First stage of Kwinana Freeway upgrade open Wednesday, 19 August 2015

More than 52,000 motorists driving on the Kwinana Freeway southbound each day will now enjoy a four-lane freeway between Roe Highway and Armadale Road, ahead of time and under budget. 

Commonwealth Minister for Finance Mathias Cormann and Western Australian Minister for Transport Dean Nalder today officially opened the first stage of the $77.5 million upgrade between Roe Highway and Russell Road.

"Road users will now have access to four lanes southbound between Roe Highway and Armadale Road, meaning faster travel times and a more efficient road network," Mr Cormann said. 

"Final resurfacing works remain on one lane and these will be completed as night works in warmer weather later this year. This will allow the extra lanes to open for road users and improve traffic flows in the meantime.

"This project, along with our other world class infrastructure investments like the Perth Freight Link, NorthLink WA and Gateway WA will slash travel times for motorists and help drive economic growth in Western Australia."

Mr Nalder said these vital improvements would address traffic flow and queuing problems on the Roe Highway and Kwinana Freeway during peak periods.

"The three lanes on the freeway under the Roe Highway Bridge have been extended, and vehicles exiting from Roe Highway can now join the freeway using a dedicated lane," he said.

"This will reduce pressure on local roads currently used as 'rat runs' to avoid queuing at the Roe Highway/Kwinana Freeway interchange."

The completion of these works has allowed the next stage of widening the three kilometres between Armadale and Russell Roads to start in the coming weeks and ultimately bring the total length of the project to around 7.2 kilometres.

The Australian Government has committed $62 million and the Western Australian Government $15.5 million towards the Kwinana Freeway upgrade.

Media release provided by the Government of Western Australia