Content deleted Content added
Davidcannon (talk | contribs) m clean up; fixed unclosed tags using AWB |
→Major intersections: minor edits |
||
| (40 intermediate revisions by 22 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{Short description|Highway in Western Australia}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2013}}
{{Use Australian English|date=October 2013}}
Line 6 ⟶ 7:
| state = WA
| location = North West Coastal Highway route map.png
|
| loc_caption = Map of north-western Western Australia, with North West Coastal Highway highlighted in red
| length = 1299.06
Line 20 ⟶ 21:
}}
| direction_a = South
| end_a = {{AUshield|R|1}} [[Brand Highway]] <small>(National Route 1), [[
| exits = {{Plainlist|
* {{AUshield|S|123}} [[Geraldton–Mount Magnet Road]] <small>(State Route 123)</small>
Line 31 ⟶ 32:
}}
'''North West Coastal Highway''' is a generally north-south [[Western Australia]]n highway which links the coastal city of [[
In Geraldton, the highway begins at a grade separated interchange with [[Brand Highway]] and roads providing access to the port and town centre. Two major roads link the North West Coastal Highway to the inland [[Great Northern Highway]]: [[Geraldton–Mount Magnet Road]] in Geraldton, and [[Nanutarra Munjina Road]] at [[Nanutarra, Western Australia|Nanutarra]], {{convert|845|km}} further north. Several roads link provide access to coastal towns and attractions, including [[Shark Bay Road]], [[Onslow Road (Western Australia)|Onslow Road]] and [[Karratha Road]]. With few towns on the highway, [[Roadhouse (facility)|roadhouse]]s are the only settlements for long stretches. North West Coastal Highway ends at Great Northern Highway, {{convert|30|km}} out from Port Hedland.
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.<ref>Roads ''[[Australian Transport]]'' March 1965 page 15</ref> 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 [[Mid West (Western Australia)|Mid West]] city of [[
The entire highway is allocated [[List of road routes in Western Australia#R1|National Route 1]], part of Australia's [[Highway 1 (Australia)|Highway 1]],<ref name=DistBook2013>{{cite book |title=Distance book |year=2013 |publisher=Main Roads Western Australia |isbn=0-7309-7657-2 |pages=4–5 |url=http://www.mainroads.wa.gov.au/UsingRoads/TouringWAMaps/Pages/DistanceBook.aspx |edition=13th |
Main Roads Western Australia [[Traffic count|monitors traffic volume]] across the state's road network, including various locations along North West Coastal Highway.<ref name="traffic digest">{{cite web |title=Statewide Traffic Digest 2008/09 – 2013/14 |url=http://reportingcentreresources.mainroads.wa.gov.au/public/data/xrc4111/AADT/traffic_digest.pdf |author=Main Roads Western Australia |publisher=Government of Western Australia |
=== Geraldton to Carnarvon ===
[[File:OIC NW hwy 26th south.jpg|thumb|left|View south along North West Coastal Highway, about {{convert|27|km|abbr=on}} south of the Wooramel Roadhouse]]
North West Coastal Highway commences at a [[diamond interchange]] at the northern end of Brand Highway. It heads east from the interchange and curves round to the north, past a traffic-light intersection with [[Geraldton–Mount Magnet Road]]. The highway continues north through
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,<ref>{{cite web |title=Shire of Carnarvon Demographic and Economic Profile |url=http://www.carnarvon.wa.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Carnarvon-profile-Aug-2014.pdf |publisher=Shire of Carnarvon |date=2014 |page=15 |
=== Carnarvon to Port Hedland ===
