History
[edit]
Highway origins[edit]
The name Great Northern Highway was first proposed in October 1940 by the state's Nomenclature Advisory Committee, to describe the main route from Midland to Geraldton, Western Australia. This was following the naming of the Great Eastern and Great Southern highways. The Midland Junction Municipal Council approved the name, however at the Geraldton Municipal Council meeting, one councillor suggested that the Great Midland Highway would be a better name. The reasoning was that Geraldton was in the centre of the state's coastline, not in the north. It was explained that the highway would continue north past Geraldton, and the council voted to approve the name.
By July 1941, the Nomenclature Advisory Committee's proposal had expanded to three highway names for the roads in the state's northern areas: the Great Northern Highway for "the road from Midland Junction Town Hall to Wyndham, via Walebing, Pithara, Wubin, Payne's Find, Mt. Magnet, Cue, Nannine, Meekatharra, Roy Hill, Nullagine, Marble Bar, Mulyee, De Grey, Pardoo, Wallal, Anna Plains, Le Grange, Broome, Derby, Noonkanbah, Fitzroy Crossing, Christmas Creek, Louisa Downs, Hall's Creek and Turkey Creek", 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", and Geraldton Highway for "the road from Walebing to Geraldton via Mingenew". The proposal was well received by the local municipal councils and road boards.
A car struggles to cross the flooded Fortescue River (February 1942).
The name Great Northern Highway was gazetted on 10 March 1944, under section 10 of the Land Act, 1933–1939. However, the highway was mostly a series of tracks through remote pastoral areas, with the sealed road ending just past the Wheatbelt town of Miling in 1950.: 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.: 120–121 
Sealing the highway[edit]
Initial efforts[edit]
Economic growth and development in Western Australia's northern regions in the 1940s prompted the state to quadruple road funding between 1946 and 1952. Five "gangs" of workers were allocated to a 2,600-kilometre (1,600 mi) length of the Great Northern Highway between Meekatharra and Wyndham. However, 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.: 120–121  New alignments were constructed, such as between Derby and Fitzroy Crossing in the late 1940s, which had originally followed the curve of the Fitzroy River, along its floodplain, and could only be used in the dry season. The new alignment was a more direct 290-kilometre (180 mi) section, with the first eight kilometres (5 mi) sealed, a total of 109 kilometres (68 mi) of gravel road, and the remainder simply formed earth. Despite this low construction standard, the road remained passable except for short periods during heavy rain.: 120–121 
Beef Roads Scheme[edit]
In 1961, the federal government passed the Western Australian Grants (Beef Cattle Roads) Act 1961, known as the Beef Roads Scheme, that encouraged road building in the Kimberley.: 168  This had followed on from an earlier federal grant scheme in 1949 for the construction of a road from Nicholson to Wyndham. The road allowed trucks to efficiently transport cattle to port, rather than the slow cattle drives that could lose stock and take weeks to complete.: 122  The 1961 Beef Roads Scheme initially included upgrading the Wyndham to Halls Creek section of the Great Northern Highway as one of three projects in the region. One year later the scheme was expanded to include the Broome to Halls Creek section of the highway, and several bridge construction projects.: 168  However, the resources allocated to the Great Northern Highway were needed to maintain the highway as an unsealed road in a usable condition, rather than to completely seal the roadway. In 1963, work was completed on stabilising a 68-kilometre (42 mi) sandy section to prevent vehicles from becoming bogged, a 47-kilometre (29 mi) section was realigned to avoid the Fortescue River floodplain, and 40 kilometres (25 mi) between Marble Bar and Port Hedland was also realigned to minimise the effects of wet weather.: 186 
Perth to Newman[edit]
