Police forces and road authorities warn of crowded Eyre Hwy after fires
The Eyre Highway and the border between South Australia and Western Australia have been reopened, the SA police force (Sapol) says.
The highway was closed since the start of the month due to catastrophic fire conditions and damage to the road surface in Western Australia, with the traffic stopped at the border with South Australia.
“Drivers are advised that the highway will be very busy over the next few days while that backlog of traffic clears and services along the highway, particularly near the border, will need time to restock. You may wish to delay travel to the area if possible,” Sapol says.
Police will be paying attention to traffic along the highway and urge drivers to resist the temptation to “try to make up for lost time”.
Drivers are encouraged to stop and take rest breaks every two hours.
Read how WA was cut off from the rest f the country, here
Main Roads WA describes the route in both directions between Norseman townsite and Caiguna as ’open with caution’ “due to impact of fire and smoke over road”.
“Some speed restrictions are in place and it is anticipated a large number of vehicles could be on the roads, so motorists are urged to drive with care and ensure they have adequate fuel, food and water,” the department says.
The same holds for the Coolgardie-Esperance Highway and the Goldfields Highway.
Norseman Police warn that wildlife may be closer to roads due to the recent lack of traffic.
Meanwhile, there is a severe weather warning for damaging winds and heavy rain in WA’s South Interior district as the remnants of Cyclone Blake move south on a path that is likely to impact on the Eyre Highway.
“Heavy rainfall that may lead to flooding is possible with daily rainfall totals of 75 mm to 150 mm and isolated falls in excess of 200 mm,” the Bureau of Meteorology warning states.
And as a tropical storm, which may become Cyclone Claudia, moves west of Darwin, it is tracking into the Indian Ocean, its final outcome is unknown and there may be some flooding in the far northeast of WA.