6/1/98
Transport Minister Eric Charlton said today the State Government would allocate special funding to the Town of Kwinana for design works on a key section of the proposed Rockingham-Fremantle Transitway.
He said the Town of Kwinana would be allocated $14,000 to incorporate design for part of a future transitway in the Gilmore Avenue extension linking Kwinana and Rockingham.
The Gilmore Avenue extension is expected to start in March and be completed in July this year.
"Technical officers from the City of Fremantle, Cockburn and Rockingham have worked with Kwinana and various Government agencies to reach consensus on the ultimate alignment, station locations and staging priorities for the transitway," Mr Charlton said.
The transitway section alongside the Gilmore Avenue extension is expected to be the first section of the special purpose-built rapid transport corridor linking the major centres of Rockingham and Fremantle.
"The initial section of transitway between Rockingham and Kwinana will provide major benefits for residents in both centres who now do not have a direct public transport link," the Minister said.
"By incorporating the design work in the Gilmore Avenue project, we will be saving costs and ensuring that the Transitway will be built quickly and efficiently when funding is identified and a construction date set."
Mr Charlton said there was currently no direct bus service between Rockingham and Kwinana, with people now having to transfer at the outlying Kwinana Bus Station.
Travel time between the two centres was expected to be reduced to just 13-16 minutes when the Transitway came into operation.
Mr Charlton said Transport was currently preparing a masterplan for the Rockingham-Fremantle Transitway, undertaking environmental impact assessment, preliminary design, updated travel forecasting, community consultation and refined cost estimates and staging.
Media contact: Doug Cunningham 9321 7333
