Road Upgrade Costs Double as Tourist Traffic Bottleneck Nears Completion

The long-awaited upgrade to a key road leading to Western Australia’s South West has seen its cost balloon to 170 million dollars as the project nears completion.

The project involves duplicating a single-lane segment of Bussell Highway between Capel and Busselton, a notorious traffic bottleneck during holidays and long weekends when tens of thousands of tourists travel the 200-kilometer route south from Perth. The upgrade was marketed as a solution to alleviate those traffic frustrations.

However, the cost of duplicating the highway has now doubled the initial estimates, according to figures revealed during recent budget estimates hearings. The project has experienced significant delays, despite the Cook government’s promise to finish it by the end of 2024.

A spokesperson for Main Roads indicated that while some short-term traffic management measures may still be in place, most of the construction work is now complete.

Nonetheless, months of delays and a substantial increase in spending have left some local residents questioning whether the project was worth the extra time and money.