Lord Street upgrade issues raised

Opposition transport spokeswoman and West Swan MLA Rita Saffioti called for greater certainty and funding for Lord Street.

She said there had been uncertainty about the future of Lord Street since the State Government changed the alignment of the Perth-Darwin Highway away from Lord Street in 2012.

The reservation for the original Perth-Darwin Highway alignment alongside Lord Street had been in place since 1994.

Massive growth in the suburbs surrounding Lord Street – Brabham, Dayton and Caversham – has seen 6000 new residents in the last five years. A further 25,000 are expected by 2036.

In the same time, Ellenbrook, The Vines and Aveley have grown by about 10,000 residents.

“We have seen massive growth in this area in a very short time frame and the streets are not able to accommodate that massive growth,” Ms Saffioti told Parliament.

“We cannot let these small rural roads try to accommodate the thousands of cars using them daily.

“This area already faces public transport issues with no train line into the area, and it has been put to me that the time needed to access the Bassendean train station from Ellenbrook is now becoming problematic because of the congestion on Lord Street.”

City of Swan has also written to Mr Nalder requesting certainty around the timing and funding for a four-lane upgrade of Lord Street.

Other road projects in the area are already in the pipeline.

The Perth-Darwin National Highway project is expected to be completed in December 2019, while the four-lane Henley Brook Avenue extension to Reid Highway will start within two years.

Mr Nalder acknowledged the re-alignment of the Perth-Darwin National Highway created a need to build a new dual-carriageway road on the old alignment (Lord Street) to service the growth in the area.

“Although no funding is allocated to the City of Swan for an upgrade of Lord Street in the current financial year, the strategic importance of the Lord Street corridor is recognised,” he said.

He added that the Transport Department was undertaking a review of transport requirements along the corridor.