Source : BUSINESS NEWS
Opposition leader Peter Dutton has pledged $112 million to duplicate congestion-riddled Shelley Bridge, picking up the promise made by the the Liberal Party of WA ahead of the recent the state election.
After laying out his $21 billion defence plan in Perth, the Liberal Party leader made the election sweetener to ease traffic and improve safety on the stretch of Leach Highway; a commitment previously made by former WA Liberal leader, now deputy, Libby Mettam.
In making the $112.5 million commitment, the Liberals claimed Labor had neglected critical infrastructure in Western Australia.
“In fact, they have cut $2.4 billion of infrastructure funding to WA over the next four years in the budget,” a party spokesperson said.
The federal budget handed down in March outlined that WA would receive 2 per cent of the $17.1 billion spend on road and rail infrastructure over the next 10 years.
Mr Dutton said the Coalition was stepping up to deliver the infrastructure the state needed after years of wasteful mismanagement by Labor.
“Shelley Bridge has been a long-standing bottleneck for local residents and commuters travelling between Fremantle and Perth Airport. This investment will ease congestion, improve traffic flow, and make local roads safer,” he said.
“Only the Coalition can deliver the infrastructure that growing communities like Tangney and Swan deserve.”
Liberal candidate for Tangney, Howard Ong, said about 50,000 vehicles crossed the bridge daily and the bottleneck was causing major delays.
“Residents in Shelley, Riverton and Wilson deal with daily traffic headaches and dangerous near misses,” he said.
“This duplication is a much-needed solution for a community that’s been overlooked for too long.”
In terms of infrastructure and transport promises along the campaign trail, the Labor Party has pledged to spend $60 million expanding Perth’s ferry network.
But housing commitments have been the flavour of both major parties’ campaigns, with a re-elected Labor government committing $10 billion to build 100,000 homes.
The Liberals have offered first homebuyers tax-deductible mortgage interest payments on the first $650,000 should it gain power after the May 3 poll.
