While many grey nomads are excited by the prospect of the Tanami Road – an adventurous short cut from Central Australia to the coast of Western Australia – being fully sealed, it seems they may have to wait a while yet.
The Federal Government has previously committed $434 million to bitumen the 1050-kilometre route between Alice Springs in the Northern Territory and Halls Creek in the Kimberley.
The rest of the anticipated total cost of $542.8 million will be found by the NT and WA governments.
However, a recent Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee meeting revealed that the work may not actually be completed for 10 years.
The Tanami Road is an adventurous short cut. PIC: Shire of Halls Creek
Infrastructure department secretary, Dave Hallinan, explained how the funding would be delivered.
“I think from 2023-24 it is $15 million, and then $16 million the next financial year, and $16 million the year after that, going to $40 million the year after that,” he said. “Then the profile varies: $87 million, $48 million, $48 million, $48 million, $48 million and $155.2 million.”
WA Liberal Senator Linda Reynolds expressed her exasperation at the timeline that would see the work finished in 2031-32. “So, the bottom line is that this project won’t be funded and delivered for another decade?” she said. “That’s the thing, if you start building it, a bit like the first 20 kilometres, it’s a road to nowhere!”
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Leave it like it is.
Did Halls Creek to Alice last June , great trip until you get to the bitumen then it becomes another endless booooring strech of trying to stay awake.
Hans, you obviously live in an area where all the roads are sealed. Typical townie.