$14 million of improvements to heavy vehicle rest areas across WA

Work will soon begin on $14 million of major upgrades to 14 heavy vehicle rest areas across regional Western Australia.

The locations were determined during extensive consultation with peak industry groups, including the Transport Workers Union (WA Branch), Livestock and Rural Transport Association of WA and Western Roads Federation.

Industry priorities comprised of major upgrades at Newman, Auski, Karijini and Leonora, and improvements at 10 key heavy vehicles sites in the Pilbara, Mid-West Gascoyne, Wheatbelt, Goldfields-Esperance and South-West regions, including waterproofing, better access and facilities.

The 2022-23 program, which has an allocation of $36 million, will also be developed through consultation with industry.

The State and Commonwealth governments have committed $50 million under the Freight Vehicle Productivity Improvements Program for improvements across the State road network.

Pilbara region upgrades

• Marble Bar Road - Minor rest area improvements and construct ablution

block ($170,000); • Great Northern Highway at Karijini

Drive - Upgrade rest area, construct ablution block ($1.06 million); • Great Northern Highway at Bell Street - Minor improvements and construct ablution block ($170,000); • Great Northern Highway, Whim Creek - Upgrade rest area and construct ablution block ($170,000); • Great Northern Highway, Newman -

Construct new rest area and ablution block ($6.16 million); • Great Northern Highway, Auski -

Construct new rest area and ablution block ($3.2 million); and • Great Northern Highway, Redmont - Minor rest area improvements and construct ablution block ($170,000).

Mid-West region

• Great Northern Highway, Wubin - Minor rest area improvements and construct ablution block ($200,000); • Great Northern Highway 115 km north of

Wubin - Minor rest area improvements, construct ablution block ($200,000); • North West Coastal Highway,

Northampton - Minor rest area

improvements, construct ablution block ($200,000); • Minilya Exmouth Road - Minor rest area improvements, construct shower and ablution block ($400,000); • Great Eastern Highway, Northam - Minor

RTTA improvements, construct ablution block ($100,000).

Goldfields-Esperance region

• Main Reef Road (Goldfields Highway),

Leonora - Extend RTTA, construct ablution block ($1.6 million).

South-West region • Willinge Drive, Bunbury - Minor rest area improvements, construct ablution block ($200,000).

Wheatbelt region

• Great Eastern Highway, Northam - Minor

RTTA improvements, construct ablution block ($100,000).

WA Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said, “Freight drivers provide an essential service and it's important we have the necessary amenities and facilities available in regional WA that these drivers need.

“I’d like to thank the Commonwealth for their financial contribution and the transport industry for all their work on the program.”

Rio Tinto to deploy world’s first fully autonomous water trucks in WA

Rio Tinto will deploy the world’s first fully autonomous water trucks at its $2.6 billion Gudai-Darri iron ore mine in Western Australia’s Pilbara region. The new vehicles, primarily used for dust suppression on site, will enhance productivity by enabling mine operations to digitally track water consumption and reduce waste.

Developed through a successful collaboration with leading equipment manufacturer, Caterpillar, three water trucks will join Gudai-Darri’s fleet of Caterpillar heavy mobile equipment including autonomous haul trucks and production drills. The vehicle’s intelligent on-board system detects dry and dusty conditions on site, triggering the application of water to roads to keep them in good condition.

The refilling process is also completely automated with the water trucks recognising when it is time to refill, prompting them to self-drive to the water Gudai-Darri one of the world’s most technologically advanced mines.”

Gudai-Darri is 100 per cent owned by Rio Tinto, is located approximately 35 kilometres north-west of Rio Tinto’s Yandicoogina mine site, and about 110 kilometres from the town of Newman in the Pilbara region of WA.

Construction continues to progress with production ramp-up on track for early 2022. Once complete, the mine will have an annual capacity of 43 million tonnes, underpinning production of the Pilbara Blend, Rio Tinto’s flagship iron ore product.

stand, park and top-up before returning to the field. They boast a 160,000-litre tank capacity, a 33 per cent increase on Rio Tinto’s largest water truck which has a tank capacity of 120,000-litres.

Once deployed, the water trucks will be integrated into Rio Tinto’s existing Autonomous Haulage System which has been shown to significantly improve safety by reducing the risks associated with operators working around heavy machinery.

Rio Tinto Iron Ore chief executive Simon Trott said “We have worked closely with Caterpillar to safely and successfully deploy the world’s first fully autonomous water truck. Water spraying is a vital part of mining operations and this new technology will improve productivity and reduce water usage across our operations.

“The continued expansion of our autonomous fleet helps improve safety and continues Rio Tinto’s efforts to adopt world-leading technology to enhance our operations and realise our vision of making