Published on Tuesday, 5 May 2020 at 12:00:00 AM
The Australian ($248m) and State ($62m) Governments have committed a total of $310m for the completion of the Karratha Tom Price Road, Stages 3 and 4. Stage 3 is tracking well with a 38km section of the subbase material placed and compacted. The importation of basecourse is ongoing with approximately 2km of basecourse being placed, mixed and compacted, awaiting trimming. So far, 24 culverts for drainage structures have been completed, with rock protection currently underway. At the Millstream Road intersection, the sub base layer has been constructed.
Sealing of the first section is expected to commence in mid-May 2020. There was a considerable amount of repair work required after cyclone Damien battered the Pilbara in February 2020, as such, the project is now on track for completion in August 2020
Impact to local and visitor traffic
With assistance from Rio Tinto, public traffic has been shifted to a parallel detour track during the construction period to ensure safety for the travelling public.
All traffic is detoured via the Rio Tinto Iron Ore Rail Maintenance Track for the duration of works. To access the RTIO Rail Maintenance Track, an Access Permit must be acquired. You can obtain this via the Rio Tinto website: pilbararailaccessroad.riotinto.com. Please note, this permit must be obtained PRIOR to commencing your journey, permits cannot be granted when you reach the detour. The permit is valid for one month, and is at no cost to road users. Access to Millstream Road is being maintained during construction under speed restrictions.
The current detour onto the RTIO Access Track moves traffic onto an unsealed road. Main Roads encourages all road users to:
- Drive to the conditions specified on the RTIO permit.
- Drive within the speed limit and to the road conditions.
- It is advised to drive with your lights on.
If you would like to keep updated on the progress of the Karratha Tom Price Road project, please subscribe to updates on the Main Roads website.
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