Official opening of Ripon Hills Road in east Pilbara

3/11/99
Transport Minister Murray Criddle today officially opened the Ripon Hills Road, which provides a safe and efficient new route through the remote east Pilbara.
"Mining, pastoral, exploration, tourism and the transport industries will benefit from the newly built project which has been built through some of the most rugged terrain in Western Australia," Mr Criddle said.
Opening the new 132km road at the Nullagine River crossing east of Marble Bar, Mr Criddle said the project provided a reliable doorway into the mineral-rich east Pilbara province which includes Telfer, one of Australia's largest gold producers providing direct employment for 800 people.
"This road connects Marble Bar Road with the Woodie-Telfer road and is being hailed as a boon for the region," the Minister said.
"Telfer, alone, trucks 50,000 tonnes of fuel and 30,000 tonnes of supplies (including food) to the site over the old Woodie Woodie road each year as well as hauling 10,000 tonnes of copper concentrate from the mine.
"The Nifty Copper operation also trucks 12,000,000 litres of diesel and approximately 3,000 tonnes of general freight from Port Hedland to its mine site."
Mr Criddle said the new Ripon Hills Road also serviced the Woodie Woodie project, which would potentially produce 250,000 tonnes of high-grade manganese ore annually.
Planning for the Ripon Hills project began in the mid-1970s, when Main Roads identified the need for a new route to provide access to future mining development and to assist tourism and Aboriginal communities in East Pilbara.
"Ripon Hill Road travels through large ranges and encompasses some of the most beautiful and scenic country in the Pilbara, including Carawine Gorge," Mr Criddle said.
"In the longer term, the road will provide access to Rudall River National Park, Punmu, Well 33, Jupiter Wells and Kiwirrkurra Aboriginal communities.
"The opening of the road will significantly reduce cartage costs involved in the transport of manganese and copper concentrate to Port Hedland, and the existing mining industry will benefit from further reductions in general freight and fuel transport costs."
Mr Criddle said future mines such as Maroochyadore (copper) would benefit from the improved road access.
"The existing Woodie Woodie Road is subject to closures during the annual wet season, making it an unreliable and costly transport link for products trucked to and from the mining centres," he said.
The Minister said the new Ripon Hills Road would largely replace the Woodie Woodie Road, which currently transported up to 600,000 tonnes of produce annually, making it the State's second highest tonnage on an unsealed road.
Woodie Woodie Road, which previously provided the only real transport link for the mining industry was low standard, unsealed and nearly 50km longer than the Ripon Hills route.
Mr Criddle said the Ripon Hills Road was constructed in three stages at a total cost of $52 million.
Summer daytime temperatures exceeding 45 degrees at times forced heavy equipment to be operated mainly at night, while flooding during the wet season caused isolation and delays.
While the first 40km of the project involved flat terrain, the rugged range, gorges, and river country presented major engineering challenges.
The heaviest earthworks took place over three kilometres at Bulgarina Hill where steeply sided hills were separated by narrow, deeply incised valleys.
Materials for construction were sourced using Landsat imagery with support from specialised technicians from Perth. This was followed by stockpiling of 450,000 cubic metres of gravel by a fleet of dozers, and extensive rehabilitation for ground cover and seed regeneration.
Mr Criddle said access to four pastoral stations in the east Pilbara had been improved with the opening of Ripon Hill Road, including Meetheena Station.
"I would expect the Ripon Hills Road to become a significant tourist route in the future because the Department of Conservation and Land Management, which now owns Meetheena Station, intends destocking the pastoral lease and converting it to a nature reserve," he said.
Mr Criddle said the old Woodie Woodie Road would continue to provide access to pastoral leases and Aboriginal communities and control would be transferred to the East Pilbara Shire Council.
Media contact: Doug Cunningham (08) 9321 7333