The Western Australian Government this week has named a preferred proponent for the construction of Roe 8, the Roe Highway extension from the Kwinana Freeway to Stock Road.
The preferred proponent is a consortium led by Leighton Contractors and made up of Georgiou Group, WA Limestone, GHD, AECOM and BG&E.
WA Premier Colin Barnett said in a statement that the construction contract would be signed later this year. This will be followed by a process of detailed design, to be informed by community input, with construction set to begin in 2016.
“Roe 8 will take 5,000 trucks off local roads and make it easier for people to access Fiona Stanley Hospital while delivering faster journey times for people who live and work south of the river,” the Premier said.
“Critically, it will provide the necessary transport infrastructure to support the current port and associated commercial areas of Fremantle, as well as ensuring access to a future port facility to the south.”
WA Transport Minister Dean Nalder also said in a statement that Leighton was well qualified to undertake the work, based on its long history in successfully delivering other alliance projects for Main Roads such as Gateway WA, which is being completed ahead of time and budget; Mandurah entrance road and the Perth to Bunbury highway.
“Its proposal included an innovative road layout at the Kwinana Freeway/Roe Highway interchange, which will enhance road safety and traffic efficiency,” the Minister said.
Mr. Nalder said Roe 8 would reduce congestion, improve freight efficiency and provide better safety outcomes for all road users.
“Tens of thousands of people using Leach Highway are being exposed to unnecessary risk because it was never designed to carry such a volume of trucks and cars,” he said.
“Between 2009 and 2013, more than 72 per cent of crashes on Leach Highway were rear-end collisions. That is significantly higher than the metropolitan region average of 43.5 per cent. The current stop-start traffic is a major contributing factor.”
The announcement follows last week’s granting by the Federal Government of conditional environmental approval for the project.
Some of those environmental conditions include two wetland bridges built over Roe Swamp and Horse Paddock Swamp, a top-down construction process to minimise clearing footprint and compaction during construction, building the road on land already partially cleared for overhead power lines, a 523ha land offset package and fauna underpasses.
Mr Nalder said the State Government was committed to delivering the project in an environmentally responsible manner by adopting a sustainable design and an approach to construction which centres on innovation.