Nomads heading into the north of WA have been warned to expect delays on the roads as the resources boom keeps going.
This report from The West Australian newspaper today:
Highway delays as big trucks carry boom
A senior policeman has warned that the number of big trucks carrying mining equipment to the resources-rich Pilbara will increase and cause long delays on WA's highways in the foreseeable future as figures show police escorts for oversize loads have more than doubled.
Traffic laws require police to escort trucks carrying loads more than 5.5m wide or more than 40m long.
That job is performed by unsworn traffic escort branch staff, who have limited powers to direct traffic.
Assistant Commissioner Gary Budge said the number of escorts had doubled this year to more than 200 a month.
Those figures do not include big trucks that do not require a police escort, which could amount to hundreds more trucks each month.
Modelling from trucking companies suggests the transport of big loads will increase and continue for many years, with some companies booked more than 18 months in advance.
Mr Budge spoke of his concerns for motorists' safety as the school holidays started and the annual northern pilgrimage of the grey nomads got into full swing.
Last week, emergency service crews cleaned up a fuel spill after a tanker clipped an oversized load on the Great Northern Highway about 45km from Paynes Find.
"The movement of normal traffic on these roads is now and is going to be disrupted in the future," Mr Budge said.
"People have to plan for this and be patient because these loads can't just pull off the road anywhere to let vehicles past."
Mr Budge said it was difficult to advise motorists of disruptions because they were so frequent they should be regarded as a normal part of traffic movements north of Perth.
He said motorists should allow an extra two hours per trip.
The traffic escort unit had recently increased from nine staff to 15, and may soon be increased by another 10.
The costs associated with escorts are recovered from the transport companies.
'People have to plan for this and be patient because these loads can't just pull off the road anywhere to let vehicles past.'"Assistant Commissioner Gary Budge said.
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To a much lesser extent, there will be some extra equipment moving in and out of the Loy Yang region of Victoria for at least the next few months. After the floods to the coal mines, extra work is needed to sort the problem out and bring production back on line. All great for the economy though, hopefully China's slowing of their economy won't be too big a problem for us.
Nomads heading into the north of WA have been warned to expect delays on the roads as the resources boom keeps going. This report from The West Australian newspaper today: Highway delays as big trucks carry boom
A senior policeman has warned that the number of big trucks carrying mining equipment to the resources-rich Pilbara will increase and cause long delays on WA's highways in the foreseeable future as figures show police escorts for oversize loads have more than doubled.
Traffic laws require police to escort trucks carrying loads more than 5.5m wide or more than 40m long. That job is performed by unsworn traffic escort branch staff, who have limited powers to direct traffic. Assistant Commissioner Gary Budge said the number of escorts had doubled this year to more than 200 a month.
Those figures do not include big trucks that do not require a police escort, which could amount to hundreds more trucks each month. Modelling from trucking companies suggests the transport of big loads will increase and continue for many years, with some companies booked more than 18 months in advance.
Mr Budge spoke of his concerns for motorists' safety as the school holidays started and the annual northern pilgrimage of the grey nomads got into full swing. Last week, emergency service crews cleaned up a fuel spill after a tanker clipped an oversized load on the Great Northern Highway about 45km from Paynes Find.
"The movement of normal traffic on these roads is now and is going to be disrupted in the future," Mr Budge said. "People have to plan for this and be patient because these loads can't just pull off the road anywhere to let vehicles past." Mr Budge said it was difficult to advise motorists of disruptions because they were so frequent they should be regarded as a normal part of traffic movements north of Perth.
He said motorists should allow an extra two hours per trip. The traffic escort unit had recently increased from nine staff to 15, and may soon be increased by another 10.
The costs associated with escorts are recovered from the transport companies. 'People have to plan for this and be patient because these loads can't just pull off the road anywhere to let vehicles past.'"Assistant Commissioner Gary Budge said.
There you are TonyD. hope that makes it easier to read.
I would be interested to get Chris' opinion on this, but suspect that the worst affected road will be the Great Northern Highway. Might be advisable for Nomads to go north via the coastal route?
I would be interested to get Chris' opinion on this, but suspect that the worst affected road will be the Great Northern Highway. Might be advisable for Nomads to go north via the coastal route?
A few weeks ago I came down the Gt Northern Highway from Port Hedland to Mt Magnet and lost count of the number of times I had to get off the road for wide loads heading north.
-- Edited by Clare46 on Thursday 12th of July 2012 12:50:01 PM
the best item you can have travelling this road is a UHF radio on Ch40, and have it turned on when on the road, and listen more than talking
This is what I've been on about. Even a little cheap hand-held will give you a little warning of about 2 kms.
Even I was astounded at the volume of oversize heading north when I was on my way to Perth. Mostly on the GN Highway, but I know there is some activity on the coast road out of Onslow. The vehicles without OVERSIZE on them with yellow beacons flashing were in the minority. I had to make way for 9 8.5 metre loads. That means getting right off the road.
I took the latest oversize up the Goldfields Highway from Kal to Mt. Magnet.
They're everywhere, in all directions, and the Eyre Highway across the Nullarbor is no exception.
Queensland is also busy toward Emerald, the coal country and in the Roma region.
Heading east on the Nulla I also met quite a few cars towing trailers full of household items. Clearly the exodus from the east to the west is full on.
BHP might have slowed down Roxby for the protestors and to make way for the security and the Police, but there's no way they're slowing down production. Just across the road from this park there are transportable houses being built as fast as they can be transported to Roxby. No one is slowing down there. The total will be 90 houses. Some staff will be housed at Woomera. More heavy machinery heading that way too.
While it seems we're living in a very productive mining country, there is no value adding. If china gets the s h i t s with Oz, everyone will be in that big hole they're digging.
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20ft Roma caravan - Mercedes Benz Sprinter - SA-based at the moment. Transport has no borders.
Management makes the decisions, but is not affected by the decisions it makes.
