❓ The Minister for Transport provides an update on the Forrestfield-Airport Link project, highlighting the arrival of tunnel-boring machine Grace at Bayswater station and acknowledging the challenges and progress made. The Minister also contrasts the current government's progress with the previous Liberal government's lack of progress.
AnsweredQoN 58Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
FORRESTFIELD–AIRPORT
LINK
58. MR S.J. PRICE to the Minister for Transport:
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's commitment to creating local Western Australian jobs by
building Metronet and delivering an unprecedented expansion to Perth's
rail network. Can the minister update the house on how it is the McGowan
government has overcome significant engineering challenges and is now driving
the ambitious Metronet Forrestfield–Airport Link project to completion?
LINK
58. MR S.J. PRICE to the Minister for Transport:
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's commitment to creating local Western Australian jobs by
building Metronet and delivering an unprecedented expansion to Perth's
rail network. Can the minister update the house on how it is the McGowan
government has overcome significant engineering challenges and is now driving
the ambitious Metronet Forrestfield–Airport Link project to completion?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Forrestfield
for the question. It is a significant day as tunnel-boring machine Grace has arrived at Bayswater station. This is a significant milestone for the
Metronet project, and I want to say a great thank you to all the workers
involved in what is a very, very challenging project.
I think it is important to outline
the history of the project. As members know, Hon Ken Travers put the
Forrestfield–Airport Link project, a rail line to the airport, on the
agenda in 2012. The Liberal Party followed that 2012 commitment. Significantly,
at the 2017 election, the project was meant to be well underway under the
former Liberal government. The Liberal Party had been in government for 8.5 years.
We inherited a contract; we did not inherit a project. Not one metre of
tunnelling was underway at the time of the election, so it was up to us to make
it happen, and making it happen is what we are doing, members. I will be the
first to admit that it has not been the easiest of projects; it is a very
challenging project and, of course, there is so much more work to be done. Of
course, throughout the project we have made safety a priority and pushed the
time line back a year to make sure we put all our effort into safety. Today is
a significant milestone. An eight-kilometre tunnel runs from Forrestfield to
Bayswater—by far the longest tunnel project on our public transport
network ever. It is a major engineering feat and I would like to thank again
all those workers—the 600 workers who are on site delivering this project.
Unlike other tunnel machines in other states, we are tunnelling through
significant challenges such as gravel, soft rock clay and significant
underwater pressure. Tunnel boring machine Grace has travelled under
significant roads, the airport and the Swan
River. I would like to thank all the workers so far. It is a significant
milestone that TBM Grace has
reached Bayswater today. There are more than 54 000 locally fabricated concrete
segments and, as I said, 600 workers on site. The next part of the project is
that TBM Grace will be dismantled over the next month. TBM Sandy is close behind, and we hope to see TBM Sandy very soon—in the
next three or four months. This project, together with the rest of Metronet, is
a transformation of our rail network. This is a significant milestone and
something that I think we should all acknowledge today. This is a key part of
WA Labor's Metronet project.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members, please!
for the question. It is a significant day as tunnel-boring machine Grace has arrived at Bayswater station. This is a significant milestone for the
Metronet project, and I want to say a great thank you to all the workers
involved in what is a very, very challenging project.
I think it is important to outline
the history of the project. As members know, Hon Ken Travers put the
Forrestfield–Airport Link project, a rail line to the airport, on the
agenda in 2012. The Liberal Party followed that 2012 commitment. Significantly,
at the 2017 election, the project was meant to be well underway under the
former Liberal government. The Liberal Party had been in government for 8.5 years.
We inherited a contract; we did not inherit a project. Not one metre of
tunnelling was underway at the time of the election, so it was up to us to make
it happen, and making it happen is what we are doing, members. I will be the
first to admit that it has not been the easiest of projects; it is a very
challenging project and, of course, there is so much more work to be done. Of
course, throughout the project we have made safety a priority and pushed the
time line back a year to make sure we put all our effort into safety. Today is
a significant milestone. An eight-kilometre tunnel runs from Forrestfield to
Bayswater—by far the longest tunnel project on our public transport
network ever. It is a major engineering feat and I would like to thank again
all those workers—the 600 workers who are on site delivering this project.
Unlike other tunnel machines in other states, we are tunnelling through
significant challenges such as gravel, soft rock clay and significant
underwater pressure. Tunnel boring machine Grace has travelled under
significant roads, the airport and the Swan
River. I would like to thank all the workers so far. It is a significant
milestone that TBM Grace has
reached Bayswater today. There are more than 54 000 locally fabricated concrete
segments and, as I said, 600 workers on site. The next part of the project is
that TBM Grace will be dismantled over the next month. TBM Sandy is close behind, and we hope to see TBM Sandy very soon—in the
next three or four months. This project, together with the rest of Metronet, is
a transformation of our rail network. This is a significant milestone and
something that I think we should all acknowledge today. This is a key part of
WA Labor's Metronet project.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members, please!
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