North West Coastal Highway
North West Coastal Highway Gazetted | 21 April 1944[2] | |
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Route number(s) | National Route 1 (all sections) | |
Tourist routes |
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Major junctions | ||
South end | Brand Highway (National Route 1), Geraldton | |
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North end | Great Northern Highway (National Highways 1/95), Mundabullangana | |
Location(s) | ||
Major settlements | Northampton, Carnarvon, Roebourne, Whim Creek | |
Highway system | ||
North West Coastal Highway is a generally north-south
In Geraldton, the highway begins at a grade separated interchange with
North West Coastal Highway was created in 1944 from existing roads and tracks through remote pastoral areas. However, it was a hazardous route that could be dusty in the dry season, and boggy or washed away in the wet season. Economic growth and development in northern Western Australia prompted initial improvement efforts in the late 1940s, and a sealed road was constructed from Geraldton to Carnarvon by 1962. The impact of cyclones and seasonal flooding resulted in a realignment inland of the Carnarvon to Port Hedland section, which was constructed and sealed between 1966 and 1973, and required thirty new bridges.[3] Various upgrades have been carried out in sections across the length of the highway, including the Geraldton Southern Transport Corridor project which grade-separated the highway's junction with Brand Highway.
Route description
North West Coastal Highway is the coastal route through Western Australia's remote north-west. From the
The entire highway is allocated
Main Roads Western Australia
Geraldton to Carnarvon
North West Coastal Highway commences at a
Carnarvon, at the mouth of the Gascoyne River, is the only large town between Geraldton and Karratha, and is an oasis within an arid region. East of the town, the landscape near the river features banana and other horticultural plantations,[15] while the vegetation in the surrounding region is primarily shrublands.[16] The highway skirts east of Carnarvon, and crosses the Gascoyne River nine kilometres (6 mi) north-east of Robinson Street, the main road into the town.[4][6]
Carnarvon to Port Hedland
North of Carnarvon, the highway passes through desert and becomes very flat. Bridges span many
North West Coastal Highway reaches the Pilbara after 100 kilometres (62 mi), where it deviates further inland. The highway continues north-east for 130 kilometres (81 mi), crossing the
Over the next 260 kilometres (160 mi), the road crosses the
History
Origins
Before the mid-1920s, travelling north from Geraldton necessitated going through
Western Australia's Nomenclature Advisory Committee
The name North West Coastal Highway was gazetted on 21 April 1944, under section 10 of the Land Act, 1933–1939.[2] However, the highway was mostly a series of tracks through remote pastoral areas, with the sealed road ending just past Northampton, approximately 50 kilometres (31 mi) north of Geraldton.[17]: 120 Driving was difficult and hazardous all year round. The road was very dusty in the dry season, and some sections of the road were effectively impassable sand, while other sections contained limestone outcrops that damaged tyres. During the wet season, when rivers flooded, sections of road were essentially bogs, or worse still, were completely washed away.[17]: 120–121
Economic growth and development in Western Australia's northern regions in the 1940s prompted the state to quadruple road funding between 1946 and 1952. Two "gangs" of workers were allocated to a 900-mile (1,400 km) length of North West Coastal Highway. Given the vast distance the highway travelled, and destructive cyclones in the Pilbara and Gascoyne that could destroy multiple weeks worth of work, the overall improvement was relatively insignificant. Over time, though, the road was improved.[17]: 120–121
Sealing
