Main Roads’ congestion projects vary in scale and type

Main Roads has delivered a number of construction projects and operational improvements that have specifically addressed traffic congestion. The projects included:

• building additional road capacity:
  • a third traffic lane in both directions through the Graham Farmer Freeway Tunnel
  • an extra lane to the Mitchell Freeway northbound, from the Tunnel to Hutton Street
  • a third lane to the Mitchell Freeway northbound between Hepburn Avenue and Hodges Drive
  • additional lanes on the Kwinana Freeway southbound from Leach Highway to Roe Highway
• providing improved traffic management capability in and around the CBD; the Active Traffic Management initiative, the Incident Response Service to assist broken down vehicles and the Towing Contract to remove vehicles illegally parked in clearways
• coordinating road works in and around the CBD
• traffic metering signals on the Point Lewis roundabout (Mounts Bay Road and Narrows Bridge interchange) to manage congestion in peak hours
• optimising the performance of traffic signals along sections of Canning Highway.

Main Roads is progressing a number of other initiatives under its Traffic Congestion Management Strategy (Appendix 2), which it developed in 2013. These projects cover many areas, from phone apps for road users to adding road capacity.

Projects were delivered under budget, within reasonable timeframes and had the desired local impact

We looked at eight projects that Main Roads had identified as specifically addressing congestion. Five of these were included in the Traffic Congestion Management Strategy. The other three were ‘badged’ as congestion projects (Table 3), but did not form part of the strategy. Overall, the eight projects were mostly completed or are expected to be completed on or under budget and delivered close to the expected timeframes, although we note that the Kwinana Freeway widening took nearly six months longer than expected to complete. This was because additional work pushed the project into winter, which slowed road works. Despite a general lack of post project evaluation, we were able to verify that completed projects had their desired impact of reducing congestion on parts of the local network and within the CBD. The eight projects included infrastructure projects and initiatives to improve the efficiency of the existing road network.

With an annual operating budget of around $1.6 billion, practically all Main Roads’ infrastructure and operational choices will impact congestion. However, projects specifically designed to address congestion make up a very small fraction of this budget. The eight projects we examined totalled $141 million over two years. Of these, the three freeway projects totalled $139 million and were cost shared with the Commonwealth. Only the Canning Highway traffic light optimisation project was funded solely through Main Roads. The Perth Parking Fund provided funding for the other projects. Fund money can only be spent on activities affecting the City of Perth.

All the projects had a business case, and all infrastructure projects included a benefit cost analysis and predicted return on investment. Linking project business cases to traffic congestion management objectives and priorities will help to demonstrate value for money and provide assurance that resources are directed to areas of greatest need.

We were able to verify that individual projects had achieved immediate desired outcomes. Main Roads measured and evaluated the effects of the freeway expansions, which showed improved travel outcomes. The changes to freeway travel following the addition of extra lanes has been noted above. The changes to the Point Lewis roundabout have reduced queues and hold ups where Mounts Bay Road meets the Narrows Bridges. The Incident Response service has dealt with many incidents on the freeways and interchanges minimising traffic disruptions. The coordination of traffic signals on Canning Highway has improved travel times and flow. These limited post project evaluations are important and help identify lessons for future congestion projects.