Outback Highway

The Outback Highway or Outback Way is a series of roads and dirt tracks linking Winton, Queensland and Laverton, Western Australia. At 2,800 km (1,740 mi), it crosses Central Australia (colloquially known as the Outback), passing through Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia.[1]

Laverton

Winton

The Kennedy Development Road between Middleton and Boulia, 2011

It has been proposed as a development to provide an inland route between southern Western Australia and northern Queensland as an alternative to the National Highway 1 along either coast.[2]

Roads that make up the highway are:

• Great Central Road
• Gunbarrel Highway
• Lasseter Highway
• Stuart Highway
• Plenty Highway
• Donohue Highway
• Kennedy Development Road

Support for the project is strong amongst local government areas along the route and elsewhere.[3] Federal funding of A$70 million over 10 years would be required.

Key points

State/Territory	LGA	Location	km[4]	mi	Destinations	Notes
Western Australia	Laverton	Laverton	0	0.0
		Warburton	554	344	Connie Sue Highway – Rawlinna
	Ngaanyatjarraku	Warakurna / Giles	781	485	Old Gunbarrel Highway – Carnegie
			807	501	Gunbarrel Highway – Pipalyatjara, South Australia
Western Australia – Northern Territory border					Western Australia – Northern Territory border	Great Central Road in Western Australia Tjukaruru Road in Northern Territory
Northern Territory	MacDonnell Region	Docker River	870	540
	unincorporated area	Yulara	1,110	690		Tjukaruru Road Lasseter Highway (state route 4)
	MacDonnell Region	Erldunda	1,398	869	Stuart Highway (National Highway 87) – Adelaide, Darwin	Lasseter Highway (state route 4) Stuart Highway (National Highway 87)
	Alice Springs	Alice Springs	1,550	960
		Burt Plain	1,620	1,010	Stuart Highway (National Highway 87)	Stuart Highway (National Highway 87) Plenty Highway (State Route 12) See map of Burt Plain[5]
Northern Territory – Queensland border			2,120	1,320	Northern Territory – Queensland border	Plenty Highway (State Route 12) Donohue Highway
Queensland	Boulia	Boulia	2,365	1,470	Diamantina Developmental Road (National route 83)	Donohue Highway Kennedy Developmental Road (State Route 62)
	Winton	Winton	2,727	1,694	Landsborough Highway (Route A2) - Longreach	northeastern end of the Outback Way
	1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Route transition

See also

• Highways in Australia
• List of highways in the Northern Territory
• List of highways in Queensland
• List of highways in Western Australia

Notes

1. Morris, Nathan (3 October 2016). "The Outback Way: What a sealed road from WA to Queensland will mean for regional communities". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
2. BSD Consultants.(1998) Outback Highway feasibility study : final report / prepared for Main Roads Western Australia, Northern Territory Department of Transport and Works, and Main Roads Queensland ; prepared by BSD Consultants Pty. Ltd. Subiaco, WA "March 1998"
3. "Councils back outback highway push". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 23 June 2011. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
4. Google (23 January 2017). "Outback Highway" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
5. Google (1 August 2017). "Burt Plain, Northern Territory" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 1 August 2017.

External links

• Outback Highway official website