Tonkin Highway Extension

As part of development work undertaken over the past two years, the Tonkin Highway Extension project now includes (from north to south):

• 14 km extension of Tonkin Highway from Thomas Road to South Western Highway as a four-lane dual carriageway

• Principal Shared Path (PSP) on the eastern side of the Tonkin Highway extension for the full 14 km length
  • Connections to Thomas Road, Orton Road, Bishop Road, Mundijong Road and South Western Highway
  • 5 underpasses at grade separation locations (Thomas Road and Bishop Road)
  • Footbridge overpass at Orton Road
  • Minor road connections (Copper Road and Adamson Street)

• Grade separated interchange at Bishop Road

• Roundabouts on Tonkin Highway at Orton Road, Mundijong Road and South Western Highway

• Underpasses at Abernethy Road (road, pedestrian, cyclist and equine), Gossage Road (equine only) and Shanley Road (road, pedestrian, cyclist and equine)

• Roundabouts at Hopkinson Road/Abernethy Road, and Shanley Road/Jarrahdale Road/South Western Highway

• Bridges over rail at Bishop Road (as part of interchange) and Wright Road

Funding has been allocated for the Thomas Road Upgrade project, which includes:

• Thomas Road duplication from Kargotich Road to South Western Highway

• Thomas Road/Tonkin Highway interchange

• View the Thomas Road Upgrade page for more information

• Thomas Road and Kargotich Road roundabout

• View the Thomas Road Safety Improvements page for more information.

State environmental approvals have been obtained for the Tonkin Highway Extension project under the Environmental Protection Act.

In accordance with Section 95A(3) of the EPBC Act, the Referral document and Preliminary Documentation for the proposed action was available for public comment from 18 June 2021 to 2 July 2021inclusive. No public submissions were received on the Preliminary Documentation.

In accordance with Section 95B(4) of the EPBC Act, a written statement noting that no comments were received, the EPBC referral document and the Preliminary Documentation were made publicly available for information for 10 business days from 23 July, 2021. No submissions were received through the second stage of advertising.

On 17 August 2021, DAWE provided conditional environmental approval for the proposal. Copies of the referral and Preliminary Documentation are available below.

Preliminary Documentation:

• Tonkin Highway Extension Preliminary Documentation - Part 1 (PDF)
• Tonkin Highway Extension Preliminary Documentation - Part 2 (PDF)
• Tonkin Highway Extension Preliminary Documentation - Part 3 (PDF)
• Appendix A - PD Request Further Information Letter signed (PDF)
• Appendix B -Layout Plan (PDF)
• Appendix C - Flora and Vegetation Survey (Woodman 2020) (PDF)
• Appendix D - Black Cockatoo Breeding Habitat Survey (Kirkby 2020) (PDF)
• Appendix E - Black Cockatoo Habitat Quality Assessment (PDF)
• Appendix F - Dieback Assessment (Glevan 2020) (PDF)
• Appendix G - Biological Survey Adequacy and Limitations (PDF)
• Appendix H -The Offset Strategy (PDF)
• Appendix I - Action Management Plan (PDF)
• Appendix J - Tetraria australiensis Fire Management Plan (PDF)

• Tonkin Highway Extension Referral 2019-8608 (PDF)
• Tonkin Highway Extension Referral Att 1 - Appendix 1 Proposed Action Location Lot information (PDF)
• Tonkin Highway Extension Referral Att 2 - Figure 1 Site Location (PDF)
• Tonkin Highway Extension Referral Att 3 - Figure 2 Vegetation Association (PDF)
• Tonkin Highway Extension Referral Att 4 - Figure 3 Vegetation Condition (PDF)
• Tonkin Highway Extension Referral Att 5 - Figure 4 Threatened Flora and Ecological Communities (PDF)
• Tonkin Highway Extension Referral Att 6 - Figure 5 Black Cockatoo Trees (PDF)
• Tonkin Highway Extension Referral Att 7 - Figure 6 Black Cockatoo Trees with Hollows (PDF)
• Tonkin Highway Extension Referral Att 8 - Figure 7 Black Cockatoo Foraging Habitat (PDF)
• Tonkin Highway Extension Referral Att 9 - Figure 8 Regional Black Cockatoo Habitat (PDF)
• Tonkin Highway Extension Referral Att 10 - Figure 9 Wetlands and Watercourses (PDF)
• Tonkin Highway Extension Referral Att 11 - Mundijong Road Spring Flora Survey (PDF)
• Tonkin Highway Extension Referral Att 12 - Ministerial Statement 595 (PDF)
• Tonkin Highway Extension Referral Att 13 - Tonkin Hwy Black Cockatoo Assessment (PDF)
• Tonkin Highway Extension Referral Att 14 - Tonkin Highway Extension Reconnaissance Flora Survey (PDF)
• Tonkin Highway Extension Referral Att 15 - Tonkin Highway Extension EIA Final (PDF)

Community and stakeholder engagement activities underway include answering enquiries from local residents, businesses, developers and interested stakeholders, obtaining access to properties for further geotechnical works, and engaging with key stakeholders.

We are working closely with the Shire of Serpentine - Jarrahdale and the Shire’s Equine Advisory Group to understand local issues and opportunities.

We thank the community for their patience as we work through planning and design issues, and the additional scope items, and commit to keeping them updated as this work progresses.

Future activities will include more information sessions to answer questions from the community on both the Tonkin Extension and Thomas Road projects.

What is the project schedule?

Procurement commenced in November 2023 for the southern extension of Tonkin Highway to South Western Highway and upgrade of Thomas Road, with an Expression of Interest released for delivery contractors.

What is the status of the Tonkin Highway extension environmental approvals?

