New section of shared path open

A 32km section of principal shared path alongside the new Kwinana Freeway extension was officially opened on Sunday 20 September.  This section extends the existing path from Safety Bay Road southwards to South Yunderup and has been completed as part of the Kwinana Freeway Extension/Forrest Highway project that creates a more direct link from Perth to Bunbury.

It is now possible to ride a bicycle from the Perth CBD to South Yunderup on a high standard path without crossing any major roads – a distance of almost 80km.  In fact, the only road a cyclist must cross on the entire journey is Cranford Avenue in Brentwood.

There are three routes that people can use to cycle between the new Kwinana Freeway Extension shared path and the Mandurah city centre.  All three require some riding on either a sealed shoulder or the road.

Route 1. (Recommended by Bikewest)
Exit the Freeway shared path at Paganoni Road and head west.  There is a wide sealed shoulder all the way along Paganoni Road until it reaches Mandurah Road. You then need to make a left turn into the wide sealed shoulder along Mandurah Road.  At the intersection with Madora Beach Road you can get to a shared path that runs down the western side of Mandurah Road which goes all the way into the city centre. Distance from Freeway path to Mandurah city centre – about 16km.

Route 2.
Exit the Freeway shared path at Lakes Road and head west. You need to ride on Lakes Road for several kilometres and there is no sealed shoulder.  At the intersection with Gordon Road, you can get to a shared path on the northern side of Gordon Road that then goes all the way into the city centre. Distance from Freeway path to Mandurah city centre – about 9km.

Route 3.
Exit the Freeway at Pinjarra Road and head west.  There is a sealed shoulder along Pinjarra Road but this disappears and you have to ride on the road itself for a few hundred metres until reaching a shared path on the southern side.  The path continues intermittently and you need to ride on Pinjarra Road for short sections before being able to get to the path that runs along the northern side and all the way into the city centre.  Distance from Freeway path to Mandurah city centre – about 12km.

A host of celebrations occurred on the opening day, including a free 30km community bike ride from the Safety Bay Road interchange to Pinjarra Road.

Here are a few statistics relating to the overall Perth to Bunbury project. The new Kwinana Freeway Extension/Forrest Highway includes:

• 70.5 kilometres of dual carriageway
  
  
• 6 interchanges and 10 intersections
  
  
• 19 bridges
  
  
• 32 kilometres of principal shared path for pedestrians and cyclists
  
  
• 7 pedestrian underpasses at the Safety Bay Road, Karnup Road and Paganoni Road, Lakes Road and Pinjarra Road interchanges
  
  
• 9 Fauna underpasses at various locations throughout the alignment
  
  
• the use of 5 borrow pits to source sand and limestone required for the project
  
  
• over 12 million tonnes of sand, 1.3 million of limestone and almost 1 million of crushed rock/gravel
  
  
• almost 27,000 cubic metres of concrete
  
  
• 821 piles and 146 beams for the bridges
  
  
• over 22 kilometres of drainage
  
  
• approximately 21 kilometres of noise walls.