Construction underway to fix one of WA’s most dangerous intersections

Major works to improve safety and bust congestion at one of Perth's most dangerous intersections – the Leach Highway and Welshpool Road interchange - are now underway.

Construction will be completed by the Leach Welshpool Alliance, a consortium made up of local contractors Georgiou Group Pty Ltd, BG&E Pty Ltd and Golder Associates Pty Ltd.

The $136 million project is anticipated to create and support up to 600 jobs.

The interchange upgrade will improve the most dangerous and second most congested intersection in Western Australia, with 224 crashes recorded between 2015 and 2019, of which 204 were rear-end collisions.

The project will deliver a new gradeseparated intersection with Leach Highway bridging over Welshpool Road; an at grade roundabout at the intersection of Leach Highway and Welshpool Road; and an upgrade of the Leach Highway Bridge over rail south of the interchange.

The design of the interchange will improve traffic flow and is expected to reduce peak travel times, while easing pressure on the local road network.

The project is jointly funded, with the Morrison Government and Western Australian Government each committing $68 million.

Federal Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts Paul Fletcher said, "This project will provide Perth drivers with a safer and more efficient east-west freight connection, particularly between Fremantle and the industrial areas of Kewdale and Welshpool. "About 50,000 vehicles pass through

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Through its part-owned subsidiary Freightlancer has acquired Loadshift, a market leader which was responsible for 85.8 million kilometres of freight movement in CY2020.

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this intersection every weekday, with the area servicing key commercial activities in local industrial areas, Perth Airport, Kewdale Freight Terminal and surrounding residential areas. "This project is one of many critical infrastructure projects to receive funding from the Morrison Government as part of its record $110 billion, 10-year infrastructure investment pipeline."

WA Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said, “The Leach Highway and Welshpool Road interchange is a well-known pinch point for commuters.

“Combined with our level crossing removals along the Armadale Line this will completely transform this transport corridor.”

Infrastructure and transport ministers met on Friday 28 May and agreed to timelines for implementing a national safety framework for the commercial deployment of automated vehicles.

The goal is to have the regulatory framework for automated vehicles, including national legislation and a new in-service safety regulator, in place by 2026.

For more information from the Infrastructure and Transport Ministers’ Meeting, you can read the communique at www.infrastructure.gov.au/transport/ infrastructure-transport-ministers/ files/15th-infrastructure-and-transportministers-meeting-communique28-may-2021.pdf. The NTC has also published a policy paper at www.ntc. gov.au/sites/default/files/assets/files/ NTC-policy-paper-national-in-servicesafety-law-for-AVs.pdf which provides the outcomes from the most recent consultation on in-service safety. The recommendations have not yet been agreed by ministers but will form the basis for further work on the regulatory framework.