Cost blowouts put SW ring-road in doubt

Bunbury drivers will be forced to share the road with heavy vehicles indefinitely as serious doubts have emerged over a much-needed alternative trucking route.

The State Government says the Bunbury Outer Ring Road, planned to bypass Bunbury and direct trucks away from built-up residential areas, is a priority project.

However, the plan appears to be in jeopardy after claims the cost estimates for the final two stages of the project have blown out to $800 million for about 17km of road - which equates to about $50 million for each kilometre - making it one of the most expensive road infrastructure projects in WA.

This will put pressure on attempts to lobby the Federal Government to fund part of the project, which was estimated to cost about $600 million.

South West Express chief executive officer Mark Mazza warned the project needed to be finished because trucks would be forced to use the built-up roads of Bussell Highway and Robertson Drive.

He said truck drivers were sharing the roads with drivers from Dalyellup, Capel and College Grove, but the transport industry did not want to use these routes because it put the safety of drivers at risk.

"An increasing population in that corridor will be forced to contend on a daily basis with heavy vehicles," Mr Mazza said.

"There is no choice - to supply Busselton and Margaret River it has to be done.

"This (the Outer Ring Road project) should have been done 30 years ago and it would not cost $800 million."

Forrest MHR Nola Marino and Bunbury Wellington Economic Alliance chief executive officer Matt Granger both said they did not understand the reasoning for the cost blowout, especially as the cooling mining industry had decreased construction costs.

"I am aware that the costings proposed for the remaining stages two and three of the Bunbury Outer Ring Road have purportedly blown out but I find it difficult to believe that the last 17km of road will cost nearly $50 million per kilometre to build," Mrs Marino said.

"I would hope that with the mining industry ending its construction boom and entering the production phase, the cost for road construction across the State will return to a more reasonable level, and I would like to see the project re-costed."

The Outer Ring Road was identified as a key project in the South West Regional Blueprint, designed to cater for the region's growing population.

Editorial, page 12