Brand Highway

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Brand Highway

Length	362 km
General direction	North-South
From	North West Coastal Highway, Geraldton, Western Australia
via	Greenough, Dongara, Eneabba, Badgingarra, Cataby
To	Great Northern Highway, Muchea, Western Australia
Established	1976
Allocation	Highway 1
Major Junctions	Midlands Road Indian Ocean Drive

Brand Highway is a 362 kilometre main highway linking the northern outskirts of Perth, the capital of Western Australia, to the port city of Geraldton in Western Australia's Mid West region. 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 about 369 kilometres (229 mi) in length. As with many Australian roads, it is for the most part a single carriageway with one lane in each direction.

The highway was completed in 1975 and opened in 1976 by then-Premier Charles Court, who named it in honour of former premier Sir David Brand. It replaced the old alignment from Dongara to Perth (Midlands Road).

[edit] Description

The highway passes through agricultural areas. Among its attractions are the unique WA wildflowers such as Western Australian Christmas tree, kangaroo paw, grass tree plus various national parks. Dongara, as well as the off-highway settlements of Jurien Bay and Cervantes are popular tourist destinations. En-route, there are several roadhouses. The downside of being a fairly monotonous and featureless stretch of road is that parts of the highway have seen serious accidents, with fatigue often being identified as the cause.

For the last 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) of its length, it serves as the main road for the southern suburbs of Geraldton, including Wandina, Tarcoola Beach, Mount Tarcoola and Mahomets Flats.