North of Carnarvon, the highway passes through desert and becomes very flat. Bridges span many [[ephemeral river]]s and creeks,<ref name=VL />{{rp|229}} with strands of eucalyptus along their floodplains.<ref name=gmaps /><ref>{{Cite report |last1=Elith |first1=Jane |last2=Bidwell |first2=Sjaan |date=2004 |title=Identification and Assessment of Nationally Threatened Woodlands: Description of Ecological Communities: Arid Eucalypt Woodlands |url=http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/d1d1d634-a913-4a40-baaa-6344a0aaba5e/files/arid-eucalypt.pdf |publisher=Commonwealth Department of the Environment and Heritage |location=Canberra ACT |chapter=Introduction to NECs 1.14 to 1.23: Riparian eucalypt communities in the arid / semi-arid region of Australia |chapter-url=http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/d1d1d634-a913-4a40-baaa-6344a0aaba5e/files/arid-eucalypt-descriptions-3.pdf |pages=277–278 |
▲Nationally Threatened Woodlands: Description of Ecological Communities: Arid Eucalypt Woodlands |url=http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/d1d1d634-a913-4a40-baaa-6344a0aaba5e/files/arid-eucalypt.pdf |publisher=Commonwealth Department of the Environment and Heritage |location=Canberra ACT |chapter=Introduction to NECs 1.14 to 1.23: Riparian eucalypt communities in the arid / semi-arid region of Australia |chapter-url=http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/d1d1d634-a913-4a40-baaa-6344a0aaba5e/files/arid-eucalypt-descriptions-3.pdf |pages=277–278 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140313022218/http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/d1d1d634-a913-4a40-baaa-6344a0aaba5e/files/arid-eucalypt-descriptions-3.pdf |archivedate=13 March 2014 |deadurl=no}} {{cite archives |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6XzpMlOZm#.pdf |archivedate=23 April 2015}}</ref> The next roadhouse, {{convert|135|km}} beyond Carnovon, is the [[Minilya, Western Australia|Minilya Roadhouse]] adjacent to the Minilya River.{{refn|Minilya Roadhouse: {{coord|23.8152|S|114.0093|E|name=Minilya Roadhouse}}|group = coord}} {{convert|7|km|spell=In}} further on is the turnoff to the [[North West Cape]] area, including [[Cape Range National Park]], Coral Bay and Exmouth.<ref name=gmaps /><ref name="MRWA upper" />
[[File:Ashburton River, Western Australia.jpg|thumb|Crossing the [[Ashburton River (Western Australia)|Ashburton River]]]]
North West Coastal Highway reaches the Pilbara after {{convert|100|km}}, where it deviates further inland. The highway continues north-east for {{convert|130|km}}, crossing the [[Ashburton River (Western Australia)|Ashburton River]] close to [[Nanutarra Roadhouse]].{{refn|Nanutarra Roadhouse: {{coord|22.5428|S|115.5007|E|name=Nanutarra Roadhouse}}|group = coord}} Nearby it intersects [[Nanutarra Munjina Road]], an access road to the mining towns of [[Tom Price, Western Australia|Tom Price]] and [[
Over the next {{convert|260|km}}, the road crosses the [[Robe River (Australia)|Robe River]], near the turnoff to [[
==History==
===Origins===
Before the mid-1920s, travelling north from Geraldton necessitated going through [[Mullewa]], [[Dairy Creek]] and [[Gascoyne Junction]]. In 1926, a direct route joining Geraldton and Carnarvon was constructed, shortening the trip by {{convert|160|km|mi|sigfig=1|abbr=on}}. At first, this was little more than a rough bush track, at least partly used for extracting [[sandalwood]]. As there was often little water along this route, tanks with catchment roofs were built at eight locations along the track. The tanks were named for their distance from Carnarvon, at 40, 55, 85, 110, 125, 150, 180, and 200 miles. These tanks provided a life-saving function but when the road was later sealed, they became less important and were gradually removed except for Number 8 tank. Number 8 tank is still used by travellers and marks a point {{convert|100|mi|km|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} from Geraldton, {{convert|200|mi|km|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} from Carnarvon.<ref name="tanks">{{cite web|title=200 Mile Tank|url=http://inherit.stateheritage.wa.gov.au/Public/Inventory/PrintSingleRecord/c6388868-da84-4c1c-b1fc-ff30e0b82067|publisher=Government of Western Australia, State Heritage office|access-date=3 June 2016}}</ref>
