Thomas Road Over Rail
Providing safer rail and road travel to Western Australia’s growing Byford community.
The Thomas Road Over Rail Project was initiated in 2021 by Main Roads WA as a significant variation to the completed Armadale Northlake Road Bridge Project. The initial replacement of the level crossing at Thomas Road with a road-over-rail bridge was delivered by Main Roads WA.
Further upgrades to the road bridge were delivered as part of the METRONET Byford Rail Extension Project which will see the removal of 9 level crossings (7 vehicular and 2 pedestrian) between Armadale and Byford to reduce congestion and improve safety. Under the Byford Rail Extension, the Armadale Line will be extended around 8km south to a new station at Byford, providing the Serpentine-Jarrahdale community with greater proximity to Perth CBD and improved access to jobs, services, and amenities, thereby supporting the economic and population growth of Byford.
The Thomas Road Over Rail Project was completed in mid-September 2023 with a new, four-lane Thomas Road Bridge passing over the Australind line between Wungong South Road in Darling Downs and South Western Highway in Byford. The Thomas Road Bridge facilitates the future Thomas Road duplication through an upgraded connection to the South Western Highway.
Final works on the Thomas Road Over Rail Project included:
- widening the road bridge to accommodate four traffic lanes
- connecting Butcher Road to Vlasich Road via a new eastern underpass
- building a new western underpass for a future shared path parallel to the rail corridor
- building another shared path on the southern side of the bridge for cyclists and pedestrians, with future provision for horse riders
- implementing urban and landscaping improvements for the community.
The APP Group acted as an Independent Certifier for the project, providing assurance that the construction works were carried out in accordance with the contract documentation. Our role included reviewing and auditing all construction processes as well as providing valuable constructability input with respect to the constricted site, which posed many challenges from a program perspective.
