Armadale Road Upgrade

 Armadale Road is a strategic freight route connecting the South West and the South East

corridors. It serves as one of the main east-west links within the Perth metropolitan transport
network connecting the Armadale Sub-regional centre and Albany Highway west to the
Kwinana Freeway, forming part of the route to the Fremantle Port. The link passes through
industrial areas, rural subdivisions and recently developed residential subdivisions, and
borders various environmentally sensitive reserves.
This business case recommends the State Government construct a two lane second
carriageway for 6.96 km between Anstey Road and Tapper Road and associated works at an
estimated project cost of $145.4 million at P50 level. Funding to the P50 outturn project cost
level ($145.4 million) has been considered adequate for the proposed project scope, given
the current competitive nature of the road construction market and the downturn in
construction activities in Western Australia.
This section of Armadale Road is experiencing increasing volumes of traffic and associated
congestion, delay and safety issues attributable to the increasing number of residential
developments in the area and industrial developments at Forrestdale.
The 6.96 kilometre section of Armadale Road between Anstey Road and Tapper Road is
deficient in catering for increasing volumes of traffic. The recommended capacity for single
lane roads is 8,000 vehicles per day. Traffic volumes on this section currently varies from
17,895 vehicles per day between Anstey Rd and Warton Rd to 27,500 vehicles per day
between Warton Rd and Tapper Rd. Traffic volumes are expected to grow to 29,000 vehicles
per day between Anstey Road and Warton Road 40,000 vehicles per day between Warton
Road and Tapper Road by 2021, an annual growth rate of 5 per cent. This will place
increasing pressure on the route, reducing service standards and compounding delays for
commercial vehicles and commuters.
Three options were evaluated to address the efficiency and safety issues on Armadale Road:
 Base Case – continue with the current ongoing maintenance schedule. This option
will cost the community through traffic delays, vehicle operating expenses and crash
related costs.
 Option 1 – address the congestion issues by diverting traffic to alternative routes,
providing road safety barriers, road treatments or grade separating intersections. This
option is a short-term solution to address safety issues with limited capacity benefits
and efficiency gains.
 Option 2 – construct a 6 lane dual carriageway from Anstey Road to Tapper Road.
This is the ultimate configuration for the Armadale Road, but is not recommended at
this time as it is anticipated a 4 lane dual carriageway for the project length will be fit
for purpose.
 Option 3 (Recommended) – construct a dual carriageway along the deficient section
of Armadale Road. The south metropolitan area will continue to be the focus of urban
developments to support increasing population and economic growth in Perth. The delivery of this road upgrade will supply additional traffic lanes and help to ease
congestion and safety issues along this section of road. This option is estimated to
cost $145.4 million with additional maintenance funding of $110,000 per annum

required from 2018-19 onwards and is expected to create economic benefits to the
order of $940 million for road users discounted over 30 years.
The recommended option involves construction of a second carriageway between Anstey
Road and Tapper Road; various upgrade works at 4 intersections; construction of Principal
Shared Path; street lighting and drainage; provision of two metre sealed shoulders; and
significant service relocations. The project is expected to yield private and commercial travel
time savings of $637 million, vehicle operating cost savings of $268 million and crash cost
savings of $35 million. A preliminary benefit cost ratio of 6.07 has been calculated based on
a 7% discount rate.
This project contributes to the State Government’s moving freight strategies by providing
infrastructure that supports economic development within the south west and south east
corridors of the Metropolitan area, especially industrial areas at Jandakot and Forrestdale by
improving a strategic link in the freight route.
Tenders for the project delivery could be awarded in 2018, with completion in 2019-20.
Main Roads Western Australia and the Transport Portfolio have prioritised this proposal for
investment and recommends that the Department of Treasury endorse this proposal for
funding in the 2016-17 State Budget