Finish the job, build Armadale Rd Bridge

The Cities of Armadale and Cockburn are once again campaigning in the lead up to the State election to secure funding for the Armadale Road Bridge, which will fix traffic congestion issues on Armadale Road and around  Cockburn Central.

Community Connect South (CCS) consists of two projects:

• Duplication of Armadale Road – funded in September 2015 by the Federal and State Government, for the full duplication of Armadale Road (Anstey Road to Tapper Drive)
• Armadale Road Bridge – not funded. A new bridge and freeway interchange at North Lake Road, bypassing traffic around Cockburn Central and providing easier access to the Kwinana Freeway and Armadale Road.

“Widening Armadale Road without building the Bridge will only push congestion further into Cockburn Central,” said Armadale Mayor Henry Zelones OAM JP.

“The intersection at Armadale Road, Kwinana Freeway and Beeliar Drive is the seventh most congested intersection in Perth, and the second for traffic congestion in Perth’s southern suburbs*, yet there is no funding allocated to fix the issue,” said Mayor Zelones.

“There will be little benefit from the widening of Armadale Road if it is not connected to North Lake Road, via a bridge over the Kwinana Freeway, and the north and south-bound lanes of the freeway,” said Cockburn Mayor Logan Howlett JP.

“If we don’t allow traffic to bypass the already congested Cockburn Central area, Beeliar Drive and Berrigan Drive will not cope under the weight of 51,500 vehicles and 52,000 respectively expected per day by 2020.

“The Armadale Road Bridge will reduce the number of vehicles on Beeliar Drive by 34 per cent.

“The road network around Cockburn Central is already at breaking point, leaving commuters frustrated and angry as traffic adds delays to their already busy lifestyles.

“We know from last year’s campaign that this is a major issue for residents, commuters and businesses and we call on all candidates in this election to finish the job and help fund the Armadale Road Bridge,” said Mayor Howlett.

*Based on 2014/2015 data from Network Performance Analysis for Perth Congestion Response (ARRB, June 2016)