Transport Minister Rita Saffioti approves ‘inconvenient’ mining haulage truck schedule in the Mid West

The presence of heavy haulage road trains on rural roads in the Mid West has increased after hundreds of trucking movements each week over the next three months was approved by Main Roads. The Shire of Perenjori has issued a warning to expect more heavy vehicle traffic on Wanarra Road and Perenjori Rothsay Road as Terra Mining restarts mining operations at Extension Hill, located on the Great Northern Highway in the Shire of Yalgoo. Hauling contractor Campbell Transport’s trucking schedule will increase to 160 trucking movements per week in January, 250 movements per week in February and 317 movements in March. That’s 23, 36 and 45 trucking movements per day respectively. The planned increase in heavy vehicle traffic was approved by Transport Minister Rita Saffioti last year, with the traffic also expected along the Wubin-Mullewa Highway and Brand Hwy as the trucks travel to and from the Geraldton Port. Shire of Perenjori CEO Paul Anderson said he hoped rail transport would be utilised in future to reduce heavy haulage traffic on rural roads. “While any increase in large vehicles is always a concern on country roads, we hope the haulage contractor will be responsible in the movement of the product,” he said. “I hope the short-term inconvenience will be a long-term gain for the community overall.” A State Government spokesperson said the interim licences are valid until March 31 and have been put in place while commercial negotiations on the transport of iron ore by rail are finalised. “The Department of Transport (DoT) has issued interim commercial goods vehicle licences (CGVLs) to Terra Mining’s road haulage contractor, Campbells Transport, to facilitate their first iron ore shipment through Geraldton Port, anticipated to be in February 2024,” the spokesperson said.