Coolgardie–Esperance Highway
Coolgardie–Esperance Highway is a 370-kilometre (230 mi) Western Australian highway between Coolgardie and Esperance. It runs in a north–south direction linking the state's Eastern Goldfields to the coast.
Coolgardie–Esperance Highway Western Australia | |
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Map of south-west Western Australia with Coolgardie–Esperance Highway highlighted in red | |
| General information | |
| Type | Highway |
| Length | 370.82 km (230 mi) |
| Gazetted | 16 August 1957 |
| Route number(s) |
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| Major junctions | |
| North end | Great Eastern Highway (National Highway 94 / Alternate National Route 94), Coolgardie |
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| South end | Esperance Port |
| Location(s) | |
| Major settlements | Widgiemooltha, Norseman, Salmon Gums, Grass Patch, Gibson |
| Highway system | |
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The Coolgardie–Norseman stretch (National Highway 94) forms part of the Perth to Adelaide National Highway route and has a higher proportion of heavy traffic. This section passes through an undulating countryside, mainly dotted with patches of trees, scrub and salt lakes. The interstate traffic continues eastwards via Eyre Highway from its junction in Norseman. The Norseman–Esperance portion (National Route 1) is a part of Australia's Highway 1. The scenery changes to agricultural land, and on approach to Esperance it passes near lakes and hillsides.
Following the Western Australian gold rushes of the 1890s, a track developed between Coolgardie and Esperance, the closest harbour to the goldfields. A road was constructed along this track in the late 1920s and 1930s. From the late 1930s attention turned to sealing the road, but it took until 1960 before a single-lane seal was constructed between Coolgardie and Esperance. The road was gazetted as Coolgardie–Esperance Highway three years earlier, on 16 August 1957. Further work occurred between 1974 and 1980, providing a two-lane sealed road for the length of the highway.