The Government of Western Australia is undertaking improvements to the Tonkin Highway corridor. The Tonkin Highway is a 44-kilometre north-south highway and partial freeway in Perth, Western Australia, linking Perth Airport with the city's north-eastern and south-eastern suburbs.
The Stage Three Extension project will extend the Tonkin Highway from Thomas Road, Oakford to the South Western Highway, south east of Mundjiong. The project will include:
- 16.5 kilometres of four lane dual carriageway
- an upgraded intersection at Thomas Road/Tonkin Highway
- new intersections at Orton Road, Mundijong Road and South Western Highway
- a new grade separated interchange at Bishop Road
- bridges over the existing freight rail line and Perth to Bunbury passenger rail line and Wright Road
- a shared use path along the eastern side of the Tonkin Highway corridor, connecting to local path networks
- an equestrian and pedestrian / cyclist underpass under Tonkin Highway at Abernethy Road, and
- associated service roads and modifications to local government roads and intersections.
The project is being delivered through two separate works packages, with Package One extending the Highway approximately 10 kilometres from its existing termination at Thomas Road to Sparkman Road, and delivering the five-kilometre Thomas Road duplication. Package Two delivering the remaining four-kilometre extension from Sparkman Road to the South Western Highway.
Key Dates
| Mar 2021 | EOIs Open |
| Apr 2021 | EOIs Close |
| Nov 2023 | EOIs Open - Package One |
| Dec 2023 | EOIs Close - Package One |
| Mar 2024 | EOIs Open - Package Two |
| Apr 2024 | EOIs Close - Package Two |
| Sep 2024 | Expected Contract Award - Package One |
| 2027 | Expected Construction Completion |
Funding contributions
| Federal Government | |
| WA Government |
Procurement
| Procuring Agency: | Main Roads Western Australia |
| Shortlist: | Tonkin Extend Alliance (Laing O'Rourke, Garli, WSP and Arcadis) Tonkin Extension Alliance (Georgiou, BMD, Civcon, GHD and BG&E) |
| Procurement note: | The Tonkin Highway Extension Stage Three and the Thomas Road Upgrade project are being jointly delivered over two packages, with both packages to be delivered using Alliance contracts. |
PROJECT HISTORY
| May 2019 | The project was allocated funding as part of a $1.2 billion funding package announced in the 2019-20 WA Budget. |
| Jan 2021 | Main Roads Western Australia hosted an industry workshop to seek feedback from contractors for the delivery of the Tonkin Highway Expansion project. Feedback from the workshop will inform the delivery and contract type. |
| Mar 2021 | Main Roads Western Australia opened Expressions of Interest (EOIs) for the project, closing on 20 April. The department also announced that the project will be delivered as an Alliance contract. |
| Mar 2022 | The 2022-23 Federal Budget allocated an additional $200 million to Stage Three of Tonkin Highway Extension. |
| May 2022 | The 2022-23 WA Budget allocated an additional $250 million toward the Tonkin Highway Grade Separations at Hale, Welshpool and Kelvin Roads and Stage Three Extension projects. |
| Nov 2023 | EOIs were opened an alliance contract to deliver Package One of the project, closing 14 December. |
| Mar 2024 | The Government of WA announced that shortlisted contractors can now submit a Request for Proposal (RFP) for package one of the Tonkin Highway Extension and Thomas Road Upgrade. The contract is expected to be awarded in late 2024. An Expression of Interest for Package Two of the project has also been released. |
