Freo mayor welcomes $350m port connection promise

by Meagan Brady

May 2, 2008

A FEDERAL government election promise of $350 million to be spent on improving road and rail connections servicing Fremantle Port has received the thumbs up from Fremantle’s mayor.

Port Fremantle has been growing at an annual rate of 10 per cent, which has caused an increase in truck activity on High Street.

Freo mayor Peter Tagliaferri said the money would help relieve the city’s traffic problems.

“I’m not sure how the money is going to be spent exactly but all funding will be beneficial for the City of Fremantle,” Mr Tagliaferri said. “It is the first time the federal government has spent that kind of money on Fremantle since the railway loop two years ago.”

The Feds want some of the money to go toward building a ‘state-of-the-art’ industrial area and intermodal terminal network in Kewdale.

“The intermodal terminal network will be an important part of improving the port infrastructure because currently trucks are travelling with empty loads from Kewdale,” Mr Tagliaferri explained. “The terminal will allow trucks to drop of empty containers, reducing the number of trips for trucks.”

The need for the terminal has been acknowledged by WA’s planning department since 2002 and a temporary container depot was built in June 2005 to handle the increase in port activity.

Controversially, the federal government wants some of the money to be spent on widening the dual carriageway on Leach Highway between Carrington Street to Stirling Highway.

“We don’t support widening the dual carriage way,” Mr Tagliaferri said. “The proposed plan will see the road gradient changed to allow trucks to do 70km per hour on High Street, which is a good thing engineering-wise but not a good thing for residents living near the road.”