North West Coastal Highway

North West Coastal Highway
map
Basic data
Operator:	Main Roads
Start of the street:	Brand Highway Geraldton-Mount Magnet Road Geraldton ( WA ) ( 28 ° 47 '  S , 114 ° 37'  O )
End of street:	/ Great Northern Highway southwest of Port Hedland ( WA ) ( 20 ° 34 ′  S , 118 ° 26 ′  E )
Overall length:	1308 km
States :	Western Australia
The bridge on the Maitland River after cyclone "Monty"

 Map with all coordinates: OSM | WikiMap

The North West Coastal Highway is a trunk road in the west of the Australian state of Western Australia . It connects the Brand Highway in the Geraldton fishing port with the Great Northern Highway near the iron ore port of Port Hedland . The two-lane carriageway is 1,340 km long. Paved in 1974, the highway and the Brand Highway form the coastal link between Perth and Port Hedland.

The highway is the second longest in Western Australia and partly runs in very isolated areas. In economic terms, it is an important link to the Mid West , Gascoyne and Pilbara regions . The freeway promotes agriculture and fishing in the Mid West and Gascoyne-Outback Coast , which in Pilbara are transitioning to open-cast mining, pastoral care stations and coastal oil and gas production.

course

Approximate distances to cities in kilometers from Geraldton

Between Geraldton and Carnarvon the highway runs through lonely and dry semi-deserts. There is not a single town on this 400 km route and rest houses are the only settlements in the area. Travelers are advised to bring enough drinking water with them as the rest houses do not provide it for free. On this stretch of road, a junction at the Overlander Roadhouse leads to Shark Bay with the world-famous Monkey Mia bay .

Carnarvon, the only town between Geraldton and Karratha , marks a climate change. Bananas and other subtropical fruits are grown there. Unlike the subtropical areas on the east coast, the climate is much drier, and Carnarvon is also known as Western Australia's windiest place.

Further north the highway passes desert and becomes very flat. Bridges span many rivers. Most of the time these rivers have dried up; however, between November and April, hurricanes and rain can fill hollows with water. This, in turn, can cause parched rivers to deepen ten meters in less than a day.

Near the Minylya Roadhouse is the junction to the North West Cape Region, which includes the excursion destinations Cape Range National Park, Coral Bay and Exmouth . Exmouth is also home to a US Navy communications base.

Further north, the road goes inland and crosses the Ashburton River near the Nanutarra Roadhouse . The access road to the opencast mining towns of Tom Price , Paraburdoo and Wittenoom is nearby . After crossing the Robe River , Fortescue River and Maitland River , the highway reaches Karratha . Karratha, together with its sister town Dampier , is home to the North-West-Shelf oil and gas project. It is also the second largest iron ore exporting port in Pilbara . A little further east, Roebourne is the gateway to Wickham and Point Samson , the third largest iron ore port in the region. The highway ends 32 km southwest of Port Hedland , the largest iron ore port in the region and also the largest city in northwestern Western Australia, and joins the Great Northern Highway (N1 / N95).

The solitude of the Northwest can be judged by the number of roadhouses , which are the only settlements on the route. Enormous distances separate larger cities like Geraldton, Carnarvon and Port Hedland with no settlement between the cities. The highway itself isn't particularly interesting, but it does give travelers access to the best tourist attractions on the Indian Ocean coast .

swell

• Leigh Edmonds: The vital link: a history of Main Roads Western Australia 1926-1996 . University of Western Australia Press. Nedlands WA 1997.
• Steve Parish: Australian Touring Atlas . Steve Parish Publishing. Archerfield QLD 2007. ISBN 978-1-74193-232-4 . Pp. 84, 86, 87