Key Statistics

As shown in the table below, the Region's road network of 19,605 km represents 13.5% of the total State network.

The network can be broadly categorised into five groupings based on road function, namely:

1) National Highway (Great Northern Highway, the north-south strategic freight route to the east);

2) Coastal Route (Brand Highway and North West Coastal Highway, the coastal north-south strategic freight route;

3) East West Route (Geraldton-Mt Magnet Road and Mt Magnet-Sandstone Roads, linking Geraldton to the eastern Murchison and northern Goldfields);

4) Wheatbelt Access Roads (links to Wheatbelt towns and grain receival points); and

5) Tourist Roads (links to tourist destinations).

Traffic Volume & Composition

Whilst traffic volumes are generally low, they vary significantly due to seasonal factors, with peaks during the wildflower season (August/September) and the wheat harvest (November/December). The highest volumes occur on North West Coastal Highway through the City of Geraldton, with the new Chapman River Bridge carrying in excess of 10,000 vehicles per day.

Roads in the Mid West Region carry a large number of heavy vehicles, with heavy vehicles even outnumbering cars in some instances. The table below provides examples of the percentage of heavy vehicles on a selection of Mid West roads.