Central Arnhem Road

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Central Arnhem Road

Central Arnhem Road 0216.svg
Central Arnhem Road NT
General information
TypeRoad
Length663 km (412 mi)
Route number(s) AUS Alphanumeric Route C24.svg C24
Major junctions
Southwest endAUS Alphanumeric Route A87.svg Stuart Highway (National Highway 1), 51 km (32 mi) S Katherine
Northeast endMelville Bay Road, Gove Airport, 12 km (7.5 mi) S Nhulunbuy
Location(s)
Major suburbs Barunga, Beswick, Bulman

The Central Arnhem Road, also referred to as the Central Arnhem Highway or locally as "The Track", is a designated state route in the Northern Territory of Australia linking the Stuart Highway to the town of Nhulunbuy on the Gove Peninsula and communities across the East Arnhem region. It connects over 12,000 residents and is a key tourism drive and freight route for the mining and pastoral industries. [1]

Contents

The route traverses through Aboriginal Land and passes through the Aboriginal communities of Barunga, Beswick and Bulman. A free permit from the Northern Land Council is required for non-indigenous persons to travel its length.

Australian 4WD Action ranked the drive 5th in its list of 20 "must drive" four-wheel drive tracks in Australia in 2010. [2]

Present conditions

The vast majority of the road is unsealed and is prone to seasonal (December to April) flooding, resulting in frequent road restrictions for heavy vehicles and infrequent closures. Due to road conditions, four-wheel drive vehicles are recommended and caravans and camping trailers should be heavy duty. [3] The condition of the road is highly variable, with conditions dependent on the time of year and the road maintenance schedule. Mud, river crossings, loose gravel, corrugations and bulldust are some of the road conditions subject to change of weather conditions.

Fuel

Fuel is available at three locations along the route: the community of Beswick, 60 km (37 mi) from the junction with the Stuart Highway; the Mainoru Store, 197 km (122 mi) from the junction with the Stuart Highway; and the community of Bulman, 256 km (159 mi) from the junction with the Stuart Highway. Carrying extra fuel is recommended. [3]

Telecommunications

Telstra service is available when passing through the Aboriginal communities of Barunga, Beswick and Bulman and at locations marked with blue signposts along the route.

Upgrades

River crossing upgrades

In 2014, a regional roads funding package was announced by the Australian Government which included $7.7 million for upgrades to the Donydji, Goyder and Mainoru River crossings, [4] as well as allocation from the $90 million Northern Territory Roads Productivity Package for the construction of a bridge over Rocky Bottom Creek. [5]

Central Arnhem Road Corridor upgrades

Under the National Partnership Agreement on Land Transport (NPALT), the Australian Government has committed $180 million and the Northern Territory Government has committed $50 million to contribute to sealing, reconstructing, widening, and flood immunity improvements to priority sections of the route to a fit-for-purpose standard. These works are expected to see 25-35% of the road sealed to a dual lane standard and are expected to occur over the next five to ten years from 2019. [6]

The Federal Budget 2022-2023 released on 25 October 2022 has committed $350 million of additional funding to continue the work of sealing the Tanami Road and Central Arnhem Road. [7]

Future upgrades

Nhulunbuy remains the only large regional centre in the Northern Territory not connected to the National Highway network via a sealed road. [1] The Northern Territory Government is currently planning to seal the entire length of the Central Arnhem Road to a dual-lane standard which is expected to unlock the economic potential of the region and open up a range of new long term economic and social opportunities. [6] This will be achieved through reduced transit times, improved reliability of supply chains, safer road conditions, and overall improved accessibility in the region. It is also expected to enhance liveability and improve social outcomes by improving access to health and educational services, facilitating social and cultural connections and reducing barriers to development, including operating costs for business. [1]

Major intersections

LGADistanceDestinationsNotes
Katherine 0 km (0 mi)Stuart Highway (National Highway 1)

North – Katherine South – Mataranka

Roper Gulf 180 km (110 mi)Mainoru Cattle Station
Roper Gulf353 km (219 mi) Ramingining via Ramingining Access Road
East Arnhem 482 km (300 mi) Gapuwiyak via Gapuwiyak Access Road
unincorporated

(mining lease)

646 km (401 mi)North – Nhulunbuy/Yirrkala/Gunyangara

South – Gulkula/Bawaka

Road transitions from Central Arnhem Road to Dhupuma Road

See also

Australia road sign W5-29.svg   Australian Roadsportal

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The Northern Territory is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Australia to the west, South Australia to the south, and Queensland to the east. To the north, the territory looks out to the Timor Sea, the Arafura Sea and the Gulf of Carpentaria, including Western New Guinea and other islands of the Indonesian archipelago.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stuart Highway</span> Highway in the Northern Territory and South Australia

