Main Roads Western Australia

🎉 We recently celebrated the 13th and final cohort of Yaka Dandjoo graduates - nearly two and a half years since the first cohort began! The Bunbury Outer Ring Road (BORR) Yaka Dandjoo Program - meaning ‘working together’ in Noongar - was designed to provide a new sustainable employment pathway for local Aboriginal and unemployed people to engage in a supported program with opportunities to enter the civil construction industry. The program has achieved numerous social and employment outcomes and achievements, within and beyond the BORR project, and has brought participants, community, and industry together. Achievements include: ✔️191 graduates across 13 cohorts ✔️122 graduates employed on BORR overall ✔️63 graduates currently working in employment connected to BORR ✔️>125 graduates entered the industry after finishing the program ✔️40 graduates entered into traineeships or apprenticeships The program has supported graduates to ensure they are ready for long-term employment prospects that will continue to change their lives, and the lives of their families, for generations to come. The legacy of the BORR project will extend far beyond its physical infrastructure – the Yaka Dandjoo Program has truly changed the lives of participants, graduates, and the community! To find out more about how we support and engage with Aboriginal people and businesses visit https://lnkd.in/g65Hk8Vs

We’re proud to have the Yiyili remote Aboriginal Community (located 110kms west of Halls Creek, on Gooniyandi Country) making up almost 10 per cent of the total workforce on our Tanami Road Upgrade project! Gooniyandi Elder and community leader Paul Cox began working with Main Roads in late 2022 and by 2023, had tendered a water cart and supply of labour. Paul selects workers from a pool of work ready Yiyili residents to fill four positions. Fellow Yiyili resident and Jaru man Kevin Long also began working with Main Roads in 2023 supplying wet hire of a loader and in 2024 expanded to supplying three padfoot rollers. Paul and Kevin are committed to providing ongoing employment opportunities for Yiyili residents, and work alongside Main Roads to provide on-the-job training and skills development – which includes working with the Department of Transport to provide HR licences and roller tickets for their employees. And, the numbers tell the story! After almost two years, two businesses, five plant items and two light vehicles – Paul and Kevin currently provide employment and support to 12 Aboriginal men from the Yiyili Community. We look forward to working with them for many years to come! Read more about the Yiyili Community here 👉 https://brnw.ch/21wLtQv

🚛 Check out Main Roads’ new wheels! This new ‘automated cone truck’ is the first of its kind in Western Australia, designed to deploy and retrieve traffic cones automatically, using a robotic arm. The new truck will help reduce disruption to road users, increase productivity and, most importantly, significantly reduce the risk of injury to our traffic management workers. The truck will predominantly be used across the Perth Metro area but will also feature on regional road projects, particularly where high speed roads are involved.

🎉The boomerang pylon has been installed on the Causeway Pedestrian and Cyclist Bridges, marking the final structural construction milestone! The pylon shape is inspired by the koylie, a curved hunting tool for birds and animals, which symbolises the spirit of the Whadjuk warriors. To find out more about the project visit👉 https://lnkd.in/gKvxT3ju

Let’s celebrate the success of the New Fitzroy River Bridge project, which would not have been possible without the support and involvement of the local community! Building relationships with the local community, providing employment and training opportunities and supporting local business was a key commitment from Main Roads and the Fitzroy Bridge Alliance. Over 250 people worked on the project locally, including some who had never worked before. It provided an opportunity to learn new skills and put them into practice, leading to several workers establishing their own businesses, in specialisations such as traffic management and civil construction. The project contributed to our target of allocating $700million in contract spend to Aboriginal businesses, and 3.5 million hours worked by Aboriginal peoples. Since July 2023, Main Roads has spent $174.3m on Aboriginal businesses; and 470.6K worked hours been completed by Aboriginal peoples. We hope the training, work experience and connections which the project provided to local community and businesses will create further opportunities for the future. To find out more about how we support and engage with Aboriginal people and businesses visit https://lnkd.in/g65Hk8Vs

🎉 We’re excited to be celebrating 11 years of ongoing contracting relations between Main Roads and Kulbardi this year. Kulbardi is Australia’s largest Indigenous-owned holistic workplace supplier, and Kim Collard, Founder and Executive Chairman of Kulbardi, was recently announced as NAIDOC Elder of the Year, Aboriginal Western Australian of the Year and also received the 2024 Philanthropy Australia First Nations Award! It’s amazing to see how far Kulbardi have come since first engaging with us. As part of their Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives, Kulbardi developed ‘Bibbulmun’, a unique range of Indigenous branded products that contributes part-proceeds to the Bibbulmun Fund. Over $1M from the Bibbulmun Fund has been allocated to initiatives such as new dialysis machines in regional areas. To find out more about how we support and engage with Aboriginal businesses and people visit https://lnkd.in/g65Hk8Vs

A Development Contract has been awarded to GHD Pty Ltd to develop a reference design for the METRONET Canning Bridge Bus Interchange project. The project will upgrade the Canning Bridge Bus Interchange to include more bus stands, new entries, better pedestrian access, more station facilities, direct connectivity for bus and train passengers, and new Principal Shared Path (PSP) connections. It will also incorporate new station facilities including toilets and customer assistance, grade-separated pedestrian access, and a southern PSP bridge over the freeway between Davilak Street, Canning Bridge Station and the eastern PSP. Smart Freeways ramp metering will be added at Canning Highway and Manning Road northbound on-ramps. The project’s reference design will be developed over the next 15 months.

We’re proud to have Gnalla on board, undertaking Litter Removal and Brush Cutting Works across the Metropolitan area. Beyond technical skills training, Gnalla has invested in the personal growth of their 100% Indigenous workforce. The company offers employees financial literacy programs and upskilling, to foster a culture of continuous learning and to empower staff to adapt and thrive in the ever-changing business world. This nurturing environment has instilled a positive attitude in the work crew as well as a sense of belonging, transforming colleagues into a close-knit family with shared goals and unwavering support for each other. To find out more about how we support and engage with Aboriginal people and businesses visit https://lnkd.in/g65Hk8Vs

📢 New safety signage alert! Starting this month, WA road trains will commence changing their signs to new, clearer signage indicating their length. This update aims to make overtaking safer and easier for all drivers. WA is the first state to implement this road safety initiative, which will be rolled out over the next 6 months. For more information, please visit 🚛 https://lnkd.in/g8FtgbVt

WARRIP has a new range of posters now available. These will include information on areas such as: ◾ Nanotechnology ◾ Stone Mastic Asphalt ◾ Asphalt Fatigue at elevated temperatures ◾ Assessing Mine Waste and Industry By-Products for Road Infrastructure WARRIP posters are free for anyone to print and display. For more information and to view the posters, visit https://warrip.com.au/