A ROAD that has recorded 236 crashes in the past five years is among those the City of Swan says needs a major upgrade, and it wants the Federal Government to help.
The City wants an 8.4km stretch of Gnangara Road to become a dual carriageway so it can cope with increasing traffic. More than 24,000 vehicles travel the road each day and traffic is expected to grow by 7 per cent a year.
The City has formed an alliance with 24 of Australia’s fastest growing municipalities, which it hopes will reap benefits, such as the Gnangara Road upgrade, for its burgeoning population.
With the City’s population expected to grow by almost 80,000 people to more than 190,000 over the next 20 years, it has joined other local governments facing similar growth dilemmas to lobby the Federal Government for funding as part of the National Growth Areas Alliance.
Swan Deputy Mayor Mick Wainwright said the City was among municipalities who established the NGAA prior to the 2007 Federal election.
“We need to have a combined voice in Canberra to lobby for funding for infrastructure to manage this growth,” he said.
Cr Wainwright said the Urban Growth Corridor, a 1100ha area west of the Swan Valley, would be a major residential growth area, while West Swan, Caversham and Albion would provide significant new housing, along with continued growth in Ellenbrook.
To accommodate this growth, the City could also seek funding for an extension of Hepburn Avenue, the Perth-Darwin Highway, a dual carriageway on Reid Highway between West Swan and Beechboro roads and a rail link to Ellenbrook.
“These road infrastructure projects represent major investments well beyond the financial capacity of the City of Swan,” he said.
“If external funding is not obtained from either State or Federal funding sources, these important projects cannot proceed.”