Better rest areas planned for regional WA routes
Work on upgrading rest areas in regional Western Australia are expected to begin in the second half of this year.
An industry working group comprising representatives of the Main Roads Department and the transport industry has identified 17 initial locations for improvements, costing $14 million.
The project, being funded by the Federal Government will include the following:
Provision of toilet facilities at 10 locations on key freight routes, near Bunbury, Northam, Port Hedland, Northampton, Exmouth, Wubin and Marble Bar (more than $2 million);
Expansion of the Newman road train assembly area and new facilities ($6 million);
Sealing of existing gravel parking near Auski roadhouse ($3.2 million);
Sealing and extension of parking at Leonora and provision of toilet facilities ($1.5 million);
Sealing of an existing parking area near Karijini to separate heavy and light vehicles ($950,000).
Transport Minister, Riota Saffioti has said that the working group is looking at opportunities to involve local government and private companies to help broaden the benefits of the funding initiative as well as making better use of technology to expand the scope of their usage and to assist in the facility site management.
