The two-lane sealed road between Halls Creek and Wyndham was also completed in 1978. It involved the construction of 21 bridges, and extensive earthworks designed to blend the road into the terrain. The section was opened on 23 July 1978 by the Minister for Transport, at a cost of over $20 million. Meanwhile, work on sealing and upgrading the section from Port Hedland and Broome began in 1976. With up to five contractors and four Main Roads teams working throughout the project, it was completed at an extraordinarily rapid pace. It opened in April 1981 at a cost of $56 million. With the opening of this section, tourist traffic escalated. Cape Keraudren, Eighty Mile Beach, and Broome became increasingly favoured destinations, especially for residents of the Pilbara.