The projects funded by the Beef Roads Scheme resulted in a noticeably higher quality road in the Kimberley,: 221  but work still progressed on other sections of the highway. In 1970, a single-lane sealed section was completed between Perth and Meekatharra. The project was one of the first in the state to be constructed by contractors rather than by Main Roads directly. It cost $9 million, two-thirds of which was spent after 1959.: 220  The next section to be upgraded and sealed was from Meekatharra to Newman, a 414-kilometre-long (257 mi) project that would take four and a half years to construct. Due to the remoteness of the location, airstrips were built alongside the highway, so that workers could be flown in from Geraldton. The highway was realigned in several spots, to avoid difficult areas, improve river crossings, or give drivers a more scenic view of the surrounding area. New bridges were constructed along the route, including a reinforced concrete bridge at the Fortescue River, and a four-span bridge over the Gascoyne River's Middle Branch. By December 1978, the sealed road reached Newman, with the project completed three months ahead of schedule, and at a cost of $20 million, $1 million under budget. With a 7.4-metre-wide (24 ft) seal and 2.4-metre-wide (8 ft) shoulders, the road could easily accommodate two lanes of traffic. Previously sealed sections, totalling 485 kilometres (301 mi) of the highway, were less than half that width. Premier Charles Court opened the new and improved highway on 12 December 1978.: 297–9 
Port Hedland to Wyndham[edit]
The two-lane sealed road between Halls Creek and Wyndham was also completed in 1978. It involved the construction of 21 bridges, and extensive earthworks designed to blend the road into the terrain. The section was opened on 23 July 1978 by the Minister for Transport, at a cost of over $20 million.: 299–300  Meanwhile, work on sealing and upgrading the 476-kilometre-long (296 mi) section from Port Hedland to Broome began in 1976. With up to five contractors and four Main Roads teams working throughout the project, it was completed at an extraordinarily rapid pace. It opened in April 1981 at a cost of $56 million. With the opening of this section, tourist traffic escalated. Cape Keraudren, Eighty Mile Beach, and Broome became increasingly favoured destinations, especially for residents of the Pilbara.: 301 
The section of the Great Northern Highway south-east of Fitzroy Crossing
Work accelerated in the 1980s as part of the Australian Bicentenary Road Development program. From October 1982, the program provided $2.5 billion to upgrade the country's roads in the lead up to Australia's bicentenary in 1988.: 302  By this time, the only sections of the Great Northern Highway yet to be sealed were a 275-kilometre (171 mi) stretch from Fitzroy Crossing to Halls Creek, and another 416 kilometres (258 mi) between Newman and Port Hedland.: 314  Construction of the Fitzroy Crossing to Halls Creek section began in October 1981. The route had been surveyed in 1979; with the collaboration of the Western Australian Museum, Main Roads ensured it would not impact important Aboriginal heritage sites. After five years of work, including the construction of nine bridges, the widened and sealed section was completed on 7 September 1986. At the time, this was the final section of the nationwide Highway 1 to be sealed, and there was national interest. The media captured the completion on camera, while the federal Minister for Transport, Peter Morris, together with the Western Australian Minister for the North West, Ernie Bridge, rode on the bitumen truck for the final spray.: 318–20  With this section completed, the Newman to Port Hedland section of the Great Northern Highway was the only significant section of unsealed highway in Western Australia.: 320 
Newman to Port Hedland[edit]
A realignment of the highway between Newman and Port Hedland had been proposed since 1976, which would see the road deviate to the west at Newman, and travel via Wittenoom instead of Marble Bar.: 238  In the early 1980s, eleven route corridors were investigated by Main Roads. The potential impacts on the natural environment, regional economy, tourism, and resident population were considered, with particular concern for the crossing of the Hamersley Range.: 362–5 
The Great Northern Highway curves down through Munjina Gorge.