Western Australia's Nomenclature Advisory Committee{{refn|group=lower-alpha|Now the Geographic Names Committee<ref>{{cite web |title=Geographic Names Committee |url=http://www.landgate.wa.gov.au/corporate.nsf/web/Geographic+Names+Committee |publisher=Government of Western Australia |accessdate=22 March 2014 |author=Western Australian Land Information Authority |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20130802165311/http://www.landgate.wa.gov.au/corporate.nsf/web/Geographic+Names+Committee |archivedate=2 August 2013 |deadurl=yes}}</ref>}} proposed in October 1940 that a highway name be used to describe the main route from [[Midland, Western Australia|Midland]] to Geraldton,<ref name=MJA1940>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article46744914 |title=Midland Junction Affairs |newspaper=[[The West Australian]] |location=Perth, WA |date=23 October 1940 |accessdate=22 March 2014 |page=3 }}</ref> and extending to areas further north.<ref name=GLaG /> The suggested name was Great Northern Highway, following on from the naming of the [[Great Eastern Highway|Great Eastern]] and [[Great Southern Highway|Great Southern]] highways.<ref name=GLaG>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article67277690 |title=Local and General |newspaper=[[Geraldton Guardian and Express]] |location=WA |date=24 October 1940 |accessdate=22 March 2014 |page=2}}</ref> By July 1941, the committee's proposal had expanded to three highway names for the roads in the state's northern areas: Great Northern Highway for the Midland Junction to [[Wyndham, Western Australia|Wyndham]] road, Geraldton Highway for [[Walebing, Western Australia|Walebing]]–[[Mingenew, Western Australia|Mingenew]]–Geraldton route,{{efn|1=Modern-day [[The Midlands Road]] and [[Brand Highway]]<ref name="MRWA midwest" /><ref name="MRWA WN">{{cite map |publisher = Government of Western Australia |title = Wheatbelt North Region map |date = 13 August 2013 |url = https://www.mainroads.wa.gov.au/Documents/REGION%20STATE%20ROAD%20CONDITION%20MAP%20138%20138%20WHEATBELT%20NORTH.RCN-D13%5E233477.PDF |version = Version 1.0 |author= Main Roads Western Australia |accessdate = 20 December 2013 |archiveurl = http://www.webcitation.org/6JE6VLScT#.pdf |archivedate = 29 August 2013 |deadurl = no }} {{cite archives |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131227005811/https://www.mainroads.wa.gov.au/Documents/REGION%20STATE%20ROAD%20CONDITION%20MAP%20138%20138%20WHEATBELT%20NORTH.RCN-D13%5E233477.PDF |archivedate=27 December 2013}}</ref>}} and North West Coastal Highway for "the road from Geraldton to De Grey, via Northampton, Galena, Carnarvon, Boolaganoo, Winning Pool, Giralia, Yanrey, Onslow, Peedamullah, Mardie, Karratha, Roebourne, Whim Creek, Mundabullangana and Port Hedland".<ref name=NHwys>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47153477 |title=Northern Highways |newspaper=The West Australian |location=Perth, WA |date=23 July 1941 |accessdate=22 March 2014 |page=6}}</ref> The proposal was well received by the local municipal councils and road boards.<ref name=NHwys /><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article67313098 |title=Local and General |newspaper=Geraldton Guardian and Express |location=WA |date=31 July 1941 |accessdate=22 March 2014 |page=2 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article67312173 |title=Greenough Road Board |newspaper=Geraldton Guardian and Express |location=WA |date=14 August 1941 |accessdate=22 March 2014 |page=4 }}</ref>▼
▲Western Australia's Nomenclature Advisory Committee{{refn|group=lower-alpha|Now the Geographic Names Committee<ref>{{cite web |title=Geographic Names Committee |url=http://www.landgate.wa.gov.au/corporate.nsf/web/Geographic+Names+Committee |publisher=Government of Western Australia |
[[File:Gascoyne River flood 1942.jpg|thumb|left|The flooded [[Gascoyne River]] in Carnarvon, 1942, with water rushing over the deck of the bridge. During such floods, roads could become bogs or be completely washed away.]]
