The federal government has announced that the Tonkin Gap Project has taken a major step towards final completion with additional traffic lanes now open between Dunreath Drive and Collier Road.
The stretch of road was previously a notorious bottleneck where Tonkin Highway would reduce from three lanes to two.
Three lanes of traffic are now flowing in each direction, significantly reducing congestion and improving safety for motorists in the area.
The upgrades are expected to save road users up to six minutes of travel time during morning peak and up to 11 minutes of travel time during afternoon peak.
“The federal government is committed to road infrastructure projects like the Tonkin Gap Project to increase safety for users and ease traffic congestion,” federal transport minister Catherine King says.
“I’m pleased to see this progress and what can be achieved when federal and state governments work together.”
The speed limit between Collier Road and Dunreath Drive remains 80 km/h and will be reinstated to 100 km/h once asphalting and finishing works are complete.
The federal and WA governments say local communities can also look forward to the opening of the underbridge activation area in early 2024.
Previously a barren space under the bridge on the Bayswater side, it is being transformed into a new community space including a new mountain bike skills area, pump track and beach access for kayakers.
The Tonkin Gap Project has included widening Tonkin Highway between Collier Road and Dunreath Drive, new interchanges at Great Eastern Highway and Guildford Road, duplicating Mooro-Beeloo Bridge (Redcliffe Bridge), building new bridges over Dunstone Road, Railway Parade, and Guildford Road and delivery of 2.4 km of new PSP linking path networks constructed as part of Gateway WA and NorthLink WA projects.
The $290 million project is funded by the federal and WA governments, with the federal government committing $232 million and the Western Australian government $58 million.
“Tonkin Gap is one of the most important road infrastructure projects being undertaken in the Perth metropolitan area and to see it delivering benefits to the community is fantastic to see,” WA transport minister Rita Saffioti says.
“The opening of additional lanes in both directions means there will now be three lanes in both directions between Collier Road and Dunreath Drive, removing a major bottleneck and significantly improving travel times, congestion and safety.
“Tonkin Gap is delivering major improvement to Perth’s Principal Shared Path network and has added and upgraded more than 3.1 kilometres to the network.
“The opening means cyclists and pedestrians will for the first time have access to a continuous PSP along Tonkin Highway between Wattle Grove and Morley – and when works around the METRONET Malaga Train Station are complete, there will be an uninterrupted PSP all the way from Muchea in the north to Mandurah in the south.”