Liberals match Labor’s fix at ‘WA’s worst intersection’

Both Labor and the Liberal parties have promised a $450 million upgrade of the state’s worst intersection for crashes as they fish for votes in Perth’s northern suburbs.

Speaking in Balcatta on Tuesday, Premier Roger Cook pledged $225 million to grade separate the Reid Highway and Erindale Road intersection, with the expectation the Commonwealth would fund the remaining half of the project’s cost.

Shortly after at a press conference in Lesmurdie Liberal leader Libby Mettam and opposition transport spokesman Tjorn Sibma said the Liberals would match the commitment if elected in March.

The grade separation was the centrepiece in a package of northern suburbs road upgrades Labor has committed to, including an additional right-turn lane on Wanneroo Road leading into Warwick Road.

According to Main Roads WA data, the Balcatta intersection is the worst in the state for crashes, with 263 incidents over the past five years – 76 of which caused injuries.

It is also one of the most congested roads in the state, with government figures estimating it costs the economy $21.3 million per year in lost productivity.

$43 million of northern suburbs road upgrade commitments

• Warwick Road – Additional right turn lane on Wanneroo Road, left turn lane modifications on Wanneroo Road, and turn lane extensions
• Hepburn Avenue – Widening the median of Hepburn Avenue to enable a double right turn. Median widening on Wanneroo Road to enable double right turn from Wanneroo Road northbound to Hepburn Avenue westbound
• Gnangara Road – Advanced detector loops to improve queue detection and signaloptimisation.•
• East Road – Realigning Wanneroo Road southbound carriageway further to the west, to bring forward to give way line on East Road to improve sight lines
• Whitfords Ave to Gnangara Rd connection – Planning to complete concept design work for the Whitfords Ave to Gnangara Road connection
• McGilvray Avenue and Morley Drive - $4 million to fix the intersection
• Craigie Leisure Centre Whitfords Avenue - $3.5 million to build a roundabout and create a new access road into Pinnaroo ValleyMemorial Park

The state predicted daily traffic volumes would increase from 60,000 in 2025 to 111,000 by 2054.

“[The upgrade] will have new ramps and ... grade separate to make sure that there’s free-flowing traffic into the future,” Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said.

Sibma said the intersection had been allowed to get worse under Labor.

“What this is evidence of is Rita safiotti wrong priorities. Blowing out Metronet by 400 per cent, blowing out cycle bridges in the city has come at a cost, and it’s come at a cost to Perth communities and to Perth businesses,” he said.

“We are going to focus on what actually matters to people in their day-to-day lives.”

When asked why the government would not commit to the upgrade ahead of the election, Saffioti said her government had spent billions on infrastructure already and this was the next key project.

“You can’t do everything at the same time. We’re spending a record amount on transport infrastructure, a record amount on road infrastructure ... we’ve just completed a major transformation on the Mitchell Freeway, the biggest investment on the Mitchell Freeway in the state’s history,” she said.

The WA Liberals have also identified this project as a potential vote-winner, and former Liberal leader Zak Kirkup committed $30 million to it in 2021.

At the time, Saffioti said the opposition had grossly underestimated the project’s price – costing it at $600 million.

Saffioti said the price had come down because further work had been done on scoping the project.

With the federal election looming, Saffioti said she was confident the project would be supported regardless of which party was in government.

WA Liberal senator Dean Smith, Liberal candidate for Kinglsey Scott Edwardes and Moore candidate Vince Connelly visited the intersection last week.

“I’m committed to fighting for this intersection to be urgently upgraded. The stakes are too high to wait any longer,” Edwardes said.

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