Senator the Hon Mathias Cormann

Perth commuters will enjoy safer and faster travel with a major boost for the Perth Freight Link following the Federal Government’s agreement to the Western Australian Government’s request for additional funding for the second stage tunnel option.

The tunnel option offers improved productivity and safety benefits over the previously announced design of a surface upgrade of Stock Road and Leach Highway and will have less impact on residential and commercial properties.

A tunnel from the Stock/Winterfold Road intersection to the junction of Stirling Highway and High Street in Fremantle will now be incorporated into the Perth Freight Link project design. This is a major win for local residents and freight operators.

The Government has agreed to provide an extra $260.8 million for the cost of the tunnel, bringing its total commitment to $1.2 billion for the $1.9 billion Perth Freight Link.

Together with the Gateway WA and Northlink WA projects, the Perth Freight Link project will form part of an upgraded high standard freight connection from Muchea through the Perth urban area to Fremantle Port.

The Perth Freight Link will help drive stronger growth, more jobs and better community amenity, by getting our products to market at a lower cost, more safely and with less disruption to local communities along Perth's transport routes. It will:

• Create a new high-standard freight connection between the Roe Highway and the Fremantle Port, reducing transport costs and improving efficiency. 
• Facilitate the transport of freight along the metropolitan East-West freight corridor to Fremantle and between the city's key strategic industrial areas.
• Improve road safety and reduce the freight industry's impact on the community through greater segregation of freight and passenger vehicle movements along key urban arterial roads.
• And support 2,400 direct jobs and 10,000 jobs indirectly.

Following reconfirmation of the full project by the West Australian Government, this commitment will allow planning work for Stage Two to progress, including finalising the tender process and progressing through environmental approvals.

Out of 93 infrastructure priority projects identified by Infrastructure Australia around the country, the Perth Freight Link project is the highest priority project nationally yet to begin construction.

We stand ready to work with the Western Australian Government to get this done as quickly as possible as a key initiative to help Western Australia work through the current economic transition and to invest in future economic success.