Package of works expected to be delivered over the next five years.
Australia’s longest road will soon be able to take bigger trucks with bigger loads further south.
The Great Northern Highway, which Perth to Wyndham Port in northwest Western Australia, is set to undergo $384 million worth of upgrading over the next five years.
The upgrade will take place between Muchea and Wubin and include realignment and widening of the highway, additional overtaking lanes, and upgraded intersections on the 218km corridor.
“The planning review will be conducted over nine months, with design and construction packages to be awarded and delivered over the following four years to 2019,” assistant federal minister for infrastructure Jamie Briggs says.
“The review will identify priority upgrades to ensure we improve driver safety and the economic performance of the highway so freight can be delivered more quickly and efficiently, at less cost to industry.”
Federal MP for Pearce Christian Porter says safety will be a vital consideration.
“This section of highway is notorious as one of our State’s most dangerous stretches of roads and is in desperate need of upgrading,” he says.
Briggs and Porter say engagement with the freight industry and local communities has been an important aspect of the planning, and will continue throughout the next stages of the project.
Local forums are due to be held in November.