Labor pledged an $80 million federal funding commitment for the $160 million North Lake Road Bridge if voted in at the July 2 election.
Shadow infrastructure minister Anthony Albanese made the announcement on Tuesday.
It follows a joint campaign by the cities of Armadale and Cockburn to build the bridge after the $145 million Armadale Road widening project.
The bridge proposal would see Armadale Road split off to the northern side of the Cockburn Central train station and connected to North Lake Road to ease congestion.
State and local government were expected to fund the rest of the project.
Mr Albanese said the bridge was a critical component of the Armadale Road widening.
“The Armadale Road upgrade is absolutely critical and that was announced by both parties during the by-election for Canning and was included in the budget and will be honoured by both political parties,” he said.
“The difference here is that unless this part of the bridge is fixed then it will be a road to congestion, you need both parts to fit together if we are truly going to address urban congestion.”
Labor candidate for Burt Matt Keogh said connecting North Lake Road to Armadale Road would make life easier for residents in south eastern boom suburbs.
“We know that the suburbs of Piara Waters and Harrisdale are the epicentres of housing growth in WA right now and it’s important to get this project off the ground as a complete project,” he said.
“Not only will this relieve congestion and make the trip for people in Armadale, Seville Grove, Haynes and Hilbert, Piara Waters and Harrisdale a safer and quicker trip, this project will also relieve congestion on roads like Ranford Road and South Street and Nicholson Road.”
The cities of Cockburn and Armadale welcomed the announcement and were now seeking a commitment from the Liberal Party.
Armadale mayor Henry Zelones said the announcement would delight the Armadale, Cockburn Central and Forrestdale business communities and was a major victory for the joint Community Connect South campaign.
“Clearly both sides of politics are recognising the value of this project but we need a firm commitment that whoever wins government will actually deliver,” he said.
“The joint CCS campaign will continue to escalate over coming weeks with both councils set to publish the status of pledges to the project after June 6,” he said.
The Armadale Road-Nicholson Road intersection was the worst in the City of Armadale for crashes and last year ranked as the 30th worst intersection in the state.
In the five years from 2010 the intersection recorded 134 crashes including 47 serious or fatal incidents.
Liberal candidate for Burt Matt O’Sullivan was contacted for comment.
