Joint Media Release: Construction progressing well on Wanneroo Road Widening

A frustrating pinch point on Wanneroo Road, between Joondalup Drive and Flynn Drive, will soon be eased with construction progressing on the Wanneroo Road Widening project.

Premier Mark McGowan, Federal Urban Infrastructure and Cities Minister Paul Fletcher, WA Minister for Transport Rita Saffioti and Federal Member for Pearce Christian Porter today inspected progress of the $31 million Wanneroo Road dual carriageway upgrade which will relieve congestion for motorists in Perth’s northern corridor.

Mr McGowan said the widening project would lead to safer, faster journeys to homes and businesses in the northern suburbs and create jobs for Western Australians.

“The City of Wanneroo alone is expected to increase by 20 percent in the next five years, making the upgrade of Wanneroo Road even more important to ensure this area is more accessible for local residents and businesses,” the Premier said.

Mr Fletcher said the Wanneroo Road widening project was the first of 17 road projects resulting from the $2.3 billion WA Infrastructure Package, to which the Turnbull Government contributed $1.6 billion.

“This project alone will create 175 direct and indirect jobs while the WA Infrastructure Package is expected to support around 6,000 jobs,” Mr Fletcher said.

“This project is yet another example of how the Turnbull Government’s $6.8 billion investment in infrastructure in Western Australia is boosting the state’s economy and creating thousands of jobs.”

Ms Saffioti said the project would accommodate increasing volumes of traffic generated by population growth and industrial development in the north-west metropolitan corridor.

“People will start to see a host of road projects, across Western Australia, get underway this year – improving our road network, delivering jobs and complementing our METRONET vision,” she said.

Federal Member for Pearce Christian Porter said the project would remove a well-known pinch point on Wanneroo Road, leading to safer and more efficient journeys for road users.

“Works include construction of the new 3.2-kilometre dual carriageway, upgrading Golf Links Drive and Carramar Road intersections, upgrading existing formal driveways on Wanneroo Road, and installing noise walls between Joondalup Drive and Carramar Road. Construction will be completed by late 2018,” Mr Porter said.

“It complements other significant works in the northern corridor and is the first of three fully funded upgrades to Wanneroo Road, with construction of a new interchange at Joondalup Drive expected to start mid-2018 and another at Ocean Reef Road expected to start in late 2018.”

Wanneroo Road between Joondalup Drive and Flynn Drive is currently an isolated section of single carriageway with limited opportunities for overtaking, creating a dangerous bottleneck at peak hour.

About 26,000 vehicles a day use the section of road and traffic volume is steadily increasing due to urban and industrial growth in the surrounding areas.

The Wanneroo Road (Joondalup Drive to Flynn Drive) Dual Carriageway is a jointly funded project with the Australian Government contributing $24.8 million and the Western Australian Government contributing $6.2 million.