Plans for freight corridor released

Preliminary plans for an east-west road corridor to service the proposed container port in Kwinana have been revealed by the state government.

The concept design for the Anketell-Thomas Road corridor shows how Kwinana’s Outer Harbour will connect with Tonkin Highway to create a major freight network.

The plans propose a four-lane road between Clementi Road in Mandogalup and Tonkin Highway in Oakford.

The state government has named the impacted region a Planning Control Area, meaning all proposed projects will be referred to the WA Planning Commission for approval to see if they are congruent with the future freight corridor.

Westport, the team behind the project, are now engaging with stakeholders, landowners and the community for feedback on the design to progress the plans.

Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said Westport was a once-in-a-lifetime project to deliver a new container port and it was important they got it right.

"The Anketell-Thomas Road freight corridor will be a key link, connecting the new container terminal in the Outer Harbour with Tonkin Highway and meeting the needs of the Kwinana industrial area as it continues to grow,” Ms Saffioti said.

The minister said construction to transform Tonkin Highway is already underway.

Works have started on the Tonkin Gap Project through Redcliffe and funding has been allocated to upgrade three intersections at Hale Road, Welshpool Road, Kelvin Road and extend Tonkin Highway from Byford to Mundijong.

Interim upgrades are also planned for Thomas Road over the next three years to deal with traffic demands and improve safety.

Yesterday, the federal government announced $145 million in funding for further upgrades to Thomas Road.

The Westport project started in 2017 and has progressed to Stage 3, which includes providing advice to government about when and how a new Kwinana port and logistics network should be developed and making investments to enable the project to go ahead.

The state government announced $400 million of initial spending for the Westport project in 2021-22 state budget.

The funding is to be used for land acquisitions, including for road corridors for the proposed port.