First instalment of WA road funding program to improve safety begins with $35 million investment
July 13, 2010
The first instalment of a road funding program has begun in Western Australia to improve safety on key metropolitan and regional routes.
The State Government has announced $35 million in projects this financial year from the $140 million Safer Roads and Bridges Program, which will be spent over four years.
“The Safer Roads Program was established to improve road safety on key WA roads and, for the first time, this year’s funding also includes specific bridge projects,” WA Transport Minister Simon O’Brien says.
“These works aim to create more forgiving roads and roadsides to reduce road safety risks on the network such as single vehicle crashes and crashes at major intersections.”
Some of the projects to be funded this financial year include $4 million for new traffic signals on the Albany Highway, with another $3.2 million going to the Muirs Highway reconstruction.
The Government will spend $250,000 on the final seal on the highway, while $12.9 million will be spent on the Bussell and South West highways and widening and sealing roads between Marradong and Quinndanning.
The North West Coastal Highway will receive $3 million for a new overtaking lane and $2 million will be injected into routes on the Pilbara to upgrade unsealed sections.
The Wheatbelt will receive $4 million to widen and seal routes, with another $1.7 million to be spent in WA’s mid-west to realign curves.
Work will also begin on planning and preconstruction work for bridges, with $3 million to be spent on the Brand, North West Coast, Great Northern, Great Eastern, Eyre, Tonkin and Roe highways.
O’Brien says the bridge projects have been prioritized based on the number of heavy vehicles using them.