Minister for Transport, Troy Buswell, officially opened the twin bridges on Reid Highway on Friday 15 April 2011. Traffic was diverted onto the new alignment later in the day.
“The $40.6million project has been built on time and on budget, and from today two newly-constructed bridges will carry Reid Highway traffic over Alexander Drive,” Mr Buswell said.
In its previous configuration, the intersection of Reid Highway and Alexander Drive was Western Australia’s most notorious black spot, costing the community some $10m over the last five years in road crashes. In the 10 years to the end of 2010, the Reid Highway and Alexander Drive intersection was the site of 719 crashes. Twelve people were seriously injured and another 121 people received medical attention.
“More than 86,000 people use this intersection each day and their experience will now be vastly improved through less congestion, reduced delays and improved safety, Mr Buswell explained. “This project will also ensure this intersection has the capacity to handle the expected growth in traffic over the next two decades.”
The land required to build the Reid Highway overpass has been reserved in Western Australia’s Metropolitan Region Scheme since the 1960s. The new interchange has been constructed in a traditional ‘diamond’ layout, and includes two separate bridges along Reid Highway over Alexander Drive – leaving space in between to provide future public transport facilities. It will also include signalised southern and northern on and off ramps.
In addition, Alexander Drive has been widened to provide a double southbound right turn to Reid Highway westbound and a bus lane in each direction through both sets of traffic signals. Wide, sealed shoulders along Reid Highway are provided for safe, on-road cycling and vehicle breakdown while noise walls and visual intrusion barriers, including landscaping, are being used to maintain the amenity of the area. The Federal Government contributed $10million to the project.
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