The City of Armadale is pleased to see confirmation of the commitment to spend $145 million widening Armadale Road in the State Budget and have ramped up their campaign for the further $160 million needed for the new bridge which will connect Armadale Road with Kwinana Freeway and North Lake Road.
“Congestion on Armadale Road and at Cockburn Central costs millions in lost productivity as residents east of the Kwinana Freeway try to access jobs, goods and services on the west side and along the coast,” he said.
Mayor Zelones said it was disappointing to see no announcement of progress on the relocation of the Armadale Courthouse and police station.
“We are encouraged by a small allocation ($1.8M) for design and preliminaries but it is time this project was shown in the State Government’s forward estimates,” he said.
Mayor Zelones also said the State Budget, handed down on Thursday, will put further pressure on local governments in the lead up to setting their own budgets and rates for next year.
“There is no relief for local families, with analysis of the 2016/17 budget overall showing total expenditure by the ‘representative household’ on a basket of Government goods and services in 2016/17 is $5,659.92, which is an increase of $257 or 4.76 per cent on 2015/16 levels
“This won’t just affect Armadale, local governments throughout the State will wear the brunt of these announcements and the potential flow on impacts to individuals, families and business,” he said.
“However, with major projects underway and a fast growing community we cannot slow down and will continue to do our best to meet the needs of our growing population.”
This includes continuing to encourage both State and Federal Governments to support outer metro growth areas through an ongoing joint Community Connect South campaign with the City of Cockburn ahead of the Federal election on 2 July.
Both Cities are also participating in the Fund our Future campaign, being led by the National Growth Areas Alliance, to secure an ongoing Federal commitment to funding equal access to adequate road, transport and health services in outer metro areas.
In the battle for the hotly contested new Federal seat of Burt, more than half of residents surveyed in Armadale said they would vote for a party that is committed to building the $160 million Armadale Road Bridge and connection to the Kwinana Freeway.
And 83.5 per cent of those surveyed said that traffic congestion along Armadale Road, and access to Cockburn and the Kwinana Freeway was an issue.
“Securing funding to widen Armadale Road was a major victory for the Community Connect South campaign last year but there will be little benefit from the widening of Armadale Road if it is not connected to Kwinana Freeway and on to North Lake Road,” Mayor Zelones said.
State Budget breakdown for City of Armadale:
- Money for Armadale Road duplication - $145 million over four years from 2016/17 to construct a seven kilometre dual carriageway on Armadale Road between Anstey Road and Tapper Road, jointly funded by the Commonwealth and State on an 80/20 basis.
- $20 million on installation of a wastewater pump station, pressure main and on-site overflow storage required to service the residential development of the Brookdale area.
- $25.8 million to continue planning and development in the Armadale area to support private investment in Forrestdale Business Park, City West and Kelmscott, predominantly through administration of a Developer Contribution Scheme.
- $9.8 million to continue civil works and support private land development across the Wungong Urban project, through administration of a Developer Contribution Scheme.
- $8.5 million toward revitalisation of Armadale Senior High School and Cecil Andrews Senior High School.
- $1.1 million for the design and accommodation brief related to the Armadale Courthouse and Police complex.
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