Economic growth and development in Western Australia's northern regions in the 1940s prompted the state to quadruple road funding between 1946 and 1952. Five "gangs" of workers were allocated to a length of Great Northern Highway between Meekatharra and Wyndham. However, 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. New alignments were constructed, such as between Derby and Fitzroy Crossing in the late 1940s, which had originally followed the curve of the Fitzroy River, along its floodplain, and could only be used in the dry season. The new alignment was a more direct section, with the first sealed, a total of of gravel road, and the remainder simply formed earth. Despite this low construction standard, the road remained passable except for short periods during heavy rain.