The name North West Coastal Highway was [[gazette]]d on 21 April 1944, under section 10 of the Land Act, 1933–1939.<ref name="gazetted">{{Gazette WA |title=The Land Act, 1933–1939. Naming of Highway. |file=413/41 |page=1944:329 |date=21 April 1944 |url=https://www.slp.wa.gov.au/gazette/gazette.nsf/searchgazette/67F2A6F51228385C48257727007E0E91/$file/gg018.pdf |format=PDF |
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 {{convert|900|mi|km|adj = on}} 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.<ref name=VL />{{rp|120–121}}
Line 72 ⟶ 74:
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 {{convert|8|to|10|mi|spell = in}} each year. The rate of work increased rapidly, and by 1960, a {{convert|100|mi|adj=on}} stretch extending south from Carnarvon had been sealed. By the middle of that year, the sealing reached {{convert|135|mi}} beyond Geraldton and came {{convert|114|mi}} south of Carnarvon, with a {{convert|76|mi|km|adj=mid|-long}} gap. The project was completed in 1962 when the two sections converged at the 455-mile peg,{{efn|The peg indicated the distance from Perth, {{convert|455|mi|disp=out|abbr=off}}.<ref name=VL />{{rp|185}}}} and was officially opened on 1 September. Completion of the sealed road resulted in increased tourist traffic, and a longer tourist season.<ref name=VL />{{rp|185–186}}
A large cyclone swept through the Carnarvon area in February 1961, causing much devastation to the road network. Many [[Floodway (road)|floodways]] were completely washed away, and North West Coastal Highway was immersed in flood water for {{convert|60|mi}} 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.<ref name=VL />{{rp|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.<ref name=VL />{{rp|221–222}} The new alignment on higher ground would be {{convert|50|mi}} shorter, and would make bridging rivers easier.<ref name=VL />{{rp|227}}
Line 84 ⟶ 86:
Work started at Carnarvon, and {{convert|190|mi}} 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 {{convert|15|mi}}, aggregate up to {{convert|100|mi}}, and bitumen up to {{convert|850|mi}}. The project required thirty bridges, over riverbeds that could be dry all year, but might receive as much as {{convert|1300|mm}} 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.<ref name=VL />{{rp|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
===Further improvements===
In the 1980s the highway's flood resistance was improved with the construction of new, higher-level bridges to replace lower
[[File:Maitland River bridge Western Australia 2004-04-14.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.3|Maitland River bridge following Cyclone Monty, 2004]]The northernmost section of the highway, from Great Northern Highway to Port Hedland, was made part of Great Northern Highway in early 1996.<ref name="MRWA major changes">{{cite web |author1=Main Roads Western
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, {{convert|5|km|spell=in}} worth of road works, and grade separation of roads.<ref name=VLTTY />{{rp|27–28}} North West Coastal Highway's southern terminus at Brand Highway was upgraded from a roundabout<ref>{{cite journal |editor1-last=Jordan |editor1-first=Diana |title=Geraldton Set For Early Finish |journal=Thiess
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.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Main Roads Western Australia |title=North West Coastal Highway: Sealing of Shoulders
==Major intersections==
{{AUSinttop
|length_ref=<ref name=RIMS>{{cite web
