Safety upgrade for Gibb River Road

• Contract awarded for sealing works on a 10-kilometre section
• Part of Gibb River Road reconstruction project

The State Government will seal another 10 kilometres of Gibb River Road which the Lonely Planet guidebook described as 'the ultimate road trip' linking east and west Kimberley.

Transport Minister Dean Nalder said the road was talked about across Australia and internationally, with its formidable reputation for challenging driving.

As the Lonely Planet says: 'Closed during the wet, the 660km-long Gibb sits in the same trophy cabinet as the Canning Stock Route and the Birdsville Track. The Kimberley has the wonderful capacity to surprise: its vast and arid landscapes will suddenly throw up a series of sandstone bluffs like crusader castles, or split open into delicious gorges with tumbling cascades and thermal pools fringed with palms.'

Most of the western 120 kilometres of the road is sealed. The State Government is making improvements to high priority sections between Derby and Wyndham under a 10-year strategy.

In 2015-16, a 10-kilometre section from Bungarun Road to just before Kimbolton Road will be sealed with bitumen, improving accessibility and safety.

Mr Nalder said a $809,300 contract had been awarded to Bitutek Pty Ltd to carry out the works near Derby from September 2015 to January 2016.

"This upgrade is part of the overall Gibb River Road reconstruction project which will provide the freight industry, tourists and local community with improved safety and accessibility, particularly during the wet season," the Minister said.

The works will be managed by Main Roads Western Australia Kimberley Region and will generate five jobs.

Fact File

• The Gibb River Road is an unsealed road about 660 kilometres in length, connecting Derby to Wyndham and Kununurra

• The Gibb River Road reconstruction project includes improvements over a 55km section of the Gibb River Road including:

• road widening

• drainage and pavement improvements

• full reconstruction of the existing road base

• replacement of five culverts

Minister's office - 6552 6400

WORKS COMPLETED TO DATE:

2008-09 - sealing of an extra eight kilometres between Derby and the Fairfield-Leopold Downs Road

2009-10 - works to improve 9km between Lennard River and Napier Range

2010-11 - works to improve 24km of Galvans Gorge to Barnett River

2011-12 - works to improve 26km from Barnett River to Mount Elizabeth

2012-13 - works to improve 18km of road from El Questro to the Great Northern Highway

2013-14 - cap 15km at Mount Barnett, undertake $3.9 million of road formation and drainage improvements along 23km between Pentecost River and El Questro

2014-15 - works to improve 33km from Mount Elizabeth to Gibb River Station.