In the late 1950s a significant project was undertaken to seal the highway between Geraldton and Carnarvon. The sealed road had progressed northwards in the preceding years, but only by approximately eight to ten miles (13 to 16 km) each year. The rate of work increased rapidly, and by 1960, a 100-mile (160 km) stretch extending south from Carnarvon had been sealed. By the middle of that year, the sealing reached 135 miles (217 km) beyond Geraldton and came 114 miles (183 km) south of Carnarvon, with a 76-mile-long (122 km) gap. The project was completed in 1962 when the two sections converged at the 455-mile peg,[d] and was officially opened on 1 September. Completion of the sealed road resulted in increased tourist traffic, and a longer tourist season.[17]: 185–186
A large cyclone swept through the Carnarvon area in February 1961, causing much devastation to the road network. Many floodways were completely washed away, and North West Coastal Highway was immersed in flood water for 60 miles (97 km) either side of Onslow. Carnarvon was cut off from general traffic for two weeks, and the damage to the roads in the region took months to repair. Approval was given to realign the road further inland, where it would be less susceptible to flooding.[17]: 184–185
By the 1960s North West Coastal Highway had become a crucial connection for development in the Pilbara – including the pastoral industry, tourism, and the emergence of iron ore mining. In 1966 the traffic volume was up to 125 vehicles per day, and the unsealed road needed constant maintenance to cope with this demand. There were also frequent delays due to flooding. In 1966 the state government announced that the sealed road would be extended to Port Hedland, over a nine-year period. Substantial portions of the highway would also be relocated above the flood plain.[17]: 221–222 The new alignment on higher ground would be 50 miles (80 km) shorter, and would make bridging rivers easier.[17]: 227
External images | |
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Main Roads Department builds the North West Coastal Highway, February 1970 – sealing works near Winning Pool. | |
Official opening of the North West Coastal Highway, 6 December 1974 – opened by Premier Charles Court. |
Work started at Carnarvon, and 190 miles (310 km) had been completed by 1969. Locally available material was used to great extent during construction, with techniques adjusted based on what was available; however, some resources were transported across vast distances. Water, scarce in the dry climate of the North West, was conveyed up to 15 miles (24 km), aggregate up to 100 miles (160 km), and bitumen up to 850 miles (1,370 km). The project required thirty bridges, over riverbeds that could be dry all year, but might receive as much as 1,300 millimetres (51 in) of rainfall in three months, as had been the case at Onslow in 1961. The bridges were designed to withstand twenty-year floods, but more severe possibilities were anticipated – the approaches were built lower than the bridge decks, so that excess water would flow around the bridges, rather than over them.[17]: 227–230
The sealing of North West Coastal Highway was nearing completion in 1973; additional resources provided to complete the work resulted in the final section, Port Hedland to Roebourne, being finished in only five months. An official opening ceremony was held at South Hedland on 6 December 1974, with the road pronounced open by Premier Charles Court. The final cost of the project was approximately $31 million,[17]: 237 substantially more than the initial estimate of $17 million.[17]: 222 This was mainly due to two factors: increased construction standards, and inflation, which rose from 4% to 13% between 1970 and 1974.[17]: 237
Further improvements
In the 1980s the highway's flood resistance was improved with the construction of new, higher-level bridges to replace lower crossings. Galena Bridge over the Murchison River opened on 9 December 1983, and a new bridge over the Harding River near Roebourne was opened on 22 March 1985.[17]: 305 In the late 1980s the various sections of road across Western Australia's road network were upgraded or reconstructed, with the worst segments prioritised. In August 1988, work on upgrading five and a half kilometres (3.4 mi) of North West Coastal Highway was completed, the final section between Geraldton and Carnarvon to have been brought up to standard. In the following two years, segments with a combined length of 241 kilometres (150 mi) were resealed, and 45 kilometres (28 mi) was widened from 6.2 to 7 metres (20 to 23 ft), with a one-metre-wide (3.3 ft) sealed shoulder on each side.[17]: 366–367
