As many locals would be aware there are plans to remove the intersection at Tonkin Hwy and Hale Rd in Forrestfield and only have an overpass of Tonkin at Hale Rd. Early plans suggest you will not be able to enter or exit Tonkin from Hale essentially blocking the main access, in to, and out, of Forrestfield and Wattlegrove

This will be a logistical nightmare and more than likely add in excess of 30mins travel time to most people using this intersection currently, AND add extra congestion to Welshpool Rd, Berkshire Rd and Lewis Rd intersections 

When asked for comment Main Roads response was as follows;

"We can confirm that the project includes removing three sets of signalised intersections to improve road safety and reduce congestion. The preliminary concept includes:

• Upgrade Tonkin Highway from four to six lanes from Roe Highway to Kelvin Road
• Construction of new grade-separated interchanges at the Tonkin Highway intersections with Welshpool Road and Kelvin Road
• Construction of a flyover at Tonkin Highway and Hale Road

The reason for not connecting Hale Road and Tonkin Highway is based on safety considerations. However, we are undertaking traffic modelling as part of our project development work to assist us to assess the redistribution of traffic, in particular impacts on local roads.

Main Roads has met with the City of Kalamunda regarding the project on a number of occasions and will be working collaboratively to assess potential local road impacts. The modelling involves a significant amount of work, including video surveys and traffic counts which are now underway in the area.

As with all major infrastructure projects, we will be seeking input from the community to inform the preliminary concept for the project, just awaiting the traffic modelling results to provide a picture of the local road impacts and mitigations that may be required."

We all need to ensure this ridiculous plan does not go ahead. It will be a nightmare getting to and from Tonkin Hwy, and make our once easily accessible suburbs less accessible, possibly also effecting the value of our properties. Other impacts it will have are

- Longer travel times

- more fuel consumption

- more wear & tear on our vehicles

- more emissions

- less traffic past our local businesses

- more traffic on the already congested other arteries in/out of Forrestfield, Wattlegrove and surrounding suburbs

Please sign and share this petition with anyone interested to make sure they do not block access at Hale Rd and include a "grade-separated interchange" at Tonkin Highway / Hale Road not just  with Tonkin/Welshpool Road and Tonkin/Kelvin Road

https://project.mainroads.wa.gov.au/home/current/tonkinroetokelvin/