LEACH HIGHWAY–WELSHPOOL
ROAD INTERSECTION — UPGRADE
592. MR S.J. PRICE to the Minister for Transport:
Can I just say, Mr Speaker, that the
next time we sing Happy Birthday in the chamber, maybe you should turn
off your microphone!
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER: There is fake
news and all of that—I call you to order for the first time for
insulting the Speaker!
Mr S.J. PRICE: I refer to the McGowan Labor government's
$5.5 billion Western Australia recovery plan that includes a significant
investment in job-creating transport infrastructure across the state.
(1) Can the
minister update the house on this government's record investment in
road projects, in particular the upgrades to the Leach Highway–Welshpool
Road intersection?
(2) Can the minister outline to the house what this project
will mean to motorists in the eastern suburbs?
Ms R. SAFFIOTI
replied:
I thank the
member for Forrestfield for that question.
(1)–(2)
It was another busy day as we announced the
third proponent of the new Leach Highway–Welshpool Road
interchange. We also turned the first sod on the first stage of the Stephenson
Avenue extension project, a project that was put forward by the member for
Balcatta. It is another project that was ignored by the previous Liberal
government for eight and a half years. I remember visiting the City of Stirling
when we were in opposition. It put forward why it needed the Stephenson Avenue
project to facilitate the growth of the Stirling city centre. It was a project
it could not get traction on under the previous government, but there we were today, with the federal government
and the City of Stirling, announcing and turning the sod on the first stage of that project—another
project that has been brought forward as part of our recovery plan.
The Leach Highway–Welshpool
Road project is a $90 million project involving a consortium of WA companies.
That intersection has been ranked either the first or second most congested
intersection across the network since about 2014. This has been a problem for
many, many years and it is the McGowan Labor government that will fix it.
The final contract is due to be
awarded in December this year. The government has brought forward this project
six months from the previous schedule. Early works are expected to commence by
the end of this year. Those who drive past that intersection will have seen the
pipes and services that need to be relocated. The Leach–Welshpool
alliance consists of local companies BG&E Pty Ltd, Georgiou Group Pty Ltd
and Golder Associates Pty Ltd. Currently, 50 000 vehicles pass through that
intersection every weekday. The area services key commercial activities in the
Welshpool commercial area, Perth Airport, Kewdale freight terminal and
surrounding residential areas.
As the members for Victoria Park,
Cannington and Belmont would know, this intersection, together with the project
to remove the level crossings through Welshpool and Victoria Park, will
completely transform how we move around that corridor. It is a much-needed
boost of infrastructure spending, creating jobs across the state. This
government will continue to focus on and provide infrastructure and new jobs.
Other projects that were brought forward are the Bunbury Outer Ring Road; Leach
Highway–Welshpool Road, which I have mentioned; Stephenson Avenue, the
second stage of which has been brought forward; the Fremantle Traffic Bridge; and, of course, Roe Highway and Kalamunda
Highway, which are also progressing very well. Other projects along Roe
Highway and Great Eastern Highway will be brought forward, as well as the
Albany ring-road, the Lord Street extension, the Tonkin Highway gap, which is a
much-needed project, and the freeway extension and widening in the north.
Projects around the state are being brought forward, creating jobs and helping
to stimulate economic activity in WA.