Western Australia has named the consortium of companies invested with the task of completing the $1 billion Gateway WA Project, and confirmed that work to improve Perth airport and freight access is set to begin in early 2013.
Five companies comprise the consortium: namely, Australian infrastructure construction and engineering companies Leighton Contractors, Georgiou, GHD and BG&E, and technical and management support experts AECOM.
The project, which is being jointly funded by the State ($315m) and Federal ($686m) governments, is expected to be completed in 2017 in order to be ready in time for the planned consolidation of the domestic and international terminals at Perth International Airport.
While the specifics of the Gateway WA project deal are yet to be hammered out, it is expected that because of the size, scale and complexity of the project, work is likely to be undertaken in packages so as to minimise the level of disruption created.
Redevelopment of the road network has been prompted by the expected increase in passenger air travel and road freight over the next 10 years. Perth Airport is anticipating a doubling of traffic on their runways, while increased trade means that freight coming from the industrial hubs of Forrestfield and Kewdale is also expected to increase.
As part of the project, extra lanes are to be added on the Tonkin Highway, with the Leach Highway undergoing an upgrade to become an expressway capable of efficiently handling the extra traffic. This area is generally regarded as the most important transport interchange (road, rail and air services meet) in the state.
“This precinct is one of the State’s most important transport hubs, facilitating the movement of people and freight essential to our ongoing industrial development,” says Western Australian Transport Minister Troy Buswell, highlighting the importance of the Gateway WA project.
“By fixing the road network around the airport, the Gateway project will not only reduce urban congestion in Perth but also improve the efficiency and reliability of the supply chain on which regional communities depend, particularly those in the resource rich North West.”
The project has detailed six key areas of work:
- A freeway-to-freeway interchange at the Tonkin and Leach Highways intersection, and new access to the international terminal
- An interchange at the Tonkin Highway, Horrie Miller Drive and Kewdale Road intersection
- An interchange at the Leach Highway and Abernethy Road intersection
- Upgrade of the existing interchange at the junction of the Tonkin and Roe Highways to a partial freeway-to-freeway interchange
- Widening of the Tonkin Highway to six lanes between the Great Eastern and Roe Highways
- Upgrade of the Leach Highway to expressway standard between the Tonkin Highway and Orrong Road, to maximise the benefits of the Leach Highway and Abernethy Road interchange.
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