Help on the way for congestion in Canning Vale

Traffic hold-ups caused by the train line in Canning Vale are a step closer to being a thing of the past. $36 million is needed to build a traffic bridge over the top of the railway to stop traffic from being held up by freight trains on Nicholson Road. In May the Federal Government pledged $18 million to the project. Southern River MP Peter Abetz, believes it’s just a matter of time before the State Government commits the rest of the money. “I’m hopeful the State will commit the needed funds in the next budget and I’m confident it will at least be in the forward estimate for the year after,” he said. Design and costing for the project has already started, but it’ll be a while before any work begins. Residents are still annoyed at how long the process is taking despite these recent developments. Canning Vale local, Aleece Edmunds, can’t understand why the project wasn’t started sooner. “That railway has been a problem for years, if a train comes during peak hour it easily adds 15 minutes to your trip. Funding should have been found two years ago and the bridge completed by now,” she said. The Local Chamber of Commerce is also concerned about the effect of the train line. “We believe that it’s a positive towards development and will benefit the population and business in Canning Vale, but the construction phase will affect traffic movement even more,” a spokesperson said. Peter Abetz said he would have loved for the project to have started sooner but unfortunately progress takes time. “Either we needed to increase taxes and cut infrastructure or wait a couple of years to receive funding, we chose the second option,” he said. Mr Abetz is hoping the project will be completed within 2 years.