INFRASTRUCTURE Australia has dropped the contentious Perth Freight Link off its list of priority national projects and elevated easing the city’s congested freeways to the top of its list.

The peak infrastructure planning body releases its latest annual report today, outlining a raft of key projects in its $55 billion nation-building plan.

While the State Government’s election commitment to ditch Roe 8 and the rest of the Perth Freight Link has forced the $1.7 billion project off the list, Infrastructure Australia believes Premier Mark McGowan needs to outline an alternative plan.

But easing gridlock on Perth’s freeways is at the top of the organisations priority list, according to the latest update, and near-city congestion makes its debut.

The report says bottlenecks that plague the length of the Mitchell and Kwinana freeways are becoming such an issue the travel delays “will increasingly result in nationally significant losses to productivity”.

Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said about $100 million was being spent to reduce Kwinana Freeway congestion and a further $40 million to widen the Mitchell Freeway.

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“The Smart Freeways project is the first of its kind in WA and will use technology that has proven successful around the world in managing congestion, improving safety and getting the most out of existing infrastructure,” she said.

Infrastructure Australia says it is still waiting on finalised business cases from the State Government for its other congestion-busting priorities in the northern suburbs — a freeway extension beyond Hester Avenue in Merriwa and a rail line to Yanchep.

And it still has unfinished business in Perth’s south after the decision to abandon Roe 8 and look to an outer harbour in Cockburn Sound.

Infrastructure Australia chief executive Philip Davies said the organisation was working with the State Government to identify alternative solutions for freight movements from Fremantle port.

“You can’t just take something off the list if there’s a problem you’re trying to solve,” he said.

Ms Saffioti said the Government’s alternative to the link included upgrading High Street between Stirling Highway and Carrington Street and increasing the freight rail container subsidy, which happened on January 1.