Port Hedland traffic congestion grows

More than 1.25 million extra vehicles are travelling on Port Hedland’s busiest road per annum compared to three years ago.

Main Roads figures from 2011/12 show the Port-South Hedland road, namely between Redbank Bridge and the Cooke Point turn off, is now handling 92,373 vehicles per week, or more than 4.8 million each year.

The figures reveal a 35 per cent increase in total traffic along the road since 2009.

Among the major changes in vehicle patterns over the past 12 months has been a 65 per cent increase in the amount of double road trains using the road. There has also been a 30 per cent jump in Class 3 vehicles, namely two-axle trucks and buses.

The number of triple road trains - the largest type of vehicle measured - has dropped 12.5 per cent in the past year to 2012 per week.

Class 1 vehicles, such as sedans, wagons, 4WDs and motorbikes, make up 85 per cent of all traffic on the road, followed by Class 3 (6.1 per cent) and triple road trains (3.5 per cent).