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No amenities for upgraded NT truck parking bays

Upgraded sites will get bins, but no toilets or shade for truck drivers.

 

Three truck parking bays along a busy route in the Northern Territory will receive a facelift, but drivers hoping to stop at any of the sites for a toilet break will be disappointed.

The three sites on the Roper Highway in the NT’s Gulf region will be sealed by mid-2016 at a cost of $1.5 million.

The funds will also provide for two bins at each site, but the NT Department of Transport says no amenities such as toilets, running water or shaded areas will be added.

The Federal Government, which is covering half the cost of the projects, says sealing the parking bays is necessary to accommodate a rise in truck traffic in the region.

“An increase in heavy vehicle traffic associated with mining activities in the Gulf has highlighted the need for better truck rest stop facilities to help heavy vehicle drivers manage fatigue,” federal infrastructure minister Warren Truss says.

“These truck parking bays will be sealed to provide higher standard rest stops for heavy vehicle drivers servicing the needs of local residents and businesses in the region.”

The NT Department of Transport says the sites will be 39.8km, 56km and 86.1km, respectively, in distance from the Stuart Highway and Roper Highway intersection.

“Three new truck parking bays will be constructed with a 120m sealed parking area, including deceleration and acceleration lanes. At each parking bay, two bins will be installed, but no other amenities,” a department spokesperson says.

“There will be 120m of parking at each parking bay, which will accommodate four B-doubles (25m long) or six semi-trailers (19m long).”

Work is due to begin in April.

Federal NT senator Nigel Scullion says the Roper Highway is an important road link for the mining and cattle sectors in the Gulf.

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