Shadow minister slams State government over lack of transparency on Bunbury Outer Ring Road scope and costs

The Bunbury Outer Ring Road reached its 20 per cent construction milestone in June, but the Opposition has slammed the State Government over the project, saying they were “now spending $1.25 billion for a suburban road”. In Parliament on Wednesday Shadow transport minister Shane Love called for more transparency on the BORR, saying WA’s most expensive piece of road infrastructure has had massive cost blowouts while being radically reduced in scope. “The massive budget blowout has seen the project go from $852 million when it was first announced in 2018 to now costing $1.25 billion,” Mr Love said. “To make matters worse, four roundabouts will replace flyovers, meaning the project will now be 27 kilometres of standard road rather than 27km of freeway.” His comments come after Transport Minister Rita Saffioti announced in May the State Government would add an additional $400 million funding towards the BORR. At the time, Ms Saffioti cited the soaring cost of raw materials due to global supply-chain pressures, diesel prices rising by 60 per cent and bitumen prices increasing by 20 per cent over the preceding six months. The State’s cash splash came just weeks after the Federal Government committed an additional $320 million for Stages 2 and 3 of the BORR in its own Budget documents handed down on March 29. Mr Love said State Government “incompetence” was to blame for the cost blowouts, saying the project’s scope and costing should have been reviewed before it got to this stage. “I believe there is a serious lack of oversight and transparency over the project, with the Minister failing to provide anything other than vague justification for the budget blowout,” Mr Love said. The BORR will create a 27km free-flowing highway linking the Forrest and Bussell highways to allow for increased traffic in the region while allowing trucks carrying freight to bypass Bunbury. The Southern Section of the BORR received final environmental approval at a State level on May 31. The next stage of approvals need to come from the Federal level, through the Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment.