A PROPOSED bridge that would provide access to vacant land owned by ECU has been given more time for construction to begin.
The bridge at Lot 100 Joondalup Drive, which is part of the Public Transport Authority’s (PTA) railway reserve that accommodates train and power lines, aims to extend Injune Way and link with the vacant land at 350 Hodges Drive.
It will cross the train line and provide two-way vehicle and pedestrian access to the Hodges Drive site.
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READ NOWThe train line will be accommodated by two tunnels, with the design also including protection screens and balustrades to limit access to the line.
Joondalup council conditionally approved the proposal in October 2016 but because construction had not “substantially commenced” within two years, the approval had lapsed.
A two-year extension was then submitted to the council at last month’s meeting, which was unanimously approved.
Historically, the vacant land had been identified as a potential site for a new City depot.
As part of this, it was identified a bridge was required to access the site, with vehicle access not possible from Hodges Drive.
However, the depot was instead developed at the Water Corporation’s Beenyup site.
LandCorp then sold the land to ECU with a condition LandCorp would construct the bridge.
According to the council document, LandCorp is in the final stages of appointing a contractor and it is intended to start works shortly.
It said the delays were due to the time taken to secure necessary agreements with the PTA and Main Roads.
The approval timeframe has been extended to August 2021.
Previous approval conditions including restricting access to the bridge until development of the Hodges Drive site has started remain in place.
Mayor Albert Jacob said he was “very supportive” of the approval, saying the site was the “last and most important strategic parcels of land in the City that is not residential land”, with a prime location between the freeway and train line.