As the highway would pass through the Hamersley National Park, the Environmental Protection Authority decided in 1983 that an Environment Review and Management Program report was required for the Newman to White Springs section. Consultants prepared the report for Main Roads, which found that the key risks were erosion, visual impact, and possible damage to flora. A detailed survey was carried out, which included the use of laser and infra-red measuring devices from within a helicopter, and numerous field trips to determine the final alignment and bridge sites. A comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement was then produced, and the project was approved in mid-1984.: 362–5 
In early 1986, the contract for this 12-kilometre (7.5 mi) segment through the Munjina and Mungina East gorges was awarded. Construction of this segment involved tight control over earthworks and machinery movements, to protect the National Park ecology. The finished road was a scenic route curving down through the Munjina Gorge and out onto the Fortescue River flood plain, with cuttings and embankments blending it in with the natural environment. It was opened on 12 June 1987 by the federal Minister for Transport, Peter Morris, having cost $28.4 million.: 362–5 
Other portions of the Newman – Port Hedland link were completed over the next two years, with the last part officially opened on 16 December 1989 by Bob Brown and Bob Pearce, the federal and state transport ministers. This last section of the Great Northern Highway also completed the sealing of the National Highway,: 362–5  and the opening ceremony, held on location 212 kilometres (132 mi) south of Port Hedland, received national media coverage.: 362–5 
Fitzroy River crossing, Willare[edit]
In the late 1960s, Main Roads investigated alternative crossing points over the Fitzroy River, to replace the existing low-level bridge at Yeeda. Flooding in January 1966 had demonstrated that Willare was the best site. The new route would be thirteen kilometres (8 mi) longer, and required two bridges, but would result in a better quality road. When tenders were called, the river flooded again, washing away 52 metres (171 ft) of the old bridge. Rather than reconstruct the low-level crossing, the construction timeframe was shortened from 18 months to 38 weeks. The 390-metre-long (1,280 ft) Willare Bridge and 200-metre-long (660 ft) Minnie River Bridge opened on 12 June 1968, having cost almost $700,000. While situated two point one metres (6 ft 11 in) higher than the worst known flood level, the single-lane bridges were designed to accommodate more extensive flood levels, with the water flowing over them if necessary.: 221 
By the early 1980s, it was clear that the Fitzroy River crossing was still inadequate. Seasonal flooding had closed the road several times, and damaged the embankments leading up the bridges. The crossing had been closed for twenty four days in 1982; while in 1983, the most severe flooding since 1914 extensively damaged 2.6 kilometres (1.6 mi) of the highway, closing it for twenty-five days. To alleviate the problem, two new bridges were built in 1985, and the road was widened and raised two to three metres (6 ft 7 in to 9 ft 10 in) above the flood plain. The earthworks for the project included constructing guide banks to direct excess water to flow over floodways, which were protected with rocks. This was designed to minimise the time the road would be closed in such a scenario. The $11 million upgraded crossing was opened on 19 December 1985 by the federal Minister for Transport, Peter Morris. Then, one month later, Cyclone Hector produced 70% more water than the crossing had been designed for. Water overflowed the road all along the flood plain, not just at designated floodways, ravaging the shoulders and then destroying sections of road. Four to five kilometres (2.5 to 3.1 mi) of the highway was washed away, leaving the bridges isolated and disconnected. The road was closed from 27 January to 14 February 1986, with $200,000 spent just to make the crossing passable. It was then redesigned and rebuilt at a cost of $1.9 million to make it more flood resistant.: 315–8 
Further improvements[edit]
Standard two-lane road with unsealed shoulders near Paynes Find in 2010
Despite the provision of a completely sealed road, there was still much work to be done on the highway, with many older sections either worn out or not up to modern standards. Narrow sections were widened to a full seven metres (23 ft), and repairs made to the road, shoulders, fencing, and line markings as required, with work carried out in sections and progressing along the length of the highway.: 366  Four overtaking lanes were constructed between Mount Magnet and Cue in 1991; and between 1991 and 1993, there were eight contracts awarded to widen, reconstruct, and seal a combined total of more than 190 kilometres (120 mi) of the highway.: 366 
A range of projects were carried out across the length of the highway between 1996 and 2006. By 1998, a 157-kilometre (98 mi) section between the Sandfire Roadhouse and Victoria Highway had been improved at a cost of $1.1 million, and another 42 kilometres (26 mi) north of Meekatharra was improved for $12 million in 1999. Two bridges were constructed in the vicinity of Halls Creek in 2000, and another four in 2004/05, replacing floodways so that the highway would remain open during floods. Similarly, 100 kilometres (62 mi) north of Halls Creek, the 240-metre-long (0.15 mi) Jarlalu Bridge over the Ord River was constructed to replace a single-lane floodway, and was opened in January 2003. That same year, the bridges over the Fortescue and Gascoyne Rivers were strengthened to increase the highway's load capacity. Modifications were made to the steep ascent of the Darling Scarp at Bindoon Hill between February 2002 and April 2003, and the Great Northern Highway was realigned to bypass the Dalwallinu town centre.
Work on the Great Northern Highway has been continuous. From 2004 to 2010, the Muchea to Wubin section was upgraded, with parts reconstructed and realigned, and traffic lights installed at the intersection with Brand Highway. In the Kimberley, five sections between Halls Creek and Victoria Highway were improved between 2008 and 2009 with regards to pavement strength, alignment, safety, and flood resistance. From 2005 to 2010, the Perth section, through the Swan Valley, was upgraded, with the road widened, turning and overtaking lanes constructed, and street lighting improved. Construction of a realignment around Port Hedland's Wedgefield industrial area, including a new parclo interchange at Wilson Street, began towards the end of 2012. It was opened to traffic on 17 June 2014, and on 23 July 2014, Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss, Federal Member for Durack Melissa Price, and Pilbara MLA Brendon Grylls officially opened the project. It was finalised in August. In October 2013, construction began on a project to straighten and widen the Great Northern Highway's curves around Bindi Bindi. The project was completed and opened to traffic on 27 February 2015, and allowed the speed limit to be raised from 80 to 110 km/h (50 to 70 mph).
A 21-kilometre-long (13 mi) section between Batty Bog Road (north of New Norcia) and Walebing was reconstructed between September 2014 and 2015.
Perth Darwin National Highway[edit]
Further information: NorthLink WA and Tonkin Highway
Perth Darwin National Highway Swan Valley bypass (dashed orange line)
In the early 1990s, a corridor study conducted by Main Roads into the long-term needs of the Perth to Darwin National Highway concluded the existing Great Northern Highway, with bypasses around rural towns and the Swan Valley, was the most suitable route for the National Highway. Planning the alignment for the southernmost section, from Reid Highway in Perth to Bindoon, was undertaken from 2003 to 2013. It resulted in the planned alignment commencing from Tonkin Highway, bypassing the Swan Valley and Bullsbrook before reconnecting with the Great Northern Highway near Brand Highway. The Great Northern Highway is then followed until the Brockman River, where the planned route deviates to the east to bypass Bindoon, reconnecting with the existing Highway near Bindoon–Moora Road.
The first stage of construction was undertaken as part of the NorthLink WA project. Tonkin Highway's original northern section was made grade separated, and a dual carriageway extended from the original northern end of Tonkin Highway (near Reid Highway) past Ellenbrook and through the Swan Valley to an interchange with the Great Northern Highway and a new part of Brand Highway, with the extension continuing on as the Great Northern Highway. The previously planned route of the bypass, prior to 2012, followed Lord Street, east of Whiteman Park. The project is funded by both the state and federal governments. Construction began in June 2017, and was completed on 23 April 2020.
Environmental hazards[edit]
As observed in the 2018 Broome flood, the highway, and its river crossings are always at risk in extreme weather situations.
In 2023, Rio Tinto lost a radioactive capsule somewhere along the Great Northern Highway between Perth and Newman. On 2 February 2023, the capsule was found by a search vehicle which detected its radiation south of Newman.
