The state government has awarded two contracts valued at nearly $5 million to Southern Roads Services to upgrade highways near Mount Barker and Balingup.
The state government has awarded two contracts valued at nearly $5 million to Southern Roads Services to upgrade highways near Mount Barker and Balingup.
Transport Minister Simon O'Brien said $2.3 million will go towards the third stage of a reconstruction of Muirs Highway, west of Mount Barker, with work to be completed by Easter this year.
A further $2.68 million will be used to widen a section of the South Western Highway with work to be completed by April.
Southern Roads Services, established in 2006, is an integrated team from Main Roads WA and Road Care.
Road Care is a joint venture between FRH Group, a subsidiary of New Zealand company Fulton Hogan, and Pioneer Road Services, jointly owned by Hanson Group and Shell Australia.
The announcements are below:
Motorists travelling along Muirs Highway, west of Mount Barker, will be safer with the third stage of a reconstruction and widening program.
Transport Minister Simon O'Brien said the third stage would complete the upgrade of the Highway between the Hay River Bridge and Albany Highway.
Mr O'Brien said Southern Road Services had been awarded a $2.3million contract to complete the work from Mount Barker Estate to the Mount Barker bypass.
"The work is in addition to the recently completed widening works on the first and second stages of the Muirs Highway upgrade as well as widening on the Mount Barker northern bypass," he said.
"The project is designed to improve road safety and reduce road maintenance costs.
"The project will involve upgrading the existing road geometry, increasing the seal width and building a new underpass for local stock.
"The work is part of a strategy to improve Muirs Highway which has experienced increased traffic movements from the expanding timber operations and tourist growth."
The works are due to be completed by Easter 2009.
A 1.4km section of South Western Highway, south of Balingup townsite, is being widened to make it safer for the mix of heavy and light traffic using the busy route.
Transport Minister, Simon O'Brien, said Southern Roads Services had been awarded a $2.68million contract to carry out the works on the Padbury Hill section of the Highway.
Mr O'Brien said the 1.4km section currently had narrow gravel shoulders and was not built to current Australian Standards.
"This type of road environment has an increased crash risk for road users compared to roads built to current standards," Mr O'Brien said.
"This can lead to significantly higher social and economic costs to the Western Australian community.
"Trucks descending the hill in the northbound lane also create a significant delay for other vehicles travelling behind, leading to some motorists taking risks and overtaking unsafely in the southbound overtaking lane.
"The objective of this project is to improve safety by widening the road to provide a 16 metre-wide seal.
"This will provide four traffic lanes to allow safe overtaking opportunities in both directions as well as one metre-wide sealed shoulders."
The Minister said the project included significant earthworks followed by construction of a new pavement layer, sealing, guardrail installation and new signs and linemarking.
"The South Western Highway is an important route servicing the communities south of Bunbury, including the industries that operate in the region," he said.
The construction works commence later this month and are expected to be completed by April 2009.
