The final stage of the Ranford Road dual carriageway project was officially opened by the City of Armadale Mayor Henry Zelones during a ribbon cutting ceremony on Monday 3 November, 2014.
Joining the City of Armadale Mayor Henry Zelones and the City’s Chief Executive Officer Ray Tame was MP Don Randall, Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority (MRA) Chief Executive Officer Kieran Kinsella, and business owners from the nearby Forrestdale Business Park.
Mayor Zelones said this section of Ranford Road, from Tonkin Highway to Armadale Road, was the final portion of the upgrade and completes the dual link from Armadale Road through to Canning Vale.
“The completion of the dual carriageway is not only of significant strategic economic importance to the region, but also meets the needs of the fast growing suburbs of Piara Waters and Harrisdale as it completes the Ranford Road / South Street arterial connection between Fremantle and Armadale.
“Stimulating employment activity through the creation of new jobs in our growing region is a major objective of the City, and the dualling of Ranford Road was a high priority and critical in attracting industry leaders as key anchor tenants to Forrestdale Business Park,” said Mayor Zelones.
MRA CEO Kieran Kinsella said the upgrade to dual-carriageway will enable easy access to the Business Park - a prime commercial and industrial estate that is becoming a major employment zone for the south east corridor with potential to create more than 15,000 jobs.
“The upgrade of Ranford Road is a great example of how the MRA and the City of Armadale are working together to accommodate the future growth of this strategic metropolitan centre,” Mr Kinsella said.
Mayor Zelones said that with the growing residential community there is a huge scope for further business, commercial and industrial investment for many years to come, and this completed Road project has helped ensure that.
“It is estimated that the Tonkin Highway, Ranford Road intersection will carry more than 30,000 vehicles a day.
“As part of the upgrade, all power has now been undergrounded, new street lighting installed within the central medians and telecommunication cables have been relocated and upgraded.
“To complement the new carriageway the City will undertake approximately two kilometres of high quality landscaping treatment, in the form of native vegetation - including 4000 square metres of shrub plantings and 150 trees.
“They will be located at the roundabouts and the entry statement to the Forrestdale Business Park. The median island will be planted with native trees and mulched in readiness for next winter.
The total project cost was $12.3 million and was jointly funded by the MRA’s Development Contribution Scheme and the City of Armadale.