The northernmost section of the highway, from Great Northern Highway to Port Hedland, was made part of Great Northern Highway in early 1996.[27] Over a ten-year period from 1996 to 2006, numerous improvements were made to the highway, with sections widened, reconstructed, and realigned. Intersections and stretches through townsites were also redesigned, existing bridges were strengthened, and new bridges replaced older bridges or floodways.[28]: 29 Additional work was necessary to repair damage from natural events. Sections washed away by floods in January 2003 were rebuilt, and opened in October of that year, and repairs to the damage from Cyclone Monty in March 2004 were completed that November.[28]: 125–127
The biggest individual project in this period, across all of rural Western Australia, was Stage 1 of the Geraldton Southern Transport Corridor. The project, constructed between March 2004 and December 2005 at a cost of $92.5 million, involved the relocation of railway tracks, five kilometres (3.1 mi) worth of road works, and grade separation of roads.[28]: 27–28 North West Coastal Highway's southern terminus at Brand Highway was upgraded from a roundabout[29] to an interchange, and an overpass was built for Durlacher Street to cross North West Coastal Highway. The highway was also made into a dual carriageway in the vicinity of the interchange.[30] Stage 2 of the project, constructed between December 2008 and December 2009, provided a single carriageway connection from a traffic light-controlled intersection on the highway to Geraldton–Mount Magnet Road, with access to Geraldton Airport.[31]
In 2013 work began on a project to seal the highway's shoulders from Yannarie River at Barradale to the Onslow turn-off; it is expected to be completed by mid-2015.[32] Further work to widen the highway between Minilya and Barradale, including replacing two floodways with bridges, is expected to be completed by the end of 2017.[33]
Major intersections
LGA | Location | km[1] | mi | Destinations[5][6] | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Geraldton, Geraldton Port, Geraldton Regional and St John of God Geraldton hospitals | Southern terminus at diamond interchange: continues as John Willcock Link | ||||
Mount Tarcoola | 0.77 | 0.48 | Geraldton–Mount Magnet Road (State Route 123) – Mullewa, Mount Magnet, Geraldton Airport | Traffic-light intersection | |
Geraldton | 1.20 | 0.75 | Utakarra Road | ||
Roundabout (Chapman Valley Rotary) | |||||
Northampton | Bowes–East Bowes boundary | 49.72 | 30.89 | Northampton–Nabawa Road – Nabawa | |
Batavia Coast Tourist Way ) northern concurrency terminus | |||||
Murchison River | 114.14– 114.25 | 70.92– 70.99 | Galena Bridge[34] | ||
Monkey Mia, Shark Bay | |||||
Wooramel River | 358.86– 358.96 | 222.99– 223.05 | Bridge over river | ||
Carnarvon | Kingsford–Brown Range boundary | 475.67 | 295.57 | Robinson Street west – Carnarvon | T junction: northbound traffic turns east, southbound traffic turns south |
South Plantations–Inggarda boundary | 483.05 | 300.15 | Carnarvon–Mullewa Road – Gascoyne Junction, Kennedy Range and Mount Augustus national parks | ||
Gascoyne River | 484.71– 484.94 | 301.18– 301.33 | Gascoyne River Bridge[35] | ||
Carnarvon | |||||
Lyndon River | 661.29– 661.37 | 410.91– 410.96 | Bridge over river | ||
Ashburton River | 839.32– 839.56 | 521.53– 521.68 | Bridge over river | ||
Ashburton | Nanutarra Munjina Road (State Route 136) – Paraburdoo, Tom Price | ||||
Onslow Road – Onslow | |||||
Fortescue | 961.74 | 597.60 | Pannawonica Road – Pannawonica | ||
Fortescue River | 1,003.14– 1,003.54 | 623.32– 623.57 | Bridge over river | ||
Millstream-Chichester National Park, Tom Price | Formerly known as Warlu Road until September 2020 | ||||
Gap Ridge–Cooya Pooya– Burrup Peninsula | |||||
Cooya Pooya–Stove Hill– Cossack Tourist Way ) western concurrency terminus | |||||
Point Samson Roebourne Road (Tourist Drive 351) – Wickham, Point Samson | Tourist Drive 351 (Cossack Tourist Way) eastern concurrency terminus | ||||
Millstream–Chichester national parks | |||||
