Upgrade for road infrastructure in Perth, Australia

Date: 3/12/2012

The northern suburbs of Perth in Australia are to undergo a large amount of work with regards to road infrastructure, as a new project has been announced.

A total of AU$500 million (£325 million) is to be spent on improving road safety and reducing congestion in suburbs such as Carine and Malaga.

The plans were unveiled by Troy Buswell, Transport Minister, who said that an extension will be built on the Mitchell Freeway from Burns Beach Road to Hester Avenue.

This will stretch for an extra six kilometres and work is expected to begin in 2014 or 2015 with completion scheduled for between 2016 and 2017, reports the Western Australian.

Mr Buswell said: “This will help to relieve pressure on local roads in the growth suburbs of Clarkson, Butler and Jindalee.”

He went onto say that funding for the project, which is one of several road schemes the state government is implementing, will be outlined in the midyear review.

Mr Buswell added: “We are spending literally billions of dollars right around the metropolitan area and around regional WA [Western Australia] on road infrastructure and public transport infrastructure.”

Further plans for the project include spending AU$75 million on building a bridge, allowing Malaga Drive to cross over Reid Highway.

Part of the highway will also be made into dual carriageway between Duffy Road and Erindale Road in Carine at a cost of AU$48 million.

The widening of the northbound Mitchell Freeway by one lane from the city to Hutton Street will be undertaken with a budget of AU$31 million.

Further widening will be seen on the same piece of road northbound between Hepburn Avenue and Hodges Drive, planned to cost AU$30 million.

Mr Buswell said: “Without this extension, traffic volumes on Perth’s two major north-south arterial routes - Marmion Avenue north of Burns Beach Road and Wanneroo Road - would soon rise to dangerous and unmanageable levels.”

As well as improving safety, the five projects should see journey times reduced and businesses having more certainty in the amount of time it takes to transport people and products in the area.

Posted by Nick Anderson

International Transport News and Sustainable Transport News