The heavy haulage industry will soon be able to benefit from a new ‘one stop shop’ for heavy vehicle permit matters and a $250,000 State Government initiative to underground power lines over the Great Northern Highway.
Transport Minister Troy Buswell said the creation of the one stop shop at Main Roads WA would end the need for transport operators to deal with three or four separate agencies to obtain permits for a single shift.
“Feedback from the industry was that red tape was causing significant delays when planning the movement of over-sized loads across the State’s road network,” Buswell said. “Given the significance of the resources industry to the Western Australian economy, we need to make sure Government does what it can to allow the heavy haulage industry to operate as efficiently as possible.
According to Buswell, the creation of the one stop shop for permits will mean that a transport operator will only have to make one application to Main Roads WA in order to obtain an Oversize Load Permit, a Police Escort and get a referral to Western Power for power line clearance.
The Minister said the industry had complained to the Government for several years about the cost of the temporary lifting of the lines to allow oversized loads to pass through.
“To assist the industry the State Government, through Main Roads WA, has provided funding to Western Power to underground eight lines which cross Great Northern Highway between Perth and Newman,” Buswell said. “The heavy haulage industry agrees that these eight lines, which have a height clearance of less than 6.5m, are problematic for efficient operations.
Buswell said work to underground the lines was expected to be completed by the end of May 2012 and could potentially save operators up to $15,000 per trip.
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