The final stage of the McGowan Government's $30 million South Coast Highway upgrade is days away from completion, with Transport Minister Rita Saffioti and Albany MLA Rebecca Stephens inspecting works today.
The completion of Stage 3 of the South Coast Highway upgrade project will represent the delivery of one of the McGowan Government's key election commitments in the Great Southern.
The project includes the reconstruction of a six kilometre section of highway and the construction of two passing lanes between Bluff Creek Road and Kojaneerup West Road - improving road safety on this stretch of highway.
The $30 million, three-stage project has seen more than 11 kilometres of highway upgraded between Albany and Jerramungup in the Great Southern since the start of 2019.
Earlier staged improvements have included:
- Mead Road Passing Lanes (Stage 1) - widening the road from seven to 11 metres between Killarney Road and Monty's Leap Winery, and construction of a westbound passing lane 2.5 kilometres west of Kalgan River Bridge (completed June 2019);
- Kalgan (Stage 2) - widening a 2.8km section of road from seven to 11 metres between Monty's Leap Winery and the Kalgan River Bridge (completed April 2020).
The contract for Stage 3 of the project was awarded to WA company Ertech Pty Ltd in October 2020. It has supported more than 150 direct and indirect jobs during construction.
Comments to be attributed to Transport Minister Rita Saffioti:
"The completion of these upgrades will mark a major milestone in our $210 million program of infrastructure works currently underway across the Great Southern region.
"The McGowan Government is committed to making travel safer for all Western Australians and I'm thrilled to be here and to see the safety improvements that have been undertaken as part of this project.
"We're also undertaking more than 485 kilometres of shoulder sealing and installing audible edge lines on sections of Chester Pass Road, South Western Highway, Albany Highway, Muir Highway, Great Southern Highway and South Coast Highway as part of the Regional Road Safety Program, to provide road users with a more forgiving and much safer driving environment".
Comments to be attributed to Albany MLA Rebecca Stephens:
"This project is delivering much-needed improvements to South Coast Highway, helping to make this stretch of road safer as Albany continues to enjoy a visitor boom.
"These improvements will make the journey smoother, safer and more efficient for our local community, freight industry, and visitors travelling around our community.
"The project has supported about 150 direct and indirect jobs, providing an additional economic boost for the Albany region."
