New road safety projects across WA fast-tracked towards construction

About 58 new road safety projects are going to be fast-tracked towards delivery across the State as the Australian and Western Australian Governments commit $100 million to get these vital projects completed within the 2021-22 financial year. 

This new funding injection is in addition to the joint funding announced as part of the Road Safety Program that accelerated the delivery of 69 road safety projects in Western Australia. 

“This brings the Australian Government’s total commitment to WA to over $230 million through our $3 billion nationwide Road Safety Program. 

“Our Government is committed to keeping our communities safe, while securing our economic recovery – because investing in these infrastructure upgrades and jobs now will lay the foundations for a better future tomorrow. 

“The funding supports the fast roll-out of life-saving works on rural and regional roads, and is another example of the Australian Government working to reduce the number of Australians mission around the dinner table due to tragedies on our roads,” Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Barnaby Joyce said. 

In addition to reducing fatalities as well as serious injuries on the roads, these projects will also support the creation of jobs and provide a boost to the local economy. 

The new projects are anticipated to support approximately 470 jobs across Western Australia. 

“Upgrades include delivering critical road widening, shoulder sealing, rumble strips to alert drivers they are moving out of their lane and wide centre line treatments on high-risk roads across the state. 

“These works will reduce crashes, while also providing a much-needed boost to local economies and supporting local jobs. With these new projects, up to 7,000 kilometres of regional roads will have been given these much-needed treatments by mid-2022,” Western Australia Minister for Transport and Planning Rita Saffioti said. 

Delivering safer roads across the country has been a key priority for the Australian Government and about $1.5 billion has already been provided through the Road Safety Program for crucial road safety improvements and shovel-ready projects nationwide. 

“Making our roads safer is a critical component of our work to reduce deaths and serious injuries on our roads and move towards achieving vision zero – that is zero deaths or serious injuries on our roads by 2050. 

“We are also investing significantly in other life-saving road safety initiatives including the Black Spot Program, Targeted Road Safety Works initiative and the Road Safety Innovation Fund. 

“This additional funding complements that work, resulting in an even greater roll-out of improved infrastructure and roads that are building a more resilient Australia,” Federal Assistant Minister for Road Safety and Freight Transport Scott Buchholz said. 

Funding through the Road Safety Program is subject to ‘use it or lose it’ provision that require states and territories to utilise their notionally allocated funds within a certain timeframe. If the funds are not used within the given timeframe, it will be reallocated to projects in other jurisdictions. 

The Road Safety Program aims to deliver life-saving treatments on regional roads to help protect vulnerable motorists across Western Australia and the country while, at the same time, supporting local jobs and providing a boost to local economies. 

Source: Government of Western Australia – Media Statements; Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development