|author = Main Roads Western Australia
|title = Road Information Mapping System
|url = http://gis.mainroads.wa.gov.au/roadinformationmap/
|publisher = Government of Western Australia
|
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130928155909/https://gis.mainroads.wa.gov.au/roadinformationmap/
|archive-date = 28 September 2013
|url-status = dead
|df = dmy-all
}}</ref>
|dest_ref=<ref name="MRWA midwest">{{cite map
|publisher = Government of Western Australia
Line 110 ⟶ 117:
|version = Version 1.0
|author = Main Roads Western Australia
|
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140201134426/https://www.mainroads.wa.gov.au/Documents/REGION%20STATE%20ROAD%20CONDITION%20MAP%20138%20138%20MID%20WEST.RCN-D13%5E233479.PDF
|
|
|
|
</ref><ref name="MRWA upper">{{cite map
|publisher = Government of Western Australia
Line 123 ⟶ 130:
|version = Version 1.0
|author = Main Roads Western Australia
|
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131224095807/https://www.mainroads.wa.gov.au/Documents/REGIONAL%20ROAD%20CONDITION%20MAP%20UPPER%20REGIONS%20MAP.RCN-D13%5E2343348.PDF
|
|
|
|
}}
{{AUS-WAint
Line 148 ⟶ 155:
|notes=}}
{{AUS-WAint
|location_special={{WAcity|Sunset Beach}}
|km=8.24
|road=[[Chapman Valley Road]] – west to Chapman Road, east to {{WAcity|Nabawa|Yuna}}
Line 155 ⟶ 162:
|LGAS=Northampton
|LGAspan=3
|location_special={{WAcity|Bowes}}
|km=49.72
|road=Northampton–Nabawa Road{{WAcity|p=on|Nabawa}}
Line 174 ⟶ 181:
|km=114.14
|km2=114.25
|bridge=Galena Bridge<ref>{{cite web |url=http://inherit.stateheritage.wa.gov.au/Public/Inventory/Details/01dcbc98-9f74-4cbc-a905-cbef21c2abf6 |title=Murchison Bridges |website=inHerit |author=Shire of Northampton |publisher=State Heritage Office, Government of Western Australia |date=8 February 2015 |
}}
{{AUS-WAint
Line 190 ⟶ 197:
|LGAS=Carnarvon
|LGAspan=2
|location_special={{WAcity|Kingsford}}
|km=475.67
|road=Robinson Street west{{WAcity|p=on|Carnarvon}}
|notes=T junction: northbound traffic turns east, southbound traffic turns south}}
{{AUS-WAint
|location_special={{WAcity|South Plantations}}
|km=483.05
|road=Carnarvon–Mullewa Road{{WAcity|p=on|Gascoyne Junction}}, [[Kennedy Range National Park|Kennedy Range]] and [[Mount Augustus National Park|Mount Augustus]] national parks
Line 203 ⟶ 210:
|km=484.71
|km2=484.94
|bridge=Gascoyne River Bridge<ref>{{Gazette WA |title=Heritage of Western Australia Act 1990: Entry of places in the Register of Heritage Places |file=HR401 |page=2003:3697 |date=15 August 2003 |url=http://www.slp.wa.gov.au/gazette/gazette.nsf/0/45F4FE7840CAF9C148256D82000D7E00/$file/gg138.pdf |
}}
{{AUS-WAint
Line 250 ⟶ 257:
|bridge=Bridge over river}}
{{AUS-WAint
|LGAC=Karratha
|LGAspan=5
|location_special={{WAcity|Gap Ridge}}
|km=1098.24
|road=[[
|notes=Formerly known as Warlu Road until September 2020}}
{{AUS-WAint
|location_special=Gap
|km=1098.55
|road=Madigan Road{{WAcity|p=on|Dampier|Karratha}}, [[Burrup Peninsula]]
Line 263 ⟶ 270:
{{AUS-WAint
|type=concur
|location_special= Cooya
|km=1107.58
|road={{AUshield|T|351}} [[Karratha Road]] (Tourist Drive 351){{WAcity|p=on|Karratha|Dampier}}
Line 276 ⟶ 283:
|location=Sherlock
|km=1167.49
|road=Roebourne–Wittenoom Road – [[Karijini National Park|Karijini]] and [[Millstream-Chichester National Park|
|notes=}}
{{Jctbridge
Line 287 ⟶ 294:
|location=Mundabullangana
|km=1299.06
|road={{AUshield|N|1|N|95}} [[Great Northern Highway]] (National Highway 1
|notes=Northern terminus: continues as Great Northern Highway
{{jctbtm|keys=concur|conv=off}}
| |||