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Anger at road extension delay

Jon BassettWestern Suburbs Weekly

"It's appalling that this long-planned project, around which the council has tried to accommodate its forward residential planning for the past four to five years, is now slipping further into the future," Mr Norris said. He said that when Main Roads WA previously sought opinion on the project, his council had not been told it may need to help fund the extension through to the Curtin Avenue truck and commuter route.

The extension would also solve the "accident waiting to happen" at Victoria Street, where a train hit a truck on March 5.

After the crash, a Main Roads spokeswoman said $40 million "allocated" by the State Government to realign Curtin Avenue included extending Wellington Street under the railway line and closing the level crossing by mid-2019.

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The money is not in the 2014-15 State Budget, but a Main Roads spokeswoman said Curtin Avenue was a local government road and Wellington Street's extension would be in Main Roads� "delivery of services" between 2016-17 and 2018-19.

"At this stage, the Wellington Street extension is a proposal to be confirmed in future discussions between the State Government and the local council," she said.

Transport Minister Dean Nalder said $40 million "committed" from 2016-17 to 2018-19 to realign Curtin Avenue included an "option" to extend Wellington Street and remove the level crossing.

Mr Nalder said the extension would be a local road, so the Government would contribute to the cost of the project.

Opposition transport spokesman Ken Travers said "delivery of services" indicated the Wellington Street project would also be designated a local road, to which the council would have to contribute funds.

Mr Travers said he could not find the extension in Main Roads� 10-Year Asset Plan and Victoria Street was not listed in a Department of Transport August 2013 schedule of crossings to be shut by 2031.

�A long-term infrastructure plan should include the orderly removal of dangerous level crossings, based on the benefit-cost ratio for each project,” Mr Travers said.