During World War II, the Main Roads Department focused its activities on the war effort. Roads in rural areas deteriorated, especially after the Pearl Harbour attack brought the war to the Pacific, and only the most urgent maintenance works were authorised on roads for civilian purposes. Following the war, Main Roads returned to its usual operations, repairing and maintaining the road network. The rural road network expanded in the 1950s, with Main Roads both repairing the worst segments of its roads, through numerous small jobs, and assisting local governments to seal their roads. Such activity was spurred on by the closure of railway lines in addition to the establishment of new land settlements.