Conditional State environmental approval has been obtained for the project under the Environmental Protection Act. Approval of Management Plans and Strategies are yet to be completed.

Conditional approval has been received from the Commonwealth for the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act. Approval of the Management Plans and Strategies are yet to be completed.

Section 18 heritage approvals have been received for sites on Government land and owner consent has been obtained for the heritage site on private land. Section 18 approval is pending consideration by the Aboriginal Cultural Material Committee scheduled for April 2023.

Who is responsible for Thomas Road, east of Tonkin Highway?

Main Roads recently took over responsibility and is now responsible for the entire length of Thomas Road.

Will planning work consider the extension of Tonkin Highway further south?

Extending Tonkin Highway south of Mundijong Road was included in the Western Australian Planning Commission (WAPC) sub-regional planning framework and is considered a long-term proposal.

A short section of the future Tonkin Highway south of Mundijong Road is being planned for as part of the Mundijong Freight Rail Realignment Planning Study underway.

However, no further planning or construction work is currently funded to occur.

Will the intersections along the highway be grade separated with bridges?

The Tonkin Highway Extension Project includes a grade separated interchange at Bishop Road, a bridge over the existing Kwinana South Western freight rail, and a bridge over the Perth to Bunbury rail and Wright Road.  Other intersection upgrades along the alignment including roundabouts and underpasses.

The Thomas Road Upgrade project includes a grade separated interchange at Thomas Road and Tonkin Highway.

What types of intersections are being considered and access from local roads?

We have undertaken traffic modelling, which has helped inform the type of intersections adopted. The project scope currently includes:

• Bridge over Abernethy Road
• Underpasses at Abernethy Road (road, pedestrian, cyclist and equine), Gossage Road (equine only) and Shanley Road (road, pedestrian, cyclist and equine)
• Roundabouts at Orton Road, Mundijong Road and South Western Highway
• Bridge over Wright Road and rail line
• Roundabouts at Hopkinson Road/Abernethy Road and Shanley Road/Jarrahdale Road/South Western Highway

Is there a connection from Hopkinson Road to Tonkin Highway?

No, there will be no connection provided from Hopkinson Road to Tonkin Highway. Hopkinson Road north of Thomas Road will be realigned to connect to Thomas Road at Karden Boulevard, while Hopkinson Road south of Thomas Road will be cul-de-saced adjacent to Jersey Road in Oakford.  A single lane roundabout will be constructed at the Abernethy Road and Hopkinson Road intersection to maintain local road connectivity. The Tonkin Highway and Orton Road roundabout will also connect to Hopkinson Road.

Will Abernethy Road be connected to Tonkin Highway?

No, there will be no connection provided from Abernethy Road to Tonkin Highway. However, a Tonkin Highway bridge over Abernethy Road will maintain east-west connectivity for vehicle, pedestrian, cyclist and equine traffic along Abernethy Road.

What equine, pedestrian and cyclist connectivity is being planned?

A Principal Shared Path (PSP) will run along the full length of the Tonkin Highway extension on the eastern side.

• Connections will be provided to Thomas Road, Orton Road, Bishop Road, Mundijong Road and South Western Highway, along with a number of other minor roads.
• 5 underpasses at grade separation locations (Thomas Road and Bishop Road)
• Footbridge overpass provided at Orton Road
• Abernethy Road flyover and Shanley Road flyover will maintain east-west connectivity for shared path users and horse and rider
• Equine underpass at Gossage Road

Additional investigations are underway to understand the equine network between Wright Road and South Western Highway, in liaison with Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale.

Are there plans to reduce South Western Highway to one lane in each direction through Byford town site?

No, previous traffic modelling has concluded that with the expansion of the Byford, Cardup and Mundijong areas, South Western Highway will need to remain two lanes in each direction through the Byford town site, even with Tonkin Highway constructed. Heavy vehicles travelling to and from the South West and Wheatbelt Region will now bypass Byford townsite.

What other works are happening on the local road network?

Funding has been allocated for the Thomas Road Upgrade project, which will remove merge points along Thomas Road and reduce congestion bottlenecks, creating a safer road that can cope with the ever-increasing population in Serpentine and Jarrahdale. The scope includes:

• Thomas Road/Tonkin Highway interchange
• Thomas Road duplication from Kargotich Road to South Western Highway. (METRONET is undertaking the Thomas Road duplication from the Thomas Road Over Rail project to South Western Highway.)

The Thomas Road Safety Improvements project between Kwinana Freeway and South Western Highway incorporates new roundabouts at Nicholson Road and Kargotich Road.

Main Roads plans and undertakes roadworks on freeways, highways and some main roads, for example Thomas Road west of Tonkin Highway. However, the wider local road network is managed by relevant Shires or Councils.

For information on local road improvements, contact the Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale.

 Project Updates/Documents

• Access and Connectivity Map - PDF (5.09 MB)
• Project Update - June 2023 - PDF (6.38 MB)
• Project Udpate - September 2022 - PDF (1.29 MB)
• Project Update - January 2021 - PDF (2.04 MB)
• Project Update - October 2020 - PDF (1 MB)
• Project Overview - June 2020 - PDF (2.38 MB)

 Media Statements

• Joint media statement - Expressions of interest called for Tonkin Highway Extension - 27 November 2023
• Industry workshop starts search for Tonkin Highway Extension contractor – 21 January 2021
• Roads budget delivers congestion busting solution and WA jobs  - 9 May 2019

 Funding

The $755 million project is jointly funded by the Federal ($604 million) and State ($151 million) Governments. $290 million is also allocated to upgrade Thomas Road, bringing the total funding commitment to $1.045 billion.