What's happening
Five new overtaking lanes are now open (three southbound and two northbound) Newman and Auski.
In 2022, the Commonwealth and Western Australian State Government committed $50m as part of the Northern Australia Freight Productivity Program for the construction of priority overtaking lanes on the 440km stretch of Great Northern Highway between Newman and Port Hedland, supporting the mining industry and other road users.
Great Northern Highway carries a mix of traffic including light vehicles, towing vehicles (tourists), road trains and oversize over mass (OSOM) vehicles, all of which travel at varying speeds. Currently 73.8% of this traffic is heavy vehicles.
Construction of these overtaking lanes will help reduce conflict between heavy and light vehicles by providing safer overtaking opportunities.
The work forms part of the proposed Northern Australia Freight Productivity Program which is intended to deliver upgrades to high priority roads in northern Western Australia essential for the movement of people and freight to support the North's economic development.
safety
freight network
transport efficiencies