Arabic version: كوينانا تواجه سنوات من اضطراب الطرق

According to ABC News, Kwinana is preparing for what industry representatives describe as its largest infrastructure transformation, with AUKUS submarine support facilities, a defence manufacturing precinct and the future Westport container port planned for the region.

Billions of dollars in infrastructure work is expected to support the changes, including a $1.1 billion upgrade of Anketell Road and a $700 million widening of the Kwinana Freeway. Construction is expected to begin early next year. The premier said more than six-billion dollars of construction work would take place before an expected influx of Americans, beginning next year.

Kwinana Industry Council representative David Harrison said the area would be “completely unrecognisable” in a few years and could face a decade or more of upgrades. He said the central challenge would be maintaining industrial movement while construction proceeds, noting that fuel, fertiliser and oxygen for public hospitals move from the area.

Congestion is already affecting freight operations. Truck driver Carolus Broers took an hour and 45 minutes to travel from a fuel depot in Perth’s south to a service station in Ascot, less than 50 kilometres away, arriving more than half an hour behind schedule. The state government has warned commuters to expect average delays of about 15 minutes during freeway works.

Waste company Veolia, which operates about 200 trucks a day collecting kerbside rubbish for Kwinana facilities, is planning to roster extra drivers and trucks. Fuel distributor Atlas Fuels also expects longer trips to require more vehicles and drivers, increasing operating costs. Separately, the US Navy expects up to 2,300 Americans to live in Perth’s southern suburbs by 2030 as part of a rotational force supporting the AUKUS nuclear submarine based at HMAS Stirling.