quicker alternative drive."
Dr Gallop said the new highway would play a major role in delivering an effective regional road network between Perth and Bunbury - at the same time reducing heavy vehicle movements through built-up areas such as Mandurah and Pinjarra.
"The Peel Deviation, together with the Kwinana Freeway Extension, will provide a high standard inter-regional road link between Perth and the South-West, bypassing the heavily populated areas in Mandurah and the Dawesville Peninsula," he said.
"While planned improvements to the public transport system will cater for a greater number of trips between Perth and Mandurah in the future, relieving much of this pressure, there will still be a need to upgrade the regional road network to meet the community's transport needs.
"The delivery of this important and long overdue project will achieve the best results for all Western Australians by providing significantly improved transport connectivity and road safety between the metropolitan area and the growing South-West."
The 70km of dual carriageway will stretch from the Kwinana Freeway at Safety Bay Road around the eastern side of the Peel Inlet and Harvey Estuary to join the existing dual carriageway on the Old Coast Road near Lake Clifton.
"The new highway will provide a safe, free flowing alternative route for regional traffic and will relieve increasing traffic pressure and congestion on Old Coast Road through Mandurah and South Western Highway in Pinjarra," the Premier said.
Dr Gallop said traffic volumes on the coastal route were increasing by about seven per cent each year, resulting in greater levels of congestion, reduced transport efficiency and road safety, and decreased quality of life for local residents.
The Premier said failure to build the highway would see travel time between Perth and Bunbury increase by ten minutes by 2011 and about 40 minutes by 2021, having a negative impact on transport efficiency, freight costs and tourism.
"Conversely, construction of the new highway means that - by 2011 - the trip to Bunbury will be about 30 minutes quicker than using the existing coastal road, due to no traffic signals or reductions in speed limit through urban areas," Dr Gallop said.
"This saving will be significantly greater during peak periods, such as long weekends and major holidays, when traffic volumes are much greater and have previously resulted in traffic slowing to a crawl through Mandurah."
The new highway will also promote further economic development in the Peel and South-West regions as freight and commercial travel will no longer be constrained by the lack of a quick and efficient route linking the cities of Perth, Mandurah and Bunbury.
"The reduced travel time will also preserve the Peel and South-West region's attractiveness as a tourist destination by maintaining safe and easy access for the thousands of tourists who travel south each year," the Premier said.
Dr Gallop paid tribute to Planning and Infrastructure Minister Alannah MacTiernan for ensuring the project was a top priority for the State Government.
"For more than three years, Alannah has campaigned hard both at a State and Federal level for the deviation," he said.
"Thanks to her commitment, bipartisan Commonwealth funding has been secured and project planning by Main Roads is already well under way."

The project will receive $150million Federal funding under the Auslink program to reach the total budgetary estimate of $340million required to construct the project.
While Dr Gallop welcomed the Federal funding, he said it still fell short of a Latham Labor Government's commitment to provide $170million for the project, matching the State's contribution.
"Only a Latham Labor Government will ensure a fully funded Commonwealth commitment to this vital infrastructure project," he said.
Premier's office: 9222 9475