A NUMBER of agreements entered into between the state government and local governments have signalled a renewal of WA’s local road network.
A NUMBER of agreements entered into between the state government and local governments have signalled a renewal of WA’s local road network.
A new five-year funding arrangement will see local governments share in $145 million in road funding from the state, with that figure set to rise to $177 million by 2016.
The new State Road Funds to Local Government Agreement has been signed by Transport Minister Troy Buswell and Western Australian Local Government Association president Troy Pickard.
“An important benefit of an agreement such as this, is that councils will have the confidence of planning road maintenance and improvements into the future, knowing there is a guaranteed source of funds to complete the task,” Mr Buswell said.
The funding will be spent maintaining and improving local roads, which cover a distance of about 130,000 kilometres.
An agreement for state road maintenance work for the next five years was recently formalised between the government and six Mid West shires.
Mr Buswell said the government had reached an agreement with the shires of Coorow, Mingenew, Morawa, Mullewa, Perenjori and Three Springs, whereby they would share in an average of $1.5 million worth of works each year on roads in the region.
“The shires will deliver minor road improvements, some routine maintenance and litter collection across more than 640 kilometres of state-owned roads,” Mr Buswell said.
The collaborative arrangement formed a model for other future agreements between the state and local governments for the delivery of road maintenance in other regions, he said.
Meanwhile, work has started on the $350 million upgrade of Great Eastern Highway between Kooyong Road and Tonkin Highway.
The contract was awarded to the City East Alliance, made up of Leighton Contractors, NRW and GHD in November of last year for the construction of a six-lane configuration over the 4.2-kilometre stretch of the highway between Rivervale and Redcliffe.
Mr Buswell said the work to widen and upgrade the highway would be conducted using a progressive construction method to minimise the extent of disruption to motorists.
