Great Southern Highway new super rest bay

The Shire of Cranbrook has received more than $57,000 from the State Government to help fund a new super rest bay that will soon be built along the Great Southern Highway.

Cranbrook received the biggest amount of grant money from a total of $170,000 allocated by the State Government to promote WA road safety initiatives.

The super rest bay is expected to help prevent speeding and fatigued drivers and will be expected to hold a large number of heavy vehicles, caravans and trailers.

The rest bay will come with a set of barbecue facilities as well as a shower and toilets.

Shire chief executive Peter Northover said the Great Southern Highway was a driver fatigue zone.

“There was an incident in the past where people ran off the road,” he said.

Police and Road Safety Minister Michelle Roberts also expressed her concerns.

“We continue to see more crashes on regional roads than in the metropolitan area and that is because fatigue and speeding are real issues on our highways,” she said.

Mr Northover said there were currently no rest bays between Williams and Albany.

It’s hoped the super rest bay will be a great safety initiative for the region, especially during the harvest period when there’s an increase of heavy vehicles on the road.

The Shire has also purchased two solar-powered trailers with the fund, which will be used to provide emergency message sign boards for oncoming drivers along the Great Southern Highway.