Why the Outback Way sealing has been stalled for four years

The Outback Way is a 2,719 km highway that links Western Australia with Queensland, passing through the Northern Territory.

Since 1997, more than $1.2 billion in state and federal funding has been pledged to seal the whole route by 2032, according to the project plan.

Work on the 736 km section in Western Australia was stopped four years ago because the government had to negotiate with several traditional owner groups and complete extensive environmental studies.

The WA government is now finalising Indigenous land‑access agreements so that construction can restart, and a spokesperson for Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said that securing all approvals will protect the project’s long‑term success.

Today the road carries only 30‑60 vehicles a day, but estimates suggest traffic could rise by 300 percent over the next decade once the sealing is finished.

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