I am a Professional Engineer and 1 have experience in the operation of Road Tunnels.

I am making a submission to the Inquiry into the decision to fund the Freight Link which include the following points:

1. I support the retention of the Port of for the long term future.

2. I support the requirement to duplicate .

3. I support the Roe 8 freeway from to Stirling Fremantle.

4. I oppose any solution involving road tunnels.

5. I will present an alternative route to either routes currently proposed from Stock Road to High Street which does not require the demolition of any privately owned residential properties.

1. Retention of the Port of Fremantle

I believe the entire Port of Fremantle should remain for the long term. The cost to develop another port (on an artificial island) in Cockburn Sound and supporting infrastructure could easily exceed $5000M. In addition it will cause further degradation of Cockburn Sound. Also the loss of all or part of the Port of Fremantle will have negative economic impacts on Fremantle itself.

2. Duplication of Stirling Bridge

It is imperative the Stirling Bridge be duplicated as soon as practicable. The is in a degraded state, and to allow its replacement additional capacity must be made on the only other river crossing, Stirling Bridge.

3. Roe 8 from Kwinana Freeway to Stock Rd.

I support this project to remove heavy haulage and other traffic from . This project has been planned for over 50 years and traverses land currently occupied by Hope Road and Forrest Road. It is necessary to reduce pollution for the residents on or near Leach Highway. I am also opposed to tolls on Roe 8 to avoid leakage onto other roads of traffic that should be carried on Roe 8. It cannot be realistically expected that all freight into the Port of Fremantle can be carried by rail.

4. Opposition to any Road tunnel option.

The construction and operation of road tunnels is extremely costly and high risk. The cost to construct road tunnels is far higher than roadways. Placarded loads cannot use tunnels. There will have to be exhaust chimneys, possibly every 0.5 kms along the route. There is a strong likelihood all houses above the tunnel will need to be demolished due to the limestone geology in the Fremantle area. Operational costs will be far higher than roadways, due to lighting, fire controls, ventilation and monthly shutdowns for maintenance.

5. I propose a different solution to connect Roe 8 from Stock Road to High St as per below. The benefits of this are:

1. Less overall route distance from Stock Road to than either route. 2. No issue with placarded loads (as per tunnels) 3. No private houses demolished. 4. Less risk of geological issues, and hence risk of cost blowout. 5. No requirement for monthly shutdowns (unlike tunnels) 6. Allows for oversize, overheight and overwidth loads (unlike tunnels) 7. Relatively even grade. 8. Less residential properties in close proximity affected by noise and other pollution. 9. Utilises Stock Road so less route distance to be built. 10. Traverses through vacant land in Forsyth St O’Connor. 11. Simpler to build than either tunnel or the Leach Highway routes. 12. Lowest noise impact on residential properties. 13. Frees up land in Hamilton Hill for sale. 14. Less capital cost than either of the 2 other routes. 15. Low ongoing costs (unlike tunnels).

Figure 1. Alternative Route