United stance against proposed transport corridor

Shire of Irwin Acting CEO Geoff Peddie (left) Shire of Chapman Valley Deputy CEO Simon Lancaster, City of Greater Geraldton Mayor Shane Van Styn and Shire of Northampton CEO Garry Keeffe finalising their proposed Dongara-Northampton Transport Corridor route.

Local Governments in the Midwest have come together to take a united stance against the proposed Dongara-Northampton Transport Corridor route.

The City of Greater Geraldton, Shire of Chapman Valley, Shire of Irwin and Shire of Northampton have expressed their concerns about the proposed route and outlined their alternatives in a joint letter to the State Government.

Driven by Main Roads WA (MRWA) in collaboration with the Mid West Development Commission (MWDC), the transport corridor proposes a route from Dongara through to Northampton which will be used by large trucks to transport freight.

City of Greater Geraldton Mayor Shane Van Styn said he and fellow Shire Presidents agreed the proposal was flawed for a number of reasons.

“Each of our local governments believe that the alignment as suggested by MRWA and MWDC would be detrimental to our communities,” he said

“The proposed two-lane inland route will have damaging effects to the natural environmentincluding land sterilisation which could lead to land owners blocking the project which could potentially delay the development on the Oakajee Port and Industrial Estate.

“Unlike the inland route which effectively strands Oakajee, our stance includes the Oakajee to Narngulu Infrastructure Corridor so trucks, rail and slurry pipelines will be able to access and use the Oakajee estate.

“Due to the scale of the outer option, urgent options such as the Northampton bypass and the inner bypass of Geraldton are being delayed into the very distant future,” Mayor Van Styn said.

The option proposed by all shires will still provide a linkage in a state freight network, by enabling 53.5m road trains to travel between Carnarvon and Muchea north of Perth without having to travel through Northampton and the City of Greater Geraldton.

Shire of Chapman Valley Chief Executive Officer Maurice Battilana said the united stance on the issue would help to cement the Shires’ position.

“The new option, which is favourable for all parties involved, should be far cheaper as it removes a lot of duplication and does not require the same upfront investment enabling it to be done in stages as and when funding and circumstances allow,” he said.

“By joining forces on this issue we have been able to identify options that will best suit all of our Local Government areas.”

Shire of Northampton has already taken the next step with their Council recently passing a motion that supports the joint proposal.

All Shires recognise the importance of this project and the urgency with which it should be pursued, emphasising that this should not be viewed simply as a Midwest project, but rather a key state and national project.