Funding for asbestos clean-up along Yampire Gorge Road (Pilbara)

6/7/95

The State Government has approved spending $150,000 to clean up asbestos contamination along a key tourist road in the Karijini National Park in the Pilbara.

Transport Minister Eric Charlton said work on the Yampie Gorge Road would start at the weekend and take about two weeks to complete.

"The Pilbara is approaching its peak tourist season and it is important this road be opened as quickly as possible to accommodate visitors to the park," Mr Charlton said.

"Between 50,000 and 60,000 people, many on organised tours, visit the magnificent gorges within the park every year.

"Yampire Gorge Road is an important route, particularly for tour operators and coach lines."

Yampire Gorge Road was closed for public safety reasons on June 23 after heavy rain exposed asbestos tailings on the road surface.

Mr Charlton said Main Roads, in conjunction with the Shire of Ashburton, would re-sheet the road with gravel to be taken from a pit located about 15 kilometres away, outside the park boundary.

Strict safety conditions, such as washing down trucks leaving the park to eliminate the risk of spreading asbestos fibres, would be observed while the work was in progress.

Since the road closure, the Main Roads Pilbara regional office had been alerting road users of the alternative routes into Karijini National Park.

Mr Charlton said information on alternative routes, and the need to ensure people carried adequate fuel supplies for the round trip, had also been distributed to caravan parks, road houses and tourist bureaux.

Media contact:  Ian Hasleby 321 7333