Origins Before the mid-1920s, travelling north from Geraldton necessitated going through
Mullewa,
Dairy Creek and
Gascoyne Junction. In 1926, a direct route joining Geraldton and Carnarvon was constructed, shortening the trip by . At first, this was little more than a rough bush track, at least partly used for extracting
sandalwood. As there was often little water along this route, tanks with catchment roofs were built at eight locations along the track. The tanks were named for their distance from Carnarvon, at 40, 55, 85, 110, 125, 150, 180, and 200 miles. These tanks provided a life-saving function but when the road was later sealed, they became less important and were gradually removed except for Number 8 tank. Number 8 tank is still used by travellers and marks a point from Geraldton, from Carnarvon. Western Australia's Nomenclature Advisory Committee proposed in October 1940 that a highway name be used to describe the main route from
Midland to Geraldton, and extending to areas further north. By July 1941, the committee's proposal had expanded to three highway names for the roads in the state's northern areas: Great Northern Highway for the Midland Junction to
Wyndham road, Geraldton Highway for the
Walebing–
Mingenew–Geraldton route, and North West Coastal Highway for "the road from Geraldton to De Grey, via Northampton, Galena, Carnarvon, Boolaganoo, Winning Pool, Giralia, Yanrey, Onslow, Peedamullah, Mardie, Karratha, Roebourne, Whim Creek, Mundabullangana and Port Hedland". The proposal was well received by the local municipal councils and road boards. in Carnarvon, 1942, with water rushing over the deck of the bridge. During such floods, roads could become bogs or be completely washed away. The name North West Coastal Highway was
gazetted on 21 April 1944, under section 10 of the Land Act, 1933–1939. However, the highway was mostly a series of tracks through remote pastoral areas, with the
sealed road ending just past Northampton, approximately north of Geraldton. Economic growth and development in Western Australia's northern regions in the 1940s prompted the state to quadruple road funding between 1946 and 1952. Two "gangs" of workers were allocated to a length of North West Coastal Highway. Given the vast distance the highway travelled, and destructive cyclones in the Pilbara and Gascoyne that could destroy multiple weeks worth of work, the overall improvement was relatively insignificant. Over time, though, the road was improved. Over a ten-year period from 1996 to 2006, numerous improvements were made to the highway, with sections widened, reconstructed, and realigned. Intersections and stretches through townsites were also redesigned, existing bridges were strengthened, and new bridges replaced older bridges or floodways. Additional work was necessary to repair damage from natural events. Sections washed away by floods in January 2003 were rebuilt, and opened in October of that year, and repairs to the damage from
Cyclone Monty in March 2004 were completed that November. to an interchange, and an overpass was built for Durlacher Street to cross North West Coastal Highway. The highway was also made into a dual carriageway in the vicinity of the interchange. Stage 2 of the project, constructed between December 2008 and December 2009, provided a single carriageway connection from a traffic light-controlled intersection on the highway to Geraldton–Mount Magnet Road, with access to
Geraldton Airport. In 2013 work began on a project to seal the highway's shoulders from
Yannarie River at Barradale to the Onslow turn-off; it is expected to be completed by mid-2015. Further work to widen the highway between Minilya and Barradale, including replacing two floodways with bridges, is expected to be completed by the end of 2017. ==Major intersections==