The City of Busselton will benefit from a $1.25 million funding injection from the Australian Government’s Bridges Renewal Program.
This funding will be directed toward the development of a duplicated bridge across the Vasse River linking the increasingly busy Causeway Road with Peel Terrace (between Stanley Place and Camilleri Street).
The bridge will provide direct access for vehicles travelling to the CBD, Busselton Foreshore and East Busselton area.
The linking of Causeway Road to Peel Terrace will divert traffic away from the Victoria Square intersection significantly easing congestion in and around the town centre.
The bridge development is an integral component of the Eastern Link project - one of several local road modification options endorsed by council for implementation in the short, medium and longterm.
Extensive traffic modelling undertaken as part of the Busselton Traffic Study identified the Eastern Link development as being the most cost effective option offering the most immediate positive impact on current and future traffic flow and the best environmental outcomes.
The bridge component will allow duplicated vehicle crossing over the Vasse River utilising the old railway embankment.
It will provide an alternative crossing to the existing bridge located at the intersection of Peel and Queen Street and a much-needed alternate evacuation route in the event of a major emergency.
The bridge structure will be in keeping with the river setting and design features will provide a landmark entrance to the Busselton town centre.
The City of Busselton will contribute a further $2.5 million toward the Eastern Link project. Subject to relevant agency approval, Eastern Link is expected to commence in 2018 and is likely to take six to nine months to complete.
Other components of the project include the installation of two new roundabouts – one of which will provide access to the bridge off Peel Terrace, the second will be on Causeway Road adjacent to Rosemary Street.
City of Busselton mayor Grant Henley said the funding announcement has been extremely well received.
“With this generous cash injection now in hand, we hope to commence development of this critically important piece of road infrastructure as soon as possible.”
The Preston River Bridge has also received $1.8 million in funding.
