Gulf Developmental Road | |
---|---|
Gulf Developmental Road (green on black) | |
General information | |
Type | Rural road |
Length | 442 km (275 mi) |
Route number(s) | National Route 1 |
Major junctions | |
West end | Savannah Way (National Route 1) / Burke Developmental Road (State Route 83), 7 km (4.3 mi) south of Normanton, Queensland |
Gregory Highway | |
East end | Kennedy Highway (National Route 1) / Kennedy Developmental Road, (State Route 62) Forty Mile Scrub, Queensland |
Location(s) | |
Major settlements | Croydon, Georgetown, Mount Surprise |
Gulf Developmental Road is an Australian highway linking the Cairns and Normanton regions in northern Queensland, Australia. It is the only sealed (asphalt) road linking these two regions, and is designated Highway 1 in the Queensland part of the national Highway 1 network.
In the east, the Gulf Developmental Road begins at an unnamed junction on the southern edge of Forty Mile Scrub National Park, 241 km (150 mi) south-west of Cairns. It runs west before terminating at its junction with the Burke Developmental Road 7 km (4.3 mi) south of Normanton, a total distance of 442 km (275 mi). [1] It links Cairns and Normanton, and is the only sealed (asphalt) road linking these two regions. [2] It is sealed for its full length, but as of 2018 there were many sections of the road which were only single-lane bitumen, with gravel shoulders are gravel, requiring vehicles to move partly onto the shoulders. These sections extend between points about 55 km (34 mi) west of Georgetown and 20 km (12 mi) west of Mount Surprise.
Towns along the route include Mount Surprise, Georgetown and Croydon. [1] There are no other communities along the route, but it passes through the ghost town of Cumberland.
The Gulf Developmental Road is designated Highway 1. It is not part of the National Highway network.
This road has only one major intersection, with the Gregory Highway in the locality of Mount Surprise.
The Roads of Strategic Importance initiative, last updated in March 2022, includes the following projects for the Gulf Developmental Road.
A lead project to upgrade the Cairns to Northern Territory border corridor, including the Gulf Developmental Road and surrounding state and council roads, at an estimated cost of $62.5 million, was commenced in 2020, with planning continuing. [3]
A project for pavement strengthening and widening of sections of the Gulf Developmental Road between Mount Garnet and Croydon at a cost of $21.5 million was planned to be completed by mid-2022. [4] This project was targeted for "early works" by the Queensland Government, and was split into two packages. [5]
The Capricorn Highway is located in Central Queensland, Australia, and links the city of Rockhampton with western Queensland. The highway is 575 kilometres (357 mi) long, and joins the Landsborough Highway at Barcaldine. Formerly National Route 66, Queensland began to convert to the alphanumeric system much of Australia had adopted in the early-2000s and is now designated as A4. The highway runs parallel with the Tropic of Capricorn, hence its name.
The Flinders Highway is a highway that crosses Queensland east to west, from Townsville on the Pacific coast to Cloncurry. The road continues as the Barkly Highway from Cloncurry to the Northern Territory border at Camooweal and beyond. The Flinders Highway passes a number of small outback towns and typical outback landscape predominates towards the inland. It was known as National Route 78 before Queensland began to convert to the alphanumeric system being adopted in Australia and is now designated as A6. The highway is also known as Overlanders Way. Its entire length is part of the National Land Transport Network.
The Dawson Highway is a state highway in Queensland, Australia. It runs for 405 kilometres (252 mi) between Gladstone and Springsure where it terminates. From Gladstone to Rolleston it is signed as State Route 60, and then A7 onwards to Springsure. It continues west for another 247 kilometres (153 mi) as Dawson Developmental Road to Tambo on the Landsborough Highway. North of Springsure, A7 becomes the Gregory Highway.
The Gregory Highway is a state highway in Queensland, Australia that serves the major coal-mining centres of Central Queensland. The highway was named after Augustus Gregory, an early explorer.
Landsborough Highway is a highway in western Queensland, Australia, running in the northwest–southeast direction from Morven to Cloncurry. The Landsborough Highway runs through vast tracts of land that was once occupied by William Landsborough, an Australian explorer of the 19th century. It is also the central part of the tourist route known as the Matilda Way after the popular Australian song Waltzing Matilda, which extends from Bourke in central northern New South Wales to Karumba on the Gulf of Carpentaria.
