The Armadale Rd & North Lake Bridge Interchange Project and How it Could Affect You

Cockburn Central is a major community hub, South of the River. Linking major industrial areas with the activity hub that includes the new Dockers Home Ground and Cockburn Arc, the Cockburn Central Train Station, Cockburn Gateways and residential suburbs, there is a significant level of regional traffic that frequents the area. Currently, the only direct way to get through to these areas is via the Armadale Rd/Beeliar Dr Kwinana freeway exit, making it highly congested and tedious to travel through in peak times.

If you’re a part of the East Cockburn community (Atwell, Aubin Grove, Banjup, Treeby etc…), you’ll be particularly familiar with the nightmare drive over the Kwinana Freeway from Tapper Rd to the North Lake Rd and Beeliar Drive intersection.

But there is light at the end of tunnel (over the bridge)! In May 2017, a much-needed infrastructure project was announced as part of a $2.3 billion-dollar Commonwealth and State Government funded investment into road and rail infrastructure. The Armadale Rd and North Lake Bridge Interchange Project was dedicated $237 million-dollars to oversee its development.

Source: Main Roads Slideshow (pp. 3)

Currently, the project includes the construction of a bridge over Kwinana Freeway that connects Armadale Rd to North Lake Rd, as well as the construction of another bridge on Armadale Rd through the Solomon Rd and Tapper Rd intersections to provide free flowing traffic lanes. Planned roundabouts are proposed to retain full connectivity at these intersections.

Two options are under discussion now: Option A, which proposes a bridge that passes over Tapper and Solomon Rd; and Option B, which proposes a bridge that passes over Tapper, but passes under Solomon Rd. 

The project, which seeks to divert regional traffic out of the core area of the activity centre, hopes to contribute towards the evolution and development of Cockburn Central. 

So what does it mean for you, as a local? Well, the Cockburn Planning Council proposed the following outcomes:

·         An increased accessibility to the Cockburn Train Station and Kwinana Freeway

·         Reduced traffic congestion within the activity centre

·         Optimisation of investments and implementation of the Cockburn Central Activity Structure Plan (2015) to create new developments and opportunities for job growth

·         Ability to cater for population increase in the Cockburn area

·         (Option A) Better visibility for local businesses in the eastern construction area

·         (Option A) Better pedestrian connectivity between Atwell and the retail area of South Central

Source: Main Roads Slide Show (pp. 2)

As Cockburn locals, we are looking forward to the proposed changes and what it’ll mean for our local clients and the future development of the area.

At Select, we make finance simple. For updates or to have your say, visit the Mainroads of Western Australia website, or the Cockburn Council Planning website.

Sources:

Main Roads Western Australia. (2018). Armadale Road to North Lake Road Bridge. Retrieved from here

City of Cockburn. (2018). Cockburn Central East Structure Plan. Retrieved from here