Tanami Road Upgrade
Tanami Road is 1,035 kms long, linking Alice Springs in the Northern Territory to Halls Creek in Western Australia. Tanami Road is mostly unsealed, can be difficult to drive on and experiences closures in wet weather, cutting off the communities it services.
Sealing Tanami Road will provide improved and safer access to remote Aboriginal communities and mine sites, as well as provide an alternative sealed route into northern WA from the eastern states.
Main Roads are developing a delivery strategy for consideration by government to progressively upgrade the road over the next 5 - 10 years, providing sustainable employment outcomes.
What’s happening
Activities completed to date include:
- surveys for the full 313 km length
- road design for first 114 km
- of proposed material areas and water bores sites for first 60 km
- Surveys for the first 60 km
- surveys with Koongie-Elvire and Jaru Traditional Owners for first 60 km, and alignment up to 114 km
- final road design of the first 60 km is now in progress and will be ready by the end of the year.
Preparing to start in 2023
Once the environment and heritage approvals are in place, it is planned to commence preconstruction activities later this year, including installing new water bores, investigating material sources and stockpiling materials, in preparation for the commencement of roadworks in 2023. It is planned to commence construction work of the first 20 km at the northern end, working in a southerly direction towards the border each year.
Industry Briefings
Main Roads held industry briefings in Broome, Derby, Kununurra and in Halls Creek, which were well attended by local contractors. These briefs are held yearly, although last year was the first time a session was held in Halls Creek and targeted at local Aboriginal businesses.
Stakeholder Engagement
Main Roads has been in consultation with key stakeholders to seek input into the project. In June, Main Roads and the Shire of Halls Creek visited all three communities - Billiluna, Balgo and Mulan - to plan up-coming community consultations. Community Information sessions are planned for August 2022 to provide information on the project including business and employment opportunities.
Last year, Main Roads provided initial briefings to the three native title groups directly affected by the road – Jaru, Koongie-Elvire and Tjurabalan, who all indicated their support for the project. We plan to form a Project Community and Stakeholder Reference Group to enable local people to have input into the project delivery strategy, as well as project scope, objectives and programming.
Aboriginal Participation
Governments at all levels are committed to maximising Aboriginal involvement in the delivery of this project and participation targets will be set in-line with other projects being delivered in the Kimberley Region.
It is planned to also form a Working Group, with representatives from employment and training organisations, to promote Aboriginal engagement in project delivery and assist Main Roads in achieving Aboriginal participation targets.
Several meetings have been held with East Kimberley Aboriginal training and employment organisations to identify opportunities to grow Aboriginal engagement in the delivery of East Kimberley Road and bridge projects.
Further information
For further information please visit the Main Roads website where you can subscribe for updates.
Alternatively you can email us at enquiries@mainroads.wa.gov.au or call our customer information centre on 138 138
