Main Roads has started work on converting the intersection of High Street and Stirling Highway into a roundabout.
The new roundabout is a key feature of the $118 million High Street Upgrade project, which has been designed to reduce traffic congestion and improve road safety.
The current stage of works comprises construction of a temporary roundabout to accommodate traffic until the larger, permanent roundabout is commissioned.
Most of the temporary roundabout will be constructed during Monday-Friday daytime hours, but some works will be required after hours and on the weekend in areas where high volume traffic will be disrupted.
The existing traffic lights are due to be removed on the evening of Friday 4 December and the temporary roundabout is scheduled to open by 4am, Monday 7 December.
A number of traffic changes will apply while the temporary roundabout is constructed and commissioned so check the High Street Upgrade page on the Main Roads website for details.
As more of the permanent roundabout is constructed, traffic will be moved to the new sections in stages, until the permanent roundabout is commissioned in mid-2021.
While the temporary roundabout is in place, motorists travelling south along Stirling Highway will not be able to turn right into High Street to get to Fremantle.
Instead, motorists travelling south along Stirling Highway wanting to access Fremantle should either take Queen Victoria Street or Tydeman Road across the Fremantle Traffic Bridge or turn right into Marmion Street before they reach the High Street intersection.
In addition to the new roundabout, the High Street Upgrade project will create a wide median on High Street to separate traffic lanes and preserve a number of mature trees.
More than 70 per cent of the established trees in the project area have been retained. To deliver a lasting legacy more than 400 tuart trees have been planted at nearby Booyeembara Park, while another 4000 have been planted at Whiteman Park.
The project also includes a new single lane one-way service road for residents on the northern side of High Street, new pedestrian underpasses under High Street and Stirling Highway and new parking at Frank Gibson Park.
Main Roads is also funding a series of accommodation works including the reconfiguration of the Fremantle Public Golf Course and the construction of a new co-located club house and community facility servicing both the golf course and Booyeembara Park.
