[2] The highway was completed in 1975 and opened in 1976 being named it in honour of former Premier of Western Australia Sir David Brand.

[3]: 3  In the 2012/13 financial year, the recorded traffic volumes ranged from 15,400 vehicles per day north of Olive Street, near Geraldton, down to 1,470 south of Indian Ocean Drive.

[3]: 67, 90  Reports commissioned by the Royal Automobile Club of Western Australia (RAC) in 2006 and 2008 gave the highway a three-star safety rating out of five.

The Brand Highway leaves the Wheatbelt for the Mid West region, continuing its journey north-westwards.

The Brand Highway heads west for seven kilometres (4.3 mi) into the town,[6] and then follows the coast north and north-westwards.

[8]: 27–28  A new main road from Perth to Geraldton via Mogumber was proposed in the 1940s, but was rejected by the Minister for Works, who considered the development of parallel routes infeasible given that traffic was light.

Wide road reserves, up to 200 metres (660 ft) in width, were acquired from crown land and pastoral leases.

This allowed native wildflowers to survive and flourish on public land, providing aesthetically pleasing and interesting views to reduce road hypnosis and driver fatigue.

[18] Premier Charles Court officiated a ceremony held on 30 April 1976 at a tourist information bay in Dongara,[8]: 257–58  where a plaque was unveiled commemorating the naming of the highway.

[17][19] The northern end of Brand Highway was upgraded as part of Stage 1 of the Geraldton Southern Transport Corridor, the biggest individual project in the early 2000s across all of rural Western Australia.

An overpass was built for nearby Durlacher Street to cross North West Coastal Highway, which was made into a dual carriageway in the vicinity of the interchange.

From Great Northern Highway at Walebing, the road travels west to Moora and then north to Watheroo.