McGowan claims Perth Freight Link will create ‘chaos’ as cars crash in front of him

A THREE-CAR crash happened as Opposition Leader Mark McGowan claimed the State Government was causing “chaos” by proposing a $360 million Perth Freight Link (PFL) tunnel only to East Fremantle.

Mr McGowan said the Government had to deal with North Fremantle congestion before 2026.

“It shows just how bad traffic congestion is around North Fremantle, and funnelling more and more trucks into the area with no road improvements is a recipe for disaster,” Mr McGowan said after the crash last Wednesday.

He said Transport Minister Dean Nalder’s admission, reported by the Western Suburbs Weekly, that the third stage would not be done for 10 years showed the Government was “making it up as it went along”.

It is proposed the second stage of the $1.9 billion, 16km truck toll route include a 3km tunnel emerging about 1km south of Stirling Bridge in East Fremantle, before a 2.5km third stage to widen the bridge and go through North Fremantle is considered for funding.

While spruiking Fremantle Port’s proposed $2 billion sale recently, the Government suggested a potential three-fold increase in port truck trips from about 740,000 to two million each year.

Some containers are hauled on trains but the rest on trucks use either North Fremantle’s Tydeman Road or Cottesloe’s Curtin Avenue.

“Premier Colin Barnett doesn’t know what he is doing, as a few months ago he said stages 2 and 3 of the PFL were not on his agenda, but now he’s saying stage 2 is, but stage 3 is off into the never-never,” Mr McGowan said.

He said while he had no immediate solution for the congestion, bad intersections and dangerous corners of Tydeman Road and Curtin Avenue, more freight on rail and restarting a new port in Kwinana were long-term solutions.

Mr Nalder said Mr McGowan was “scaremongering” and had no current way of reducing congestion and increasing road safety, but the PFL’s final stage would be built.

He said its planning and funding were not needed for “the next few years”, while the funded Roe 8 and the tunnel were constructed.

No one was injured in the crash caused when a car attempted to turn right where two lanes merged near Tydeman Road’s intersection with Queen Victoria Street.