- McGowan Government delivers election commitment to Noranda residents
- Less traffic expected on Noranda's local roads on Lightning Park event days
- New ramp opens less than two years after community meeting in Noranda
A new direct exit ramp from Lightning Park to Reid Highway has opened to traffic, fulfilling a key McGowan Government election commitment.
The previous government permanently closed the access road from Lightning Park in late 2016, as part of the NorthLink WA project.
The closure of the original access road caused heavy congestion on residential streets and sparked safety concerns among local residents, who joined local members Amber-Jade Sanderson and Rita Saffioti to retain the slip road.
Local concerns prompted WA Labor to make an election commitment to alter NorthLink WA plans to include a slip road for commuters leaving Lightning Park.
The access ramp has been built as part of the revised NorthLink WA project, which is transforming the Tonkin Highway and Reid Highway intersection to a fast flowing freeway-to-freeway interchange.
The ramp, constructed with minimal environmental impact, will allow park traffic to exit Lightning Park directly, reducing the need for people to seek alternative exits via local roads through Noranda.
While the road is opened to traffic, some finishing works including asphalting and line marking will continue and any impacts will be minimised as much as possible.
As noted by Transport Minister Rita Saffioti:
"This was one of the first moves the McGowan Government made upon taking office, and I applaud the contractor and Main Roads for working with locals to find a solution to the issues caused by removing the original ramp.
"The new ramp solves issues of local congestion after park events by allowing attendees to leave via Reid Highway rather than through residential streets.
"This is a sensible solution delivering a good outcome for the local area."
As noted by Morley MLA Amber-Jade Sanderson:
"It has been almost two years since I held a community meeting with dozens of concerned Noranda residents, and I am proud this Government has delivered the solution we promised.
"Locals fought hard for the new exit ramp, which will maintain safe traffic flow out of the park following events as well as reducing congestion on local roads.
"These changes follow extensive community consultation and demonstrates a collaborative approach between the local community, council, State Government and the project team to achieve a positive outcome for all involved."
