Turnbull gov't approves $72.5M funding to improve travel times, safety around Perth

The Australian government has formally approved $72.5 million funding for the $80.6 million Perth Link Roads project. It would improve travel times and boost safety around Perth.

Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Darren Chester said the aforementioned project was essential to the $500 million Midland Highway Upgrade. “The Perth Link Roads project will be delivered two years earlier than originally scheduled, creating significant travel time savings and much better connectivity between the south and north of Tasmania sooner,” the minister said in a media release.

The project would connect the projects underway between Symmons Plains and south of Perth and from Perth to Breadalbane according to senator for Tasmania Jonathon Duniam. It would deliver a minimum 3 star AusRAP safety rating over a continuous section of the highway between Launceston and Symmons Plains.

Duniam believes that the project would boost efficiency and safety if heavy vehicles are removed from the centre of Perth as they travel to and from the northern and north-western ports. It would also mean the main street will be safer for pedestrians.

Meanwhile, Rene Hidding, Tasmanian minister for infrastructure, stated that work was progressing well on the Midland Highway upgrade. Projects at Kempton to Melton Mowbray were completed in May this year. The first stage of Mangalore to Bagdad was also previously completed.

Hidding added they are already realising the safety benefits of the upgrade. The central wire rope barrier installed on one of the first projects was delivered. “Even better, a project of this size and cost will result in millions being injected back into the economy with numerous flow-on benefits for local businesses, and I am very pleased it has been brought forward by two years,” the minister said.

The Midland Highway upgrade is also funded, with the Australian government contributing $400 million. The Tasmanian government, on the other hand, contributed $100 million. Construction on the Perth Link Roads project is expected to begin next year and will be completed in mid-2020.

In other news, new electronic speed signs are now in place on the Pacific Highway south of Broadwater, New South Wales. This initiative on traffic management is set to improve safety while reducing delays and helping drivers adapt their speed to condition. Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Darren Chester said it was being rolled out as part of works on the Woolgoolga to Ballina section of the Pacific Highway upgrade.