Returning maintenance in-house
In April 2022, the State Government announced Main Roads would shift from contracting out road maintenance to a new model involving the in-house delivery of maintenance and some minor capital works.
Our Wheatbelt region was the first to successfully transition, in late October 2022, with maintenance works moving to in-house delivery. This was followed by Mid-West Gascoyne region in early November 2022. The switch saw 48 staff join our Northam and Narrogin offices with a further 50 staff joining in Geraldton and Carnarvon.
The new in-house crews have hit the ground running, currently working on closing out to an average of 1,300 defects per month in the Wheatbelt, and 1,400 defects per month in the Mid-West Gascoyne. 59 new vehicles have been procured across both regions, along with five new staff houses in Northam and Narrogin and a new depot in Jurien Bay.
Along with the transition of workers to employees, dedicated Aboriginal Stakeholder Engagement Advisors have been appointed. These advisors are working hard to develop relationships with local businesses and individuals and to help enable future employment and business opportunities in our regional areas.
Benefits of the transition include significant regional economic growth and once fully implemented, the in-house delivery is expected to save the state more than $25 million a year. Regions will also benefit from provision of long-term job opportunities and increased Aboriginal employment opportunities. The transition will see:
- 490 new regional staff and 170 new staff in the Perth Metropolitan area
- Upgrades and expansion of our existing maintenance depots, and acquisition of houses
- Establishment of new offices and depots
- Establishment of new supply chains and contracts to support these arrangements
- Increased partnering with Aboriginal businesses to deliver some areas of maintenance work previously provided by Network Contracts
Work is continuing to ensure successful transitions in the Goldfields Esperance Region, Perth Metropolitan area, and Pilbara region during October 2023. This will be followed by South West and Great Southern regions, and the Incident Response Service in early 2024 and with the Kimberley region the last to transition in 2026.
In addition, we are providing a pathway to employment for Bridge Inspection Officers, Perth Bridge Maintenance Crews and Traffic Signal Programmers throughout 2023.