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barkly Highway</span> Highway in the Northern Territory and Queensland

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The Gove Peninsula is at the northeastern corner of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia. The peninsula became strategically important during World War II when a Royal Australian Air Force base was constructed at what is now Gove Airport. The peninsula was involved in a famous court case known as the Gove land rights case, when local Yolngu people tried to claim native title over their traditional lands in 1971, after the Australian Government had granted a mineral lease to a bauxite mining company without consulting the local peoples. Today the land is owned by the Yolngu people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electoral division of Arnhem</span>

Arnhem is an electoral division of the Legislative Assembly in Australia's Northern Territory. It was first created in 1974, and takes its name from Arnhem Land, the region encompassing much of the northern part of the Territory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nhulunbuy</span> Town in the Northern Territory, Australia

Nhulunbuy is a town and locality in the Northern Territory of Australia. Founded on the Gove Peninsula in north-east Arnhem Land when a bauxite mine and deep water port were established in the late 1960s, the town’s economy largely revolved around its alumina refinery until it closed in May 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arnhem Highway</span> Highway in the Northern Territory

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tanami Road</span> Road in the Northern Territory and Western Australia

The Tanami Road, also known as the Tanami Track, Tanami Highway, and the McGuire Track, is a road in Australia that runs between the Stuart Highway in the Northern Territory and the Great Northern Highway in Western Australia. It is also known as State Route 5 in the Northern Territory. Its southern junction is 19 kilometres (12 mi) north of Alice Springs and the northern junction is 17 kilometres (11 mi) south-west of Halls Creek. It follows a cattle droving route northwest from the MacDonnell Ranges area of central Australia to Halls Creek in the Kimberley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Central Road</span> Track in Western Australia and the Northern Territory

The Great Central Road is a mostly unsealed Australian outback highway that runs 1,126 km (700 mi) from Laverton, Western Australia to Yulara, Northern Territory. It passes through a number of small communities on the way.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gove Airport</span> Airport in Nhulunbuy

Gove Airport is on the Gove Peninsula in the Northern Territory of Australia. It services the mining town of Nhulunbuy and several Aboriginal communities including Yirrkala. The airport is located 5.8 nautical miles south southeast of the Nhulunbuy town centre, on Melville Road. It is operated by the Nhulunbuy Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buntine Highway</span> Highway in the Northern Territory and Western Australia

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Barunga, formerly known as Beswick Creek and then Bamyili, is a small Aboriginal community located approximately 80 kilometres (50 mi) southeast of Katherine, in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is part of the Roper Gulf Region local government area. At the 2011 census, Barunga had a population of 313.

Bulman is a town in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is 400km from Darwin. Along with the Aboriginal community of Weemol, 5 km (3 mi) away, Bulman is considered a closed community meaning all visitors require a permit from the Northern Land Council to transit or visit the town. The combined population of Bulman and Weemol at the 2011 census was 291 and is one of few significant settlements on the Central Arnhem Road between Katherine and Nhulunbuy. Facilities in the town include a school, health clinic, police station and an all weather airstrip. Languages spoken in Bulman include Kriol, English and Rembarrnga.

Rembarrnga (Rembarunga) is an Australian Aboriginal language. It is one of the Northern Non-Pama–Nyungan languages, spoken in the Roper River region of the Northern territory. There are three dialects of Rembarrnga, namely Galduyh, Gikkik and Mappurn. It is a highly endangered language, with very few remaining fluent speakers. It is very likely that the language is no longer being learned by children. Instead, the children of Rembarrnga speakers are now learning neighbouring languages such as Kriol in south central Arnhem Land, and Kunwinjku, a dialect of Bininj Kunwok, in north central Arnhem Land.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larapinta Drive</span>

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References

  1. 1 2 3 NT Infrastructure Plan and Pipeline 2022 (PDF). Infrastructure NT. 2022. CC-BY icon.svg Text was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
  2. "20 Tracks You Must Drive". Australian 4WD Action. 30 November 2010. Archived from the original on 10 January 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Central Arnhem Road Travel Guide | East Arnhem Land - Official Site".
  4. Jamie Briggs; Warren Truss (13 May 2014). "Building Northern Territory transport infrastructure for the 21st Century". Archived from the original on 10 January 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  5. "Regional NT roads to get overdue repairs". The Australian . 5 March 2014.
  6. 1 2 Government, Northern Territory (23 June 2021). "Central Arnhem Road Corridor upgrades". dipl.nt.gov.au. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  7. "$2.5 billion infrastructure boost for the Northern Territory". 16 October 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2022.