PREMIER Colin Barnett says a re-elected Liberal Government will build a three kilometre tunnel to Fremantle as part of the next phase of WA’s biggest road project — the controversial Perth Freight Link.

As massive and volatile protests surround the Roe 8 scheme, and with a knife-edge State election looming in March, the Premier revealed to The Sunday Times his party’s pledge for the tunnel to run beneath homes in Hilton and White Gum Valley.

“The Government has decided, if re-elected, we will build a tunnel,” the Premier said.

Construction of the tunnel, between the Winterfold Road and Stock Road intersection in Hilton to High Street in East Fremantle, is expected to start in 2020, around the same time the Roe Highway extension through Beeliar Wetlands nears completion.

Mr Barnett, who has previously been evasive about the tunnel plan, said he did not want to rush that decision but was now confident the underground option was the way to go after work had been done in recent months comparing different routes and costings.

Camera Icon Credit: PerthNow

“We’re not looking at any further above-ground options or routes and I think that will be a relief to many of the property owners that wondered what was the future of their home,” Mr Barnett said.

“We’ve now completed sufficient work to be absolutely certain that the tunnel is the cheapest option, the most direct and the most efficient.”

The tunnel forms part of the 5km Roe 9 route, the second phase of the PFL.

Roe 9 is costed at $903 million, of which the State Government will contribute $181 million with the remainder to come from Commonwealth coffers.

Mr Barnett said only about six homes would need to be resumed, most of which were already owned by the State. He said today’s announcement would bring any uncertainty for homeowners “to an end”.

Plans included grade separations at both High Street and Marmion Street connecting to Stirling Highway to ensure a free flow of traffic.

Truck-laden Leach Highway already posed a danger to road users and would continue to worsen without any action, he said.

The Premier denied there would be a bottleneck at the East Fremantle end, believing that trucks would have an uninterrupted journey in and out of the port, which he believed had decades of life left in it, through the tunnel.

Stock Road would need upgrading, but Mr Barnett did not believe it would impact any homes along that road.

Environmental assessments of Roe 9 could take up to 18 months.

Camera Icon Some of the signs during a recent protest against Roe 8. Credit: PerthNow, Ian Munro

This route would remove nearly 7000 trucks a day from suburban roads, Mr Barnett said, adding there was no need for another bridge or to tunnel under the Swan River into the port.

“This will make for a safer and more reliable journey into and out of Fremantle,” he said.

“Together they will also allow heavy vehicles and other road users to bypass the 14 sets of traffic lights now on Leach Highway and Stock Road, creating a safer environment for all road users.”

The tunnel will be open to cars and, once complete, the whole network will become a toll road for heavy vehicles.

The Liberals’ plan is directly opposite to Labor, with Opposition Leader Mark McGowan recently vowing to scrap the Roe 8 contract and re-divert $1.2 billion of funding to other road projects, including its Metronet proposal.

“Our decision is ultimately based on the fact that WA cannot afford wasting billions of dollars on a truck highway that will eventually end at a port that is soon to reach capacity,” Mr McGowan said last week.

The Premier believed the Perth Freight Link would be a vote-decider only for people living in the southern suburbs as well as environmentalists.

“I believe the overwhelming and the silent majority of people living in the southern suburbs want to see this project go ahead. And I think they will agree with the government that the tunnel is the way to go,” Mr Barnett said.

With better technology, West Australians would start to see tunnels become more common in future rail and road projects, Mr Barnett said.

“If you look at Perth as it is on the Swan coastal plain, there’s not a lot of granite underneath. It’s basically sand and a bit of limestone and coffee rock, so it’s very easy to tunnel here,” he said.

Transport Minister Bill Marmion said Roe 9 would generate 1900 direct jobs and involve a total on-site workforce of up to 6640 during construction.

“Roe 8 and Roe 9 are recognised by Infrastructure Australia as being part of one of the highest priorities in the nation — it is vitally important for the future prosperity of our State that this project go ahead,” he said.

On Thursday, close to 1000 protesters disrupted clearing works at the Roe 8 site.

Federal Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said the Commonwealth would hand over the $1.2 billion in funding for the PFL once contracts were signed for both stages.