A billion-dollar contract has been awarded to a consortium of industry heavyweights to extend the Tonkin Highway by 14 kilometres, with works scheduled to start in a matter of months.
A billion-dollar contract has been awarded to a consortium of industry heavyweights to extend the Tonkin Highway by 14 kilometres, with works scheduled to start in a matter of months.
By Connor McGoverne
January 30, 2025 — 6.17pm
A billion-dollar contract has been awarded to a consortium of industry heavyweights to extend the Tonkin Highway by 14 kilometres, with works scheduled to start in a matter of months, WAToday and 9News Perth can reveal.
Both the state and federal Labor governments have promised faster travel times and safer driving conditions, once a four-lane dual carriageway from Thomas Road down to the South Western Highway has been completed by late 2028.
Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said it was the biggest road infrastructure project to be undertaken in Perth’s southeast corridor.
“It will be a major project that takes trucks and cars off the South Western Highway and creates a freight corridor in this area,” Saffioti told WAToday and 9News Perth.
“The roads were built to rural standards, and now we’re seeing heavy commuter traffic, heavy logistics traffic, so we’ve seen an incredible number of trucks and commuters as the suburb of Byford in particular has grown exponentially.”
The contract for the extension has been awarded to the Tonkin Extension Alliance, which is a consortium including BMD, Civcon Civil and Project Management, Georgiou Group, BG&E, and GHD.
More than 4,400 direct and indirect jobs would be created; however, the Cook government came under fire when it was revealed construction workers would receive mandated pay rates 25 per cent higher than industry standard as part of a trial to tackle worker exploitation.
The cost of the project has been split 70-30 between Canberra and the WA government.
Once upgrades are complete, commuters are expected to save five minutes of travel time.
It will also benefit the Byford, Armadale, Kelmscott and Gosnells communities which currently contend with heavy vehicles and traffic on local roads.
“It makes a really big difference to everyday life, whether it’s dropping the kids at school, coming into the city, this is a game-changing project,” Federal Member for Burt Matt Keogh said.
Works are expected to begin mid-year.
Locals have long complained of the road network being unable to cope with the increased population growth.
The area was also the site of a fatal car crash in July last year, when a 26-year-old man’s car was T-boned by a truck on his way home from work at a fast-food restaurant.
Connor McGoverne is a reporter for 9 News Perth who specialises in state politics.
Discover more from World Byte News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
