Barkly Highway
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use Australian English Template:Infobox Australian road
The Barkly Highway is a national highway in Queensland and the Northern Territory in Australia.<ref>Template:Cite map</ref> It is the only sealed road between Queensland and the Northern Territory.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The highway is named after the Barkly Tableland, which in turn was named by explorer William Landsborough in December 1861 after Henry Barkly, the then Governor of Victoria.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
DescriptionEdit
The highway runs between Cloncurry via Mount Isa and Camooweal to the Stuart Highway north of Tennant Creek, at the junction known as the "Threeways".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The entire highway is part of the National Highway system: in the Northern Territory it is assigned National Route 66; the Queensland portion is designated as National Route A2.
The Northern Territory section has a speed limit of Template:Convert along most of its length.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
As the only sealed road linking Queensland and the Northern Territory, it is the main transport route between them, consequently many road trains use it.
UpgradesEdit
An upgrade of the Queensland section of the highway between Mount Isa and Camooweal was completed in 2008 and despite floods of 2009, 2010 and 2011, the Queensland sections of road are in good condition (as of 2015).
The Northern Australia Roads Program announced in 2016 included the following project for the Barkly Highway.
Intersection upgradesEdit
The project for intersection upgrades in Mount Isa urban area was completed in mid 2019 at a total cost of $8.3 million.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Georgina River BridgeEdit
Given the economic importance of transport on this route, a longstanding problem was the flooding of the Georgina River immediately west of Camooweal in Queensland. As the water levels in the Georgina River vary enormously from being completely dry to flooding, the Barkly Highway bridge over the Georgina River was often unusable for many days due to flooding, with road trains and other heavy vehicles having to wait weeks before it was safe to cross. To alleviate these problems, the Georgina River Bridge was officially opened on 20 December 2002 by Senator Ron Boswell and Steve Breadhauer, Minister for Transport in the Queensland Government. It replaced the previous bridge which was approximately Template:Convert south, and is both higher and longer so traffic on the highway can continue to cross during floods. The bridge is Template:Convert long and is accompanied by a Template:Convert highway deviation west from Camooweal. The bridge uses an unusual curved design to avoid placing pylons into the river bed which is culturally significant to the local Dugalunji people, who call the new bridge Ilaga Thuwani meaning The Camping Ground of the Rainbow Serpent.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- Barkly Highway 0116.svg
Barkly Highway in Queensland and the Northern Territory (green and black)
List of towns along the Barkly HighwayEdit
Major intersectionsEdit
Template:AUSinttop Template:NTint Template:NTint Template:QLDint Template:Jctbridge Template:QLDint Template:QLDint Template:QLDint Template:Jctbridge Template:QLDint Template:Jctbtm
See alsoEdit
- Highways in Australia
- List of highways in the Northern Territory
- List of highways in Queensland
- List of highways numbered 66
ReferencesEdit
Further readingEdit
External linksEdit
Template:Commons category-inline
Template:Road infrastructure in Northern Territory Template:Road infrastructure in Queensland