Project Sheet Download
Project Objective
“To gain commitment from the State Government and Opposition to construct additional lanes on each side of the Kwinana Freeway to reduce congestion, improve traffic flows and facilitate better dispersion of traffic between Roe Highway and Cockburn Central.”
Estimated Cost
South West Group is seeking the State Government to provide $40 million over the next term of Government to construct the additional freeway lanes, noting that this should ideally be completed by mid 2014 to assist in managing traffi resulting from the operation of the Fiona Stanley Hospital.
Project Objective
“To gain commitment from the State Government and Opposition to construct additional lanes on each side of the Kwinana Freeway to reduce congestion, improve traffic flows and facilitate better dispersion of traffic between Roe Highway and Cockburn Central.”
Introduction
The Kwinana Freeway is the busiest freeway corridor between Perth and Mandurah and provides the central spine for traffic movement in, through and out of the South West Metropolitan Region. The annual 4% growth in population experienced in the South West Metropolitan Region and 5.4% growth in container freight transport over the last decade have placed congestion pressures on the transport network and systems.
Ongoing investment to upgrade and improve freeway infrastructure is critical to freeway function and performance, and necessary to manage the growth in passenger and heavy vehicles. These investments, together with the introduction of intelligent transport systems (ITS), are essential requirements for a successful and modern freeway network.
Key Issues & Solutions
The State Government recently completed the construction of additional lanes along the Kwinana Freeway from Leach Highway to Roe Highway, through a jointly funded initiative with the Federal Government. This work has been effective in providing additional capacity along this section of the freeway, however the daily traffic bottleneck has now shifted to the area south of Roe Highway and extends beyond Cockburn Central (Armadale Road/Beeliar Drive).
Additional freeway lanes along the 6 kilometres between Roe Highway and Cockburn Central would have the following benefits;
- Increase freeway capacity along this section in both directions
- Increase merging ability and improve safety for vehicles entering the freeway (Roe Highway, Berrigan Drive, Armadale Road)
- Reduce congestion intensity, duration and length of bottlenecks during peak AM and PM periods
- Facilitate more effective dispersion (egress) and improve freeway entry (access) during peak periods (Armadale Road, Beeliar Drive, North Lake Road)
- Improve safety and provide additional contingency abilities in the case of accidents or vehicle breakdowns
Estimates for the additional lanes are likely to cost in the order of $40 million, which includes the relocation of services and the extension and structural reinforcement of the freight rail bridge just south of Roe Highway to accommodate the additional width.
South West Group Position
The South West Group supports increased investment in transport infrastructure and improvements in freeway capacity and safety. The additional lanes along the Kwinana Freeway between Roe Highway and Cockburn Central will reduce congestion and provide much needed additional capacity along this section of the freeway.
The additional lanes would also complement the package of projects to relieve congestion around Cockburn Central, including a freeway bridge overpass at North Lake Road, duplication of Armadale Road and additional freeway connections.
Estimated Cost
South West Group is seeking the State Government to provide $40 million over the next term of Government to construct the additional freeway lanes, noting that this should ideally be completed by mid 2014 to assist in managing traffi resulting from the operation of the Fiona Stanley Hospital.
