Chester Pass shares in road funds

The Albany-Lake Grace Road will receive an $11 million upgrade as part of a funding package for WA regional roads announced on Wednesday by the Federal and State governments.

The $55.25 million Regional Road Safety package involves 16 projects based on the risk of crash and road safety audits.

The Albany-Lake Grace Road is also referred to as Chester Pass Road and functions as a heavy tourist route. The funding will focus on improving curves, upgrading intersections and rebuilding the two bridges associated with the bends known as “Amelup Curves”.

RAC corporate affairs general manager Will Golsby said last year 60 per cent of road fatalities occurred in regional WA.

“This funding acknowledges the urgent need to address the devastating impact of road trauma in our regions,” Mr Golsby said.

“Twenty years ago, WA had the lowest fatality rate of any State — since 2006, we have consistently been one of the worst,

“Over the past five years alone, road trauma has cost the WA economy more than $2.8 billion.”

State Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said the projects selected had been prioritised based on factors such as economy of scale, deliverability and cost effectiveness.

“The upgrades will include improvements to major regional routes such as the South Western Highway, Railway Road, Indian Ocean Drive, Brand Highway, Great Northern Highway and the North West Coastal Highway,” Ms Saffioti said.

In 2016, 195 people were killed and 1500 were seriously injured on WA roads.

The Federal Government has committed $44.2 million and the WA Government has committed $11.05 million to fund the Regional Road Safety package.

The upgrades will take place between 2017-18 and 2019-20.