Revised November 2009
Balmoral Road West to Burrup Road
Whats involved?
Project benefits
What consultation has been undertaken so far?
How can I be involved?
Further information
We are currently progressing the second stage of the project to duplicate Dampier Highway between Balmoral Road West intersection and Burrup Road.
Dampier Highway runs from North West Coastal Highway to the Parker Point Road intersection linking Karratha, Dampier and the Burrup Peninsular to the North West Coastal Highway.
Karratha's significant population and traffic growth in recent years has resulted from the expanding industrial activities on the Burrup Peninsula and new subdivisions.
The growth in traffic has led to a number of issues associated with the operations of the town's road network, in particular, the Dampier Highway. This project will address these issues and provide an efficient and safe level of service for road users.
Stage 1A was completed in 2008 with Stage 1B currently under construction with completion due in October 2009. To find out more about these sections please visit the Dampier Highway Stage 1B page.
The next stage of the project will progress the duplication to Burrup Road. We aim to commence construction in April 2010 with a view to completion by the end of 2011 subject to funding availability.
What's involved?
The project involves the construction of 12.3 km of highway with twelve intersecting roads along the section. Works will include:
- New carriageways of the duplicated highway which will generally run parallel to the existing road and located on the southern side of the existing carriageways. At some locations however the new construction may be placed on either side of the existing carriageways
- The construction of a bridge, built parallel to an existing bridge where the alignment of the duplication passes across the Seven Mile Creek. Strengthening of the existing bridge may be required.
- Some minor improvements to pedestrian links and amenity.
- Some improvements to the existing two lanes of Dampier Highway (subject to availability of funding) to provide for an ultimate configuration offering 2 m sealed shoulders to allow for on-road cycling and a 9 m median.
Other issues to be considered include...
- Further west, where it passes through Dampier Salt the alignment is affected by tidal movements (continuous water is present on either side of the existing carriageway for a distance of 2.6 km) and goes through rock cutting just prior to Burrup Road.
- The modification of Dampier Highway and Burrup Road intersection to make Dampier Highway/Burrup Road a through-route.
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The project will:
- Minimise the impact of through traffic on residential areas.
- Minimise the conflict between residential or business vehicles and heavy haulage vehicles.
- Optimise traffic flow and road safety.
- Provide for efficient and safe use by local, tourist and freight traffic.
In March 2009, we conducted a risk management workshop in Karratha inviting a number of stakeholders to identify various possible risks or issues with the project. Companies represented included:
- Rio Tinto Dampier Salt;
- Rio Tinto Rail;
- Shire of Roebourne;
- WA Police;
- CITIC Pacific Mining;
- KGJC;
- Chevron Australia;
- Dampier Port Authority;
- Woodside Burrup Park Ltd;
- FWW; and
- Landcorp.
The following items were discussed and being further progressed:
- Connection of the highway road alignment to either Burrup or Dampier.
- Access to Karratha International Airport.
- General access issues and project staging to minimise traffic restrictions during roadworks.
- Delivery timeframe.
We have now established a Community Reference Group (CRG) to further discuss elements of the project and engage the community in the development of the project. The CRG will meet regularly and assist in providing a conduit to exchange information between community members and business groups and the Main Roads Project Team. the first meeting was held on 19 August 2009. The CRG will be involved in selecting options for presenting the project information to the Karratha and Dampier communities.
A media release was recently released referring to the CRG's instrumental input into the highway design.
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Community members and businesses are able to have input through the CRG representatives. If you have any points you wish to raise, please contact your local representative. The group comprises:
The community will be invited to have their ay about the proposals for the highway once the CRG has met and discussed the various elements of the project.
A project newsletter will be sent out to all households and businesses via Australia Post.
For further information please view our Project Newsletter 1 - August 2009 (2 page PDF 563 KB)
Alternatively please contact:
Carolyn Walker
Community Relations Consultant
Telephone: (08) 9450 1445
Fax: (08) 9450 1261
Email: icwalker@vianet.net.au
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