The $852 million Bunbury Outer Ring Road project is currently underway, which is the largest road infrastructure project in the history of Southwest Australia.

The Southwest Gateway Alliance consisting of Acciona, NRW Contracting, MACA Civil, AECOM, and Aurecon will work with Main Roads to build a 27-kilometer, four-lane high-standard road from the Forrest Expressway near Australind to the Bussell Expressway south of Banbury .

Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development, Michael McCormack, said that once the project is completed, it will improve the freight capacity, efficiency and productivity of the entire region. Michael McCormack said: "A well-planned infrastructure project, such as the Bunbury Outer Ring Road, is of great importance to the Bunbury area. The project has been planned for many years and recognizes the importance of providing important infrastructure for Southwestern Australia. The Ministry provides a safer and more efficient road system. The Bunbury Outer Ring Road will reduce the burden on local residents, remove freight and regional traffic from local roads, while maintaining convenient transportation to Banbury and other regional destinations . Well-invested and well-planned transportation projects will maintain the operation of the Bunbury area and enhance its status as a major economic regional center."

Promote the economy, promote employment

The project is part of the federal government's $110 billion infrastructure investment plan, which aims to support the economy recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. Western Australia Governor Mark McGowan said that the project will provide critical employment opportunities and financial support. Mark McGowan said: "Our government is committed to creating and supporting local employment opportunities. The project will provide up to 5,680 direct and indirect employment opportunities to benefit the state and local communities. The project will provide local economic benefits after construction and operation. Bring significant benefits and create thousands of local jobs."

Rita Saffioti, Minister of Transportation and Planning of Western Australia, said that the state government has been working hard to speed up the progress of the project and open the ground with a shovel as soon as possible. Ms. Saffioti said: "We are continuing to carry out the'Building of Tomorrow' project to restore Western Australia's economy from the pandemic. This is the largest transportation infrastructure project in Western Australia. The Mark McGowan government is working on major transportation infrastructure projects every month. The expenditure of more than 260 million U.S. dollars, of which Western Australia’s expenditure is 100 million U.S. dollars. Maximizing the procurement of local enterprises is a key goal of the project. The target expenditure is 300 million U.S. dollars, which aims to encourage and maximize local The participation of Southwest Industry.

Promoting and maximizing the participation of local Australian aboriginals is also the priority of the project, providing Australian aboriginal enterprises with a target expenditure of 20 million US dollars, and providing an employment target equivalent to 60 full-time Australian aboriginals during the three-year construction period .

The Southwest Gateway Alliance is committed to working with the local recycling industry to deliver the project in a sustainable manner to maximize the opportunity to safely reuse the waste in the construction. The A$852 million Bunbury Outer Ring Project is jointly funded by the federal government and the Western Australian state government. See Road Network Engineering Column Editor/Ge Siyu