Ms Saffioti said the State Government could not afford to delay road infrastructure projects to the north-eastern corridor any longer.
‘There is now a new Transport Minister so maybe this Minister will do the right thing and construct the overpass as soon as possible,’ she said.
‘Traffic congestion at the intersection of Reid Highway and Malaga Drive is at breaking point, as are so many roads in my electorate of West Swan.
Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE
Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.
READ NOW‘The Barnett Government simply cannot delay road infrastructure projects in Perth’s north-eastern corridor any longer.’
Main Roads WA last month began the tender process for works to begin further west along Reid Highway, with optional works for the Malaga intersection included, although under deferred funding.
Ms Saffioti said the State Government needed to open the work on the overpass to full tender and allocate funding for the project in next month’s budget.
‘Local commuters as well as local businesses, especially in the Malaga commercial district, are feeling increased time pressures, as well as real economic impacts, from traffic congestion in the area,’ she said.
‘And the Reid Highway-Malaga Drive intersection is the worst intersection of them all.’
Transport Minister Dean Nalder said it was not possible to speculate on funding within next month’s budget and criticised Labor for not taking action on the issue when it was in power.
‘The fact is that during two terms of Labor Government, serious safety concerns on Reid Highway were ignored,’ he said.
‘For years, the intersections of Reid Highway, Alexander Drive and Reid Highway-Mirrabooka Avenue were amongst the top crash sites in the metropolitan area.’
Mr Nalder said the State Government had poured more than $180 million into road infrastructure in the area.