Contractor Picked for $1bn Perth Highway Extension

The contract has been awarded for a  “gamechanger” highway extension in south-east Perth as the wider city prepares for a population explosion.

The Tonkin Extension Alliance consortium, made up of BMD, Civcon Civil and Project Management, Georgiou Group, BG&E, and GHD, has secured the $1-billion deal after a tender process late last year.

The Tonkin Highway Extension and Thomas Road Upgrade Project are to deliver a 14km extension to the Tonkin Highway, and will widen and duplicate a 4.5km stretch of Thomas Road between Kargotich Road and the South Western Highway. 

The project, which was in 2021 tipped to cost $505 million, includes a four-lane dual carriageway from Thomas Road to South Western Highway, with grade-separated interchanges, underpasses and roundabouts.

Recreational routes are also being planned—equine underpasses and a shared path along the entire extension.

The WA Government said the work would benefit communities at Byford, Armadale, Kelmscott and Gosnells, which currently contend with large volumes of heavy vehicles on roads travelling to and from the South-West and Wheatbelt regions.

▲ A map of the Tonkin Highway expansion project.

Construction is expected to begin towards the middle of this year ahead of completion in 2028.

The project is among new road and rail developments in WA costing an estimated $2.7 billion that include the METRONET Byford Rail Extension, supporting “one of Perth’s fastest growing communities” at Byford, which is expected to be home to 50,000 people during the next two decades.

WA transport minister Rita Saffioti said the extension was a “gamechanger” for freight transport in the South West and Wheatbelt. 

▲ The 81km Tonkin Highway, running north-south, is a major arterial road linking Perth Airport and Kewdale.

The Tonkin Highway Corridor provides passenger and freight access to major industrial and commercial areas, including Perth Airport, a primary intermodal facility at Kewdale, and strategic industrial areas.

According to business case evaluations, the population in Greater Perth’s south-east corridor is expected to grow by 120 per cent to 68,000 by 2036, while the Greater Perth area is expected to grow to a population of 3.5 million by 2050. 

And improved road connections will be vital for Greater Perth once the new container port at Kwinana is operational, taking major freight activities from Fremantle. The latter was last week endorsed for a 20,000-home vision to replace the former industrial usage of the area.