Realignment of highway at Port Hedland separates commuters from trucks entering the port and industrial areas.
Trucks entering and leaving Port Hedland’s port precinct in Western Australia will now have a dedicated route to improve traffic flow and reduce run-ins with commuters.
The $260 million upgrade of the Great Northern Highway around the Wedgefield industrial area in Port Hedland has been completed and opened to traffic.
The works involved realigning 8km of the highway and building a new interchange to separate commuters from trucks entering the port and industrial areas.
Trucks will now have rear access to Wedgefield and will no longer need to use main commuter routes within Port Hedland.
WA transport authority Main Roads says the works will provide easier access to the port and improve safety.
The Federal Government contributed $190 million to the project, with $70 million coming from WA.
“This is part of the Perth-Darwin freight corridor, and is a vital link between our resources industries and export ports like Port Hedland,” federal infrastructure minister Warren Truss says of the highway.
Main Roads expects the upgrade to improve traffic flows between Port and South Hedland and greater access to new port and harbour areas.
It says the amount of traffic on the Port to South Hedland link has grown by 25 per cent over the past three years, with more than 15,000 vehicles using the route daily.
“This growth is creating increased conflict between heavy haulage vehicles and local traffic and often causes delays at major intersections,” it says.
“Port Hedland is the biggest volume port in Australia and it continues to grow in line with increased mining activity in the State’s north-west,” Main Roads says.
The department says it is developing a new system for the rear of Wedgefield to aid truck drivers entering the area.
“This will include an early warning for road train operators approaching the intersection of the new highway with Pinga Street, to minimise the need for emergency braking,” it says.