Croydon is an outback town and locality within the Shire of Croydon in Queensland, Australia. It is a terminus for the Normanton to Croydon railway line, which operates the Gulflander tourist train. At the 2016 census, Croydon had a population of 258 people.
The Kennedy Highway is a highway in northern Queensland, Australia. It runs as National Route 1 for approximately 243 km from Smithfield, on the northern outskirts of Cairns, to the Gulf Developmental Road in the vicinity of Forty Mile Scrub and Undara Volcanic national parks. South of this junction, the road continues as the Kennedy Developmental Road to Boulia about 936 kilometres away, via Hughenden. West of the junction, National Route 1 continues as the Gulf Developmental Road to Normanton.
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The Mulligan Highway is a state highway in Queensland, Australia. It runs for approximately 266 km between Mareeba and Cooktown, on the east coast of Cape York Peninsula where it terminates. It is signed as State Route 81 from Mareeba to Lakeland and State Route 40 from Lakeland to Cooktown. It is a state-controlled regional road.
The Plenty Highway is a 498-kilometre (309 mi) outback mostly unsealed road in the Northern Territory of Australia between the Stuart Highway and north-western Queensland.
The Savannah Way is a route of highways and major roads across the tropical savannahs of northern Australia, linking Cairns in Queensland with Broome in Western Australia. Promoted as a self-drive tourist route, it joins Cairns, Normanton, Borroloola, Katherine, Kununurra, Fitzroy Crossing, Derby and Broome. It has been designated by the Queensland Government as a State Strategic Touring Route.
The Burke Developmental Road is a Queensland (Australia) developmental road. It links Cloncurry and Normanton in a south–north direction, then turns to the north-east 30 km (19 mi) north of Normanton for 230 km (140 mi) before turning south-east till Dimbulah, where it becomes the Mareeba Dimbulah Road.
The Einasleigh River Bridge is a road bridge over the Einasleigh River on the Gulf Developmental Road, in the Far North Queensland, Australia, located 53 kilometres (33 mi) east of Georgetown and 36 kilometres (22 mi) west of Mount Surprise. The bridge is part of the only sealed (asphalt) road linking Cairns and Normanton in the Gulf Savannah region.
The Donohue Highway is a 249 km (155 mi) mostly unpaved outback track that leads through the northern foothills of the Simpson Desert in Queensland to Tobermorey Homestead, Northern Territory near the Northern Territory/Queensland border in Australia.
The Peninsula Developmental Road (PDR) runs 571 km (355 mi) from Lakeland to Weipa. It is the main road transport link within Cape York Peninsula and to the rest of the Australian mainland.
The Diamantina Developmental Road is a gazetted road in Queensland, Australia, that runs from Charleville in the south-central part of the state to Mount Isa in the north-west.
The Wills Developmental Road is a road in north-west Queensland running between Julia Creek and Burketown. As of 2016 it is sealed with a total length of 500 kilometres (310 mi). There are no major towns along the entire route, but fuel and supplies are available at the Burke and Wills Roadhouse at Four Ways, and also at Gregory. The Wills Developmental Road joins the Burke Developmental Road for approximately 1.2 kilometres, avoiding a direct crossroads at their intersection. Two major rivers are crossed by the Wills Developmental Road en route, the Cloncurry and the Leichhardt.
Bowen Developmental Road is a state-controlled district road rated as a local road of regional significance (LRRS). It is a rural strategic main road in Queensland, Australia. It is part of State Route 77, and functions as a highway. It has a length of 259 kilometres (161 mi) and extends in northeast-southwest direction from Bowen on the east coast of Australia to the Gregory Developmental Road in Belyando near Nairana National Park.
The Birdsville Developmental Road is a mostly unsealed road in south-west Queensland that branches off the Diamantina Developmental Road at a point 103 kilometres (64 mi) west of Windorah and runs to Birdsville. Its length is 273 kilometres (170 mi). The road crosses a major channel of the Diamantina River just before reaching Birdsville. It links with Cordillo