The proposed Bunbury Outer Ring Road will provide a new 27-kilometre alternate route for freight and regional traffic around Bunbury. It comprises three sections:
- The Northern Section - Forrest Highway and the Boyanup Picton Road
- The Central Section - between Boyanup-Picton Road and the South Western Highway south of Bunbury, near Bunbury Airport (Completed in 2013 along with a three kilometre extension of the Bunbury Port Access Road), and
- The Southern Section, between the South Western Highway and the Bussell Highway.
The Northern and Southern Sections will be procured and constructed together in one contract.
The works package includes design and construction of:
- 27 kilometres of dual carriageway highway, connecting Forrest Highway at Australind to Bussell Highway at Gelorup
- seven grade-separated interchanges at Forrest Highway, Raymond Road, South Western Highway North, Waterloo on Wireless Road, Willinge Drive, Centenary Road/Lilydale Road, and Bussell Highway
- four grade-separated overpasses
- four river crossings
- two rail crossings
- 20 kilometres of new and upgraded local government roads with shared paths
- a new shared path including seven underpasses and one footbridge, and
- associated works including noise mitigation, safety barriers and service relocation.
Key Dates
| Apr 2018 | Project Announcement |
| Sep 2019 | EOIs Open |
| Oct 2019 | EOIs Close |
| Oct 2020 | Contract Award |
| 2021 | Construction Commencement |
| 2024 | Expected Construction Completion |
Funding contributions
| Federal Government | |
| WA Government |
Procurement
| Procuring Agency: | Mainroads Western Australia |
| Shortlist: | The Forrest Alliance, comprising CPB Contractors, Carey MC, Densford Civil, GHD and BG&E, and South West Gateway Alliance, comprising Acciona, NRW Contracting, MACA Civil, AECOM and Aurecon |
| Successful Tenderer: | South West Gateway Alliance |
| Related contracts: |
PROJECT HISTORY
| Mar 2017 | The Commonwealth and State governments announced a $2.3 billion infrastructure package for Western Australia. This included a $12.5 million allocation to complete the planning and project development of the unbuilt sections to take place between 2017 and 2019. |
| Jun 2019 | The preferred alignment for the southern section was released, confirming the project will run through the existing road reserve. A number of changes to the preferred alignment were made, including moving the Gelorup connection from Hasties Road to Centenary Road. As part of the process, two possible corridors for the southern section were investigated - the existing road reserve within the Greater Bunbury Region Scheme and an alternative corridor further to the east. Separately, Main Roads Western Australia has referred the northern and central sections of the project to the Federal Department of the Environment and Energy for assessment. The sections are on exhibition until 10 July 2019. |
| Aug 2019 | Main Roads WA released early tender advice stating the procurement process for the project will commence in September 2019. |
| Sep 2019 | WA Government called for Expressions of Interest. EOIs are due by 22 October 2019. |
| Nov 2019 | The Federal Government announced that it would bring forward $283.6 million, with funding to commence from FY2019-20. The Federal Government has indicated that this will enable works to commence in early 2021. |
| Dec 2019 | A revised design for the intersection with South Western Highway was approved to include a full connection with the highway, east of Picton. |
| Mar 2020 | The WA Government announced two consortia had been shortlisted for the alliance contract. |
| Apr 2020 | As part of its response to COVID-19, the Western Australian Government announced that tendering for the Bunbury Outer Ring Road project will be brought forward. No detailed timeframe for the main works procurement has been provided at this stage. |
| Aug 2020 | The WA Government announced the South West Gateway Alliance is the preferred Alliance to design and construct the Bunbury Outer Ring Road project. |
| Oct 2020 | The main works contract was awarded to South West Gateway Alliance consortium comprising Acciona, NRW Contracting, MACA Civil, AECOM and Aurecon. |
| Dec 2020 | Designated as a Priority Project on Infrastructure Australia's Infrastructure Priority List following positive assessment of the business case. |
| Mar 2022 | The 2022-23 Federal Budget allocated $320 million over four years to the project. |
| May 2022 | The 2022-23 WA Budget allocated an additional $400 million toward the Bunbury Outer Ring Road project, bringing the project’s estimated total cost to $1.3 billion. |
| Oct 2022 | The 2022-23 Federal Budget allocated an additional $318 million in funding |
| May 2023 | The WA Government allocated an additional $100 million to the project in the 2023-24 WA Budget. |
| May 2024 | The 2024-25 Budget includes an additional $113 million, jointly funded by the WA and Federal Governments, over the four-year Budget period, bringing the project's total estimated cost from $1.4 billion to $1.5 billion. The Government has attributed the cost increased to the need for additional investment to market-driven cost increases and minor scope enhancements. |
Estimated Total Cost
(2024)
Sector
Road
Procurement approach
Alliance |
Location
Western Australia |
National |
Resources
