More Bunbury Outer Ring Road changes ‘needed’

A major change to the Bunbury Outer Ring Road was a positive step, but did not address the key issue for the City of Bunbury, according to Mayor Gary Brennan.

In a bid to allay fears the BORR would cause travellers to bypass Bunbury, the State Government in December announced an amended design for the BORR-South Western Highway intersection.

In the previous partial interchange design, people heading north on the BORR could only enter the highway east-bound, away from the CBD.

But with the addition of extra ramps and roundabouts, the intersection will now be a full interchange, allowing drivers to head west into Bunbury as well.

Mr Brennan was pleased the redesign included an additional access point to Bunbury and said the City was grateful for the change, but it was another intersection that was causing them more concern.

The key issue for the City Of Bunbury is the northern interchange of Forrest Highway and BORR. This is the first opportunity for motorists travelling south to drive directly into Bunbury. This design remains unchanged being an off ramp.

He said the Government had not indicated that the “very important” Forrest Highway interchange would have a different design to this point.

“The City’s position has consistently been that the primacy of Forrest Highway must be maintained,” Mr Brennan said. “The current design of the northern interchange does not achieve that. I hope the Government will revisit this design as well.”

In the amended design, Waterloo Road will also be realigned to eliminate a T-intersection which has been the site of a number of crashes.

It will also allow those travelling west on the highway to head both north and south, where previously they could only head south.

Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said the new design reflected discussions with residents and stakeholders.

Bunbury Outer Ring Road is one of the most significant projects undertaken in the South West in recent history and it is important the decisions we make are right for the whole community.