Yule River | 1,278.09– 1,278.45 | 794.17– 794.39 | Bridge over river | ||
Port Hedland | Mundabullangana | 1,299.06 | 807.20 | Great Northern Highway (National Highway 1 northeast / National Highway 95 southeast) – Port Hedland, Newman, Tom Price | Northern terminus: continues as Great Northern Highway northeast bound |
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See also
Notes
- ^ Three-star sections included (approximately) the first 150 kilometres (93 mi) north of Geraldton, a 15-kilometre (9.3 mi) stretch south of Carnarvon, and four 40-to-80-kilometre-long (25 to 50 mi) sections between Carnarvon and the turnoff to Dampier.[13][14]
- ^ Now the Geographic Names Committee[20]
- ^ The peg indicated the distance from Perth, 732 kilometres.[17]: 185
Coordinates
- ^ Binnu Roadhouse: 28°02′31″S 114°40′25″E / 28.0420°S 114.6735°E
- ^ Billabong Roadhouse: 26°48′58″S 114°36′51″E / 26.8161°S 114.6142°E
- ^ Overlander Roadhouse: 26°24′41″S 114°27′51″E / 26.4113°S 114.4643°E
- ^ Wooramel Roadhouse: 25°46′14″S 114°17′38″E / 25.7706°S 114.2939°E
- ^ Minilya Roadhouse: 23°48′55″S 114°00′33″E / 23.8152°S 114.0093°E
- ^ Nanutarra Roadhouse: 22°32′34″S 115°30′03″E / 22.5428°S 115.5007°E
- ^ Fortescue River Roadhouse: 21°17′43″S 116°08′18″E / 21.2954°S 116.1382°E
- ^ Karratha Roadhouse: 20°47′43″S 116°46′41″E / 20.7952°S 116.7780°E
References
- ^ a b c Main Roads Western Australia. "Road Information Mapping System". Government of Western Australia. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
- ^ a b "The Land Act, 1933–1939. Naming of Highway. (per 413/41)" (PDF). Western Australia Government Gazette. 21 April 1944. p. 1944:329. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 April 2015. Additional archives: 13 April 2015.
- Australian TransportMarch 1965 page 15
- ^ a b c d e f g Google (18 April 2015). "North West Coastal Highway" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
- ^ a b c d Main Roads Western Australia (16 August 2013). Mid West Region map (PDF) (Map). Version 1.0. Government of Western Australia. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 11 April 2015. Additional archives: 1 February 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g Main Roads Western Australia (13 August 2013). Upper Regions map – Kimberley, Pilbara and Gascoyne (PDF) (Map). Version 1.0. Government of Western Australia. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2015. Additional archives: 11 April 2015.
- ^ Main Roads Western Australia (2013). "Mid West Regional Profile" (PDF). Government of Western Australia. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 January 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2014. Additional archives: 3 March 2016.
- ^ Main Roads Western Australia (2013). "Gascoyne Regional Profile" (PDF). Government of Western Australia. Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 January 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2014. Additional archives: 3 March 2016.
- ^ Main Roads Western Australia (2013). "Pilbara Regional Profile" (PDF). Government of Western Australia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 April 2014. Retrieved 26 April 2014. Additional archives: 3 March 2016.
- ISBN 0-7309-7657-2. Archived from the originalon 24 October 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
- ^ Main Roads Western Australia; Western Australian Tourism Commission; Royal Automobile Club. "Tourist Drives of Western Australia" (PDF). Main Roads Western Australia. pp. 32–33, 36. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 April 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2013. Additional archives: 24 September 2019.
- ^ a b Main Roads Western Australia (2014). "Statewide Traffic Digest 2008/09 – 2013/14" (PDF). Government of Western Australia. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 December 2014. Retrieved 7 April 2014. Additional archives: 19 December 2014.
- ^ a b Roberts, Paul; Affum, Joseph; Taylor, Samantha (August 2006). "AusRAP Star Rating Maps and Road Protection Scores for Rural Western Australian Roads" (PDF). Royal Automobile Club of Western Australia. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 April 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2015. Additional archives: 7 April 2015.
