New road to save travel time

A new 4.5km stretch of road connecting Rockingham to the Kwinana Freeway is expected to be completed by mid-next year and cut 10 minutes off the travelling time from Perth to Rockingham.

Last Friday, local, State and Federal Government representatives announced work would begin next month on the $17.8 million project, which has been 13 years in the making.

Rockingham Mayor Barry Sammels said the new road, which will connect the Kwinana Freeway from the Mundijong Road exit to Dixon Road, was a significant milestone for the City.

“This small stretch of road represents a significant change in the way people will be accessing the City of Rockingham, Garden Island and the Rockingham Kwinana Industrial strip, and will offer a dedicated freight route and a direct road to the coast for commuters,” he said.

Brand MHR Gary Gray congratulated the City for its persistence in getting the project off the ground.

“This has not been an easy piece of road to build,” he said.

“This has required a lot of faith in the funding proposal across two Federal governments, two State governments and the continued focus on the main game, which has been to get this important piece of infrastructure built for the benefit of our community.”

Planning Minister John Day said land acquisition and negotiations with BHP Billiton, which has evaporation ponds near the route of the road, were pivotal in the project getting the green light. He said the road would be an important link to Rockingham’s business and industrial precincts.