A local council says the $275 million Bindoon Bypass can’t come soon enough – with temporary measures allowing 53.5 metre road trains through the town further highlighting a longstanding issue.
The northern section has been progressively constructed in stages since 2021, with the most recent 7km section opened in early April.
However it’s the southern section that will actually have an impact for the community of Bindoon, and work on that stretch is yet to commence.
The 46km southern section runs from the existing Great Northern Highway at Chittering Roadhouse, to the west of Bindoon, and re-joins Great Northern Highway north of Calingiri Road.
To date, route selection, planning works and approval have progressed, but we’re yet to see shovels in the ground.
Melinda Prinsloo, CEO of the Shire of Chittering, told Big Rigs that the Bindoon Bypass is long overdue.
In response to the current fuel crisis, the WA Government recently announced that larger road trains will to be allowed along a stretch of the Great Northern Highway in the Wheatbelt, as part of a three-month trial.
While the decision hasn’t created a new issue for Bindoon, Prinsloo says what it has done is highlight a problem that’s been sitting there for years.
“Bindoon is still operating as a freight route, even though it was never meant to do so indefinitely,” she said.
“So every time freight productivity increases – whether that’s longer vehicles, heavier payloads or different configurations – the impact is felt straight away by the town.
“From the Shire’s perspective, that shows up in noise, vibration and disrupted sleep for residents, particularly at night. Bindoon’s Great Northern Highway is effectively its main street, with homes, businesses and community facilities right on the road. Bigger trucks simply amplify impacts that already exist.”
As Prinsloo continued, the community didn’t expect progress on the bypass to take as long as it has.
“We understand projects are staged, but what people experience is year after year of larger trucks, more movements and more night‑time activity while the solution always seems just over the horizon,” she said.
Prinsloo acknowledged that the latest section of the bypass opening is welcome progress, however reiterated, “That’s the northernmost part of the project, up near New Norcia. It’s nowhere near the Bindoon townsite, and it doesn’t divert any traffic away from town yet.
“The section that actually bypasses Bindoon (the southern section) is the part that really matters for residents, safety and amenity, and that’s still to be built.”
“Safety really sits at the heart of this. You’ve got school kids who still need to cross or move near the highway without a dedicated school crossing. You’ve got heavy vehicles passing within metres of footpaths, driveways and shops. And then there’s the hazardous freight issue (ammonium nitrate is transported north through Bindoon) which people are very conscious of, particularly after the New Norcia incident in 2023.”
That incident Prinsloo refers to involved a truck carrying ammonium nitrate catching fire and the town having to be evacuated.
“The consequences of something going wrong in a town environment would be significant. That kind of risk isn’t theoretical and it’s exactly the sort of thing bypass infrastructure is designed to remove.”
Prinsloo continued, “There’s always debate about fewer movements versus bigger vehicles, and that makes sense on a purpose‑built freight route. But Bindoon is a town, not a freight route.
“Speed limits come up a lot, but they don’t get to the root of the issue. Even with perfect compliance, a heavy truck travelling metres from someone’s bedroom window at night is still disruptive. Slower doesn’t mean suitable.”
From the Shire of Chittering’s perspective, the bypass has always been the solution.
“It’s the only thing that genuinely removes the risk, rather than trying to manage it with temporary measures. Speed limits, signage and enforcement all assume the freight stays in town. The bypass takes it out altogether,” Prinsloo added.
“It’s also important to say this isn’t just about Bindoon. The Shire of Chittering includes the Muchea Industrial Park, which is a strategically important industrial and logistics precinct for the region and the state. Its success depends on efficient, high‑productivity freight access.
“At the moment, Bindoon is such a bottleneck that long road trains coming from the north can only operate as far south as Wubin. From there, they have to de‑couple and move freight south in shorter combinations requiring multiple trips into Perth and the Muchea area.
“That creates real inefficiency. It adds cost, fuel use, emissions and extra truck movements. And ironically, without the bypass, that inefficiency is absorbed by industry.
“The bypass is what properly connects those dots. It protects Bindoon as a community and allows Muchea Industrial Park to operate the way it’s intended. As a modern, efficient industrial hub. And because Muchea sits within the Shire, its success is essential to the long‑term prosperity of Chittering as a whole.”
Veteran truck driver Cam Deans is based in the Wheatbelt region and regularly travels through Bindoon. “All trucks travelling northwest or from Perth to Darwin have to drive through Bindoon on the Great Northern Highway,” he said.
According to Deans, while Bindoon is a beautiful place, he describes it as one of the least truck friendly towns in the state.
“There’s no parking for heavy vehicles, which is a shame,” he said. “And about 8-kilometres north you start to climb Bindoon Hill. It’s not the biggest of hills but is a decent challenge in a road train with some weight on.”
Deans shared a different view to that of the Shire of Chittering. “I’m not a fan of bypasses unless there’s a real safety issue,” he said. “These towns need to embrace transport and build sites that encourage us to stop there.
“As truck drivers, we pass through a lot of these towns on the daily and I’d prefer to be able to support the region I’m in.
“Mukinbudin in WA’s Wheatbelt is a prime example of how and where to build a heavy vehicle rest area in a regional town.”
Main Roads WA was asked about the projected start – and completion date – for the southern section of the Bindoon Bypass.
According to a Main Roads WA spokesperson, “Development activities for the southern section are ongoing, with the timing for construction subject to environmental approvals.”
In the meantime, with no completion date for the Bindoon Bypass in sight, Prinsloo said, “Without it, Bindoon continues to absorb freight impacts it was never meant to carry permanently, and industry continues to operate less efficiently than it should.
“We end up debating mitigation measures that were never intended to be permanent solutions.
“Completing the bypass isn’t just about freight efficiency. It’s about safety, amenity, fairness to the community, and enabling economic growth through places like the Muchea Industrial Park.”
Here in Keith South Australia we have this problem in bucket loads. My front gate is 22 Mtrs from the Dukes HighWay and as the bigger the trucks , the faster they are going in the towns speed limits. I drove semi trailers for 54 years and this is very scary how they are travelling.