Perth’s new busport project reaches its next level as old infrastructure is demolished
Work has begun on the second stage of the Perth City Link project as the 40-year-old Wellington Street bus station is demolished.
The demolition which started this week paves the construction of the underground $249m Perth Busport, with works starting in the next few months.
The demolition of the old bus station and construction of the busport marks stage 2 of Perth’s City Link project.
The project’s first phase was completed in December, six months ahead of schedule with the sinking the Fremantle rail line through Northbridge.
The Wellington Street bus station demolition will see 90,000 cubic metres of earth moved to make way for 22,000 cubic metres of concrete and 4000 metres of reinforced concrete piles for the new busport.
Western Australia’s Transport Minister Troy Buswell says while the city is losing the 40-year-old bus station, the people of Perth are gaining one of the most technically advanced busports in the country.
“When you put these works with other major projects under way across the city, everyone can see that Perth is really undergoing a once in a generation era of transformation,” Buswell says.
He says the busport will feature dynamic stand allocation technology, similar to an airport departure gate system.
“This technology monitors buses as they approach the station and allocates each bus a stand at which to stop – this information is communicated to passengers in the central waiting area,” Buswell says.
The technology has been successfully used at the Christchurch Bus Exchange in New Zealand and the Kamppi Terminal in Helsinki, Finland to maximise space-efficiency benefits.
Buswell says the new technology meant up to 50 per cent more buses would be able to operate through the facility, which will effectively be the same size as the old Wellington Street Bus Station.
The Perth Busport project is due for completion in mid-2016 and is being funded by the WA Government ($237million) and the City of Perth ($12million).
The total cost of the Perth City Link project is estimated at $609m.
To see an animated virtual tour of the new busport go to http://youtu.be/KfaAPQv6bRE