Residents in communities along a major freight route in the state's mid-west have had enough of what they say are ongoing, unsafe road conditions. They're calling for a fairer share of government spending to be returned to regional roads and communities.
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00:00Rob Harrison has been driving dangerous goods trucks for nearly 30 years.
00:07Suddenly the road's stuffed. It's stuffed.
00:10He's driven on countless roads and says none are more dangerous
00:14than the major freight route connecting Geraldton and Mount Magnet.
00:19It's a road that fills him with dread.
00:21It's deadly because you're coming along, you've got control of the vehicle
00:26but then because of the deterioration of the road
00:29you're hanging on for your life.
00:31The Geraldton-Mount Magnet road links the Midwest port to farms
00:35and is the main haulage and supply route for mines as far inland as the goldfields.
00:41The highway was never designed for the weights or the quantity of heavy vehicles
00:46and heavy goods that run along it.
00:49Thousands of tonnes are trucked along it every day, causing substantial wear and tear.
00:55Community leaders say it's a problem that's too easily overlooked by politicians.
01:00A lot of the money for new bridges and new highways down south
01:06all comes from royalties from this region and further north
01:10but not enough of that money is reinvested into where it's actually coming from.
01:15Almost all inland freight in WA travels through the small community of Mount Magnet.
01:22At its peak, approximately 17 trucks per hour, every hour, moved through town.
01:28Many are super quads, measuring up to 60 metres long.
01:32There's no care, no thought put into the impact that that industry is having on our community.
01:39Main Roads has made a business case for $200 million to be spent on essential upgrades to the road.
01:46Labor has allocated $6 million over the next two years
01:50while the Nationals have pledged $45 million of state funds.
01:54The Liberal Party is yet to reveal what it would spend.
01:58Jo Prendergast, ABC News, Geraldton.