- ^ a b "Safer Roads: Star Ratings for WA's Major Highways" (PDF). Royal Automobile Club of Western Australia. January 2008. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 April 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2015. Additional archives: 7 April 2015.
- ^ "Shire of Carnarvon Demographic and Economic Profile" (PDF). Shire of Carnarvon. 2014. p. 15. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 March 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2015. Additional archives: 20 April 2015.
- ^ Department of the Environment. "Carnarvon Bioregion" (PDF). Commonwealth of Australia. p. 1. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 March 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2015. Additional archives: 24 September 2015.
- ^ ISBN 1-875560-87-4.
- ^ Elith, Jane; Bidwell, Sjaan (2004). "Introduction to NECs 1.14 to 1.23: Riparian eucalypt communities in the arid / semi-arid region of Australia" (PDF). Identification and Assessment of Nationally Threatened Woodlands: Description of Ecological Communities: Arid Eucalypt Woodlands (PDF) (Report). Canberra ACT: Commonwealth Department of the Environment and Heritage. pp. 277–278. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 March 2014. Additional archives: 24 September 2015.
- ^ "200 Mile Tank". Government of Western Australia, State Heritage office. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
- ^ Western Australian Land Information Authority. "Geographic Names Committee". Government of Western Australia. Archived from the original on 2 August 2013. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
- ^ "Midland Junction Affairs". The West Australian. Perth, WA. 23 October 1940. p. 3. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
- ^ Geraldton Guardian and Express. WA. 24 October 1940. p. 2. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
- ^ Main Roads Western Australia (13 August 2013). Wheatbelt North Region map (PDF) (Map). Version 1.0. Government of Western Australia. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 October 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2013. Additional archives: 27 December 2013.
- ^ a b "Northern Highways". The West Australian. Perth, WA. 23 July 1941. p. 6. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
- ^ "Local and General". Geraldton Guardian and Express. WA. 31 July 1941. p. 2. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
- ^ "Greenough Road Board". Geraldton Guardian and Express. WA. 14 August 1941. p. 4. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
- ^ Main Roads Western Australia a. "Dates of Major Changes to the Road Network – Rural Area" (PDF). Government of Western Australia. pp. 6–7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2015.Additional archives: 2 April 2015.
- ^ ISBN 0-7309-7692-0.
- ^ Jordan, Diana, ed. (2005). "Geraldton Set For Early Finish" (PDF). Thiess Quarterly News. 1. Thiess Pty Ltd: 6–7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 April 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2015.Additional archives: 16 April 2015.
- ^ Main Roads Western Australia. "Project Overview: Geraldton Southern Transport Corridor" (PDF). Government of Western Australia. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 April 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2015. Additional archives: 16 April 2015.
- ^ Main Roads Western Australia (3 September 2014). "Geraldton Southern Transport Corridor Stage 2". Government of Western Australia. Archived from the original on 16 April 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2015.Additional archives: 16 April 2015.
- ^ Main Roads Western Australia (17 March 2015). "North West Coastal Highway: Sealing of Shoulders – Barradale to Pannawonica Road". Government of Western Australia. Archived from the original on 16 April 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2015.Additional archives: 16 April 2015.
- ^ Main Roads Western Australia (17 March 2015). "North West Coastal Highway Widening: Minilya to Barradale". Government of Western Australia. Archived from the original on 16 April 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2015. Additional archives: 16 April 2015.
- ^ Shire of Northampton (8 February 2015). "Murchison Bridges". inHerit. State Heritage Office, Government of Western Australia. Archived from the original on 17 April 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2015. Additional archives: 17 April 2015.
- ^ "Heritage of Western Australia Act 1990: Entry of places in the Register of Heritage Places (per HR401)" (PDF). Western Australia Government Gazette. 15 August 2003. p. 2003:3697. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 April 2015.
External links