Main Roads News – Flood preparedness and RTAA upgrade

Eighty percent of the freight which comes into WA from the rest of Australia is carried on the East-West rail line. In January and February 2022 the rail line was closed in South Australia due to severe flooding.

The closure of the East-West rail line meant that for a time road transport became the only way that the movement of freight into and out of WA could occur.

To help manage the disruption to freight movement which resulted from the rail closure, Main Roads developed two Temporary Special Assistance Flood Relief Permits as part of a nationally coordinated emergency response to increase the amount of goods and materials that could be brought into Western Australia, to help ease supply chain shortages.

The two Flood Relief Permits were to: • permit 53.5 metre long triple road trains to travel from the WA border to the Kalgoorlie Intermodal Terminal,

At the beginning of April, loads in excess of 4.5 metres wide were restricted from travelling on Great Northern Highway between Mount Magnet and Paynes Find, due to flooding.The restrictions led to a backlog of over 20 Over Size Over Mass (OSOM) loads which were parked up at Mount Magnet and Paynes Find and unable to travel on this section of Highway.

Working alongside colleagues in the Mid-West Gascoyne Region, Heavy Vehicle Services developed a plan to enable the loads to safely travel along the Highway.

On 6 April, OSOM loads exceeding 5.5 metres wide were able to depart under Traffic Escort, in staged convoys of up to six loads in each convoy. • The first convoy departed Mount

Magnet, travelling south on the

Highway while the road remained closed to northbound traffic. • The second convoy, travelling north from Paynes Find, was able to depart once the OSOM loads travelling south passed Paynes Find.

Several convoys were approved for travel in each direction, with up to six vehicles in each convoy.

In collaboration with BHP, Main Roads is constructing two new roadover-rail bridges, realigning two major intersections and building two new roundabouts in the Hedland area.

This package of work will remove three road/rail conflicts to significantly improve road safety and transport

and return. This was part of a “land bridge” around the rail closure in South Australia, which used triple road trains to transport containers from the rail terminal in Port Augusta to Kalgoorlie. At Kalgoorlie the containers were put onto trains and transported to the Kewdale Intermodal Terminal. • permit 36.5 metre long double road trains to travel from Northam to Roe

Highway under escort by Main Roads

Heavy Vehicle Services Transport

Inspectors. This meant the road trains did not have to drop a trailer at Northam and so there was a further movement of containers to Distribution Centres.

More than 500 Flood Relief Permits were issued during the exemption period which ran from 4 February to 13 March, with an extension to the 36.5 metre permit until 27 March.

We thank the general public for their cooperation during this time, and the heavy vehicle industry for their continued efforts.

efficiency for the Hedland community. The project commenced in 2021 and includes: • Stage 1: Construction of a 34 metre long bridge over BHP’s rail line south of Buttweld Road, and closure of Powell Road with construction of roundabouts at Dalton and

Hamilton Roads. Stage 1 is due for completion in October 2022. • Stage 2: Construction of a 31 metre long road over rail bridge on the Port Hedland Airport

Deviation at the Nelson Point main level crossing on Great Northern

Highway. Stage 2 is due for completion in May 2023. Further information is available on the Main Roads website at www.mainroads. wa.gov.au

The Newman RTAA will be temporarily closed for upgrades from 9 May through to October 2022.

Work at the RTAA will include: • Upgrade to existing access with pavement widening and dedicated turning pockets for entry and exit movements. • Upgrade to existing parking area with a fully sealed surface and improved drainage. • 100 marked heavy vehicle parking bays. • Installation of a new ablution block; and • Lighting of the access and parking bays.

This will significantly improve the safe manoeuvring of 60 metre quad road trains, while also improving amenity for parking and break down of combination vehicles, reducing noise and dust.

An alternate temporary rest area has been made available approximately one kilometre north of the current location. For further information please contact Main Roads Customer Information Centre on 138 138.