Roads are vital to social and economic activity in the Mid West Region. Apart from serving the local population, Mid West Region is traversed by all road users travelling between Perth and the north of the State along the two north/south strategic freight routes, Great Northern Highway and Brand Highway/North West Coastal Highway. Regionally, roads provide essential links to the commercial centre and Port at Geraldton.
The four major road user groups in the Mid West Region are described below.
Mining
The majority of the mining activity is located in the Murchison Goldfields. Transport of supplies for mine operation creates a large freight task, particularly for fuel; 0.2 million tonnes of fuel is transported annually by road train as far inland as Wiluna.
A range of mineral exports including iron ore, mineral sands, lead/zinc and copper concentrate, talc and garnet are transported by road to Geraldton Port. A total of 5.3m tonnes of iron ore and 1.1m tonnes of other mineral product was exported from the Port during 2009/10. In addition, lime sands mined on the coast are carted inland for use in treating acidic soils in the agricultural zone.
Agriculture
The agricultural industry covers a wide spectrum from crop production near the coast(Wheatbelt) to livestock production in the pastoral hinterland. Freight tasks include the cartage of fuel and fertilizers to farms, and livestock and grain from the farms to Geraldton Port. The growing use of lime sands is also placing new demands on affected roads.
Grain cartage is of particular significance. 2.1m tonnes of grain was exported through Geraldton Port in 2009/10 with around half transported by road. The State's principle grain handler, Cooperative Bulk Handling, rationalised grain handling by establishing Strategic Receival Points (SRP's) throughout the Mid West Region. This initiative is placing increasing pressure on roads servicing SRP's.
Tourism
Tourism developments are concentrated along the coastal strip from Greenhead to Kalbarri and encompass coastal recreation (fishing, surfing, windsurfing and diving) as well as providing access to the spectacular scenery of Kalbarri National Park. The completion of the Port Gregory - Kalbarri coastal link road and the construction of a sealed airstrip at Kalbarri has significantly increased tourist numbers in this area. Recent completion of Indian Ocean Drive has seen increased through traffic along the coast and will stimulate tourist developments.
In the Murchison Goldfields, the annual wildflower season in August and September is a major tourist attraction, with a related increase in traffic volumes, particularly on the Great Northern Highway, Geraldton-Mt Magnet Road and Wubin - Mullewa Road.
Fishing
The Mid West is regarded as the State's premier commercial fishing region, with export of rock lobster to Asia and North America and commercial catches of scallops, snapper, cod and shark. The entire catch is transported by road, including live rock lobsters exported through Perth International Airport.