Home

Shire of Dandaragan opens new runway at Jurien Bay Airport to help planes take off in all conditions

Matthew PaddickGeraldton Guardian
Ashley Whybrow from Ashley's Earthmoving, Shire of Dandaragan president Tony O'Gorman, Labor’s Durack candidate Karen Wheatland, and shire councillors Sharon Young and Graham Lethlean.
Camera IconAshley Whybrow from Ashley's Earthmoving, Shire of Dandaragan president Tony O'Gorman, Labor’s Durack candidate Karen Wheatland, and shire councillors Sharon Young and Graham Lethlean. Credit: Supplied

A new runway has opened at Jurien Bay Airport to improve safety and boost service capacity.

The east-west runway was opened on Wednesday last week, after a second runway had been recommended in the airport master plan in 2020 to “ensure safe take off and landing in frequent strong crosswind”.

According to the Shire of Dandaragan, the new runway will help provide increased capacity for commercial, emergency services, and recreational flights.

The shire confirmed the new runway is more than a kilometre long, with a width of 20m.

It will also allow the Royal Flying Doctor Service and the aerial water bombing fleet to fly in and out of the area year-round.

Shire president Tony O’Gorman said it was an important piece of infrastructure for the region.

“The new runway is a significant milestone for Jurien Bay and the rollout of our Airport Development Masterplan,” he said.

“It will support the growing needs of our aviation community, boost economic opportunities, secure emergency services capabilities and strengthen our connectivity with other regions.

“We are proud to deliver this project, which will benefit residents and visitors alike for years to come.”

The project cost $680,000, of which $500,000 was contributed through the State Government’s Tropical Cyclone Seroja Resilience Fund.

Get the latest news from thewest.com.au in your inbox.

Sign up for our emails