Media Statement - 29th October 2007
A Rudd Labor government will put $180 million into the Great Eastern Highway upgrade from Kooyong Road to the Tonkin Highway, a project that will cost $225 million, with the Western Australian government funding the balance.
The Great Eastern Highway project will involve a 6.5km upgrade of the road to six lanes between the Graham Farmer Freeway and Perth airport.
A Rudd Labor government will also provide $48 million towards the upgrade of the Great Eastern Highway and Roe Highway intersection, which is severely congested on all legs for extended peak periods throughout the day.
The upgrade will involve a grade separated interchange to remove this major bottleneck and provide free flowing traffic conditions on both highways.
“Federal Labor understands that local commuters don’t want to be stuck in traffic – they want to get to work and make their planes on time,” Shadow Minister for Transport, Roads and Tourism, Martin Ferguson said.
“The airport is Perth’s connection to the rest of the world and the Great Eastern Highway is a vital artery that needs upgrading to ensure that traffic heading there doesn’t grind to a halt.
“This road is also the gateway to Perth – it provides visitors with their first impression of the city after they hop off the plane and we need to make sure it helps to sell the city.
“Federal Labor will extend the Perth-Adelaide Auslink corridor from the Great Eastern Highway at Midland to the airport and the Perth CBD recognising the importance of the airport as the gateway to Australia’s most isolated capital city.
“ John Howard has not added this section of the Great Eastern Highway to the national network and has short-changed the upgrade project by $74 million because he’s not prepared to fund it properly as a national network project.
“He has also under-funded the Great Eastern Highway/Roe Highway interchange by at least $18 million.
“Our commitment today is about ending the blame game, reversing 11 years of Howard Government neglect of the West and building the infrastructure that Perth needs for the future.
Federal Labor member for Swan, Kim Wilkie said “John Howard announced this inadequate $106 million funding in a desperate election-eve bid less than a year after Roads Minister, Jim Lloyd wrote:
“…this section of highway is not part of the AusLink National Network, and the Western Australian Government is responsible for its funding…I can see no particular virtue in the inclusion of the GEH in the Perth Urban Corridor Strategy…” (Letter from Jim Lloyd to Kim Wilkie 18.11.06)”
Mr. Ferguson said “They didn’t want to fund the Great Eastern Highway at all a year ago, last week they put $106 million into it – $74 million short of their real share – there is simply no guarantee the road will be built if the Coalition is returned to government.
Federal Labor member for Swan, Kim Wilkie said “I started campaigning for this upgrade almost a decade ago.”
“Now on the eve of the election, with his back to the wall, Mr. Howard has begrudgingly accepted responsibility for this road with a token funding pledge that won’t do the job.
“Under a Rudd Labor government this road will be funded properly and the traffic jams that should have been fixed years ago will be a thing of the past.”
Federal Labor candidate for Hasluck, Sharryn Jackson welcomed the funding of the Great Eastern Highway/Roe Highway interchange and said “This will be a significant improvement for the local community.
“It will ease congestion and the frustration of commuters trying to get to work, parents getting kids to school, tradespeople travelling to worksites across the city and truck drivers under pressure to deliver freight on time.”
BACKGROUND
The Great Eastern Highway between Kooyong Road and the Tonkin Highway already carries 50,000 vehicles every day, with traffic forecast to rise to about 80,000 by 2020.
Upgrading the road to six lanes will boost traffic capacity by 33 per cent and provide a dedicated continuous pedestrian and cycle path.
The upgrade will also provide a significant boost to road safety and be a boon for local businesses.
Between 2001 and 2005 there were an average of 150 crashes each year on this stretch of road – one every two and a half days.
By providing a wide median with right-turn lanes, there will be fewer accidents, less delays and better access for businesses whose current entry and exit is poor or non-existent.
Planning will start now and construction will be complete by 2014.
As the gateway to the city for tourists, business and other visitors, the upgrade will include dedicated landscaping and design elements to welcome visitors to the West.
The intersection of the Great Eastern Highway and the Roe Highway east of Midland is very busy with about 60,000 vehicles (including almost 5,000 trucks and about 11 000 light commercial) passing through the intersection every day.
Crash rates are too high at the existing intersection with 206 reported crashes between 2002 and 2006.
The planned upgrade will ease congestion and improve road safety significantly.