Home | Links | Search | Updates | FAQ | About | Contact Roads | Signals | Roadsigns | Towns & Cities | International | Publications | Sign Drawings

Marble Bar Road (State Route 138)

Statistics:

• Length: 434 km
• Northern Terminus: Great Northern Highway (NH1) at Strelley, east of Port Hedland
• Southern Terminus: Great Northern Highway (NH95) at Newman
• Suburbs, Towns & Localities Along The Route: Newman, Nullagine, Marble Bar and Strelley

Route Numbering:

• Current:
• Road Authority Internal Classification: M30 1

General Information:

SR138 is an isolated rural road linking lower northern WA mining communities to the major towns of Port Hedland and Newman. More than 300 vehicles a day use the route, most of which is mining traffic. 2

History:

• 2002: Reconstruction and sealing works on 20km of Marble Bar Road between Shaw River and Marble Bar. 3
• 06 Feb 2004: Completion of sealing works between Marble Bar and Strelley 4 near Port Hedland, a total of 144 km. 5 In 1951 with the closure of the old railway line, a promise was made to provide a sealed road between Port Hedland and Marble Bar. 4
• May 2004: Work begins on the reformation and gravel sheeting of 48 gravel sections of Marble Bar Road totalling 23.3km. It will also involve the drainage reformation of three gravel sections totalling 2.1km and the construction of 13 concrete or rock pitched Cut-off walls. 6
• November 2004: Construction of two new floodways on Marble Bar Road. Work included the installation of concrete slabs, two 600mm diameter pipe culverts and rock protection works, plus the re- construction and sealing of the road approaches to the floodways at both Roy Hill and Bonney Downs. 7
• June 2005: Work begins on roadworks along Marble Bar Road between Nullagine and Newman. The project included gravel sheeting of 17.6 km of the route and the reconditioning of 5.3 km of the road, plus the construction of six floodway cut-off walls. 8
• July 2006: Completion of works between Nullagine and Newman. 9
• Dec 2008: Work begins on widening a floodway from 6.8m to 8.8m. 2

Preview:	Description:
	Advance Directional Sign: AD sign on Ripon Hills Road approaching the junction Marble Bar Road (SR138), 22 km east of Marble Bar. October 2008. Note the sign is missing the SR138 shields. Image © Lee Coombs

1 Main Roads WA RRM Control Database
2 WA Government Media Office, "Floodway widening to improve North-West remote transport route" Media Statement, 12 December 2008.
3 WA Government Media Office, "Marble Bar Road Improvements to begin after the wet" Media Statement, 29 November 2001.
4 WA Government Media Office, "Gallop Government delivers on a 53-year-old promise" Media Statement, 06 February 2004.
5 WA Government Media Office, "Marble Bar Road to be fully sealed this year" Media Statement, 16 January 2003.
6 WA Government Media Office, "Local company wins $711,000 Marble Bar Road contract" Media Statement, 14 May 2004.
7 WA Government Media Office, "New floodways to reduce road closures on Marble Bar Road" Media Statement, 16 November 2004.
8 WA Government Media Office, "Contract awarded for drainage works and re-sheeting on Marble Bar Road" Media Statement, 21 June 2005.
9 WA Government Media Office, "Further improvements to Marble Bar Road" Media Statement, 07 July 2006.

Last updated: 08 Nov 2019 01:09

This site © Paul Rands. All rights reserved. Some portions © (copyright) by their respective and credited owners. Permission must be obtained before using any images from this site. For details, please email by clicking here.