Brand Highway is a main highway linking the northern outskirts of Perth to Geraldton in Western Australia. Together with North West Coastal Highway, it forms part of the Western Australian coastal link to the Northern Territory. The highway is a part of Australia's Highway 1, and is for the most part a single carriageway with one lane in each direction.
The highway was completed in 1975 and opened in 1976 being named it in honour of former Premier of Western Australia Sir David Brand. It replaced the Midlands Road from Perth to Dongara.
Route description
The Brand Highway, along with the associated section of National Route 1, begins in Muchea, branching off from a roundabout interchange connecting it to both Great Northern Highway to the north and east and Tonkin Highway to the south. The highway passes through agricultural areas and shrublands, travelling through or near the towns of Gingin, Badgingarra (and Badgingarra National Park), Cataby, Eneabba, Dongara and Greenough. The highway ends after at the city of Geraldton. National Route 1, and traffic travelling to areas further north of here, continue along North West Coastal Highway towards Port Hedland. The vast majority of the highway is a two-lane single carriageway with a speed limit of , except in and around built up areas where it slows down to speeds of between .
Main Roads Western Australia monitors traffic volume across the state's road network, including various locations along Brand Highway. In the 2012/13 financial year, the recorded traffic volumes ranged from 15,400 vehicles per day north of Olive Street, near Geraldton, down to 1,470 south of Indian Ocean Drive. The highest percentage of heavy vehicles was 36.0% south of Airfield Road, the access road to RAAF Gingin. Reports commissioned by the Royal Automobile Club of Western Australia (RAC) in 2006 and 2008 gave the highway a three-star safety rating out of five. The overall highway network was generally rated as three-star or four-star, with around 10% in 2006 and 5% in 2008 receiving a two-star rating.
Wheatbelt
From the Great Northern and Tonkin Highways at Muchea, the Brand Highway heads west for to the town centre, crossing over the Midland railway line. It heads north-west, paralleling the railway for , towards Gingin. While the railway continues north to the town, the highway deviates to the west, continuing north-west through the Wheatbelt. Brand Highway reaches the Regans Ford roadhouse after . on, the highway turns north for , past Bandgingarra National Park, to Badgingarra. The Brand Highway leaves the Wheatbelt for the Mid West region, continuing its journey north-westwards.
Mid West
The Brand Highway encounters Eneabba beyond Badgingarra, and after another meets the northern end of the coastal road Indian Ocean Drive. The highway travels north for to the terminus of The Midlands Road, just outside Dongara. The Brand Highway heads west for into the town, and then follows the coast north and north-westwards. It reaches South Greenough after , where it realigns itself to the north-east via two 90° curves. The Brand Highway continues north-west, passing through Greenough after , and terminating further on in Geraldton, at a diamond interchange with North West Coastal Highway. For the last of its length, the Brand Highway serves as the main road for the southern suburbs of Geraldton, including Wandina, Tarcoola Beach, Mount Tarcoola and Mahomets Flats.
History
Within two years of its formation in 1926, Western Australia's new Main Roads Board became responsible for the state's arterial and trunk roads, which were declared 'main roads' under the Main Roads Act. The main road to Geraldton branched off the Perth–Meekatharra road at Walebing, near Moora, travelled an inland route via Mingenew to Dongara, and then continued north along the coast to Geraldton. A new main road from Perth to Geraldton via Mogumber was proposed in the 1940s, but was rejected by the Minister for Works, who considered the development of parallel routes infeasible given that traffic was light.