Major roads in the Kimberley region of Western Australia

Main Roads Western Australia controls the major roads in the state's Kimberley region.[1] Great Northern Highway is the major road connection through the region, with sealed roads spurring off it to connect to population centres, and unsealed roads offering an alternative route between Derby and Wyndham.[2][3]

The region's main roads are important to the Kimberley, as roads are the only transportation mode within the region.[4] Great Northern Highway is the only sealed road linking the region to the rest of the state, and via Victoria Highway, the rest of the country; therefore, it is particularly important for defence, freight, and tourism. Freight needs include transportation of minerals to the ports at Derby and Wyndham for the mining industry, cattle to ports or abattoirs, and produce to markets (including to the Wyndham port for export) for the agricultural industry based around the Ord River Irrigation Scheme area.[4]

Broome Highway

Broome Highway
Location: Roebuck – Broome
Length: 30.90 km[5] (19.20 mi)

Broome Highway,[1] also known as Broome Road,[2] is a major road in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. It connects Great Northern Highway in Roebuck to the coastal town of Broome.[2]

Derby Highway

Derby Highway
Location: Willare – Derby
Length: 40.18 km[5] (24.97 mi)
Main article: Derby Highway

Derby Highway is a major road in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. From Great Northern Highway in Willare, it travels north to the western end of Gibb River Road, and then on to Derby.[2]

Gibb River Road

Gibb River Road
Location: Derby – Lake Argyle
Length: 646.87 km[5] (401.95 mi)
Main article: Gibb River Road

Gibb River Road,[3][5] also known as Derby Gibb River Road and Gibb River Wyndham Road,[1][2] is a major north-east to south-west road in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The road offers a more direct route between Derby and Great Northern Highway south of Wyndham than travelling on the highway itself, but is an unsealed gravel road except for short sections at either end.[2] The road is often closed due to flooding during the wet season, which is typically November through March, although delayed openings have been known to happen, frustrating the tourism industry.[6]

Great Northern Highway

Great Northern Highway
(Kimberley region)
Location: Eighty Mile Beach – Wyndham
Length: 1,430.72 km[5] (889.01 mi)
Route number: National Highway 1

Great Northern Highway is a main highway through the Kimberley region, and part of the Perth to Darwin national highway. From the south-western edge of the region at Eighty Mile Beach near the Sandfire Roadhouse, the highway travels north-east along the coast to Roebuck, east of Broome. From here it heads east to the Willare Bridge Roadhouse at the Fitzroy River, south of Derby. The highway continues east to Fitzroy Crossing, where it crosses the Fitzroy River a second time. It continues east, curving around the Margaret River to the town of Halls Creek. From here the highway heads north past Warmun to Wyndham.[2] The national highway route, however, turns off at Victoria Highway, west of Kununurra, to cross into the Northern Territory.[7]

Gubinge Road

Gubinge Road
Location: Broome
Length: 7.98 km[5] (4.96 mi)

Gubinge Road is the continuation of Broome Highway within Broome, in Western Australia's Kimberley region. It bypasses development within Broome by travelling along the western side of the town's peninsula, near Cable Beach, and connects to Port Drive near the southern end of the peninsula.[5]

Harbour Road

Harbour Road
Location: Wyndham
Length: 2.2 km[8] (1.4 mi)

Harbour Road[1] is the continuation of Great Northern Highway beyond the Wyndham townsites. The northern half of the road is restricted to authorised vehicles, for access to the harbour.[8]

Loch Street

Loch Street
Location: Derby
Length: 2.68 km[5] (1.67 mi)

Loch Street is the continuation of Derby Highway within Derby, in Western Australia's Kimberley region.[5]

Port Drive

Port Drive
Location: Broome
Length: 5.76 km[5] (3.58 mi)

Port Drive is a major road within Broome, in Western Australia's Kimberley region. The southern half of the road continues south from Gubinge Road to the town's main jetty at Roebuck Bay, while the northern half connects that main route to the Broome townsite.[5]

Victoria Highway

Victoria Highway
(Kimberley region)
Location: Lake Argyle & Kununurra
Length: 87.51 km[5] (54.38 mi)
Route number: National Highway 1
Main article: Victoria Highway

Victoria Highway is the main road link between Western Australia and the Northern Territory, and part of the Perth to Darwin national highway. From Great Northern Highway at Lake Argyle, the highway heads east-north-east to Kununurra, where it crosses the Dunham and Ord Rivers. It then continues on in a south-westerly direction, back into the locality of Lake Argyle, until it reaches Lake Argyle Road, before heading east a short distance to the state border.[2][5] There are plans for a 26-kilometre-long (16 mi) bypass around the northern side of Kununurra.[5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Main Roads Western Australia (17 December 2013). "Regional Roads". Government of Western Australia. Archived from the original on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Main Roads Western Australia (13 August 2013). Upper Regions map – Kimberley, Pilbara and Gascoyne (PDF) (Map). 1:3,000,000. Version 1.0. Government of Western Australia. Archived from the original on 29 August 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  3. 1 2 Main Roads Western Australia (28 February 2011). "Kimberley Network" (Map) (PDF). Intergrated Service Arrangement. 1:3,773,585. Government of Western Australia. Archived from the original on 3 August 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  4. 1 2 Main Roads Western Australia (2013). "Kimberley Regional Profile" (PDF). Government of Western Australia. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 May 2014. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Main Roads Western Australia. Road Information Mapping System (Map). Government of Western Australia. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  6. ↑ "Road opening delay frustrates locals". ABC News. 13 Apr 2006. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  7. ↑ Distance book (13 ed.). Main Roads Western Australia. 2013. pp. 4–5. ISBN 0 7309 7657 2. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  8. 1 2 Google (9 May 2014). "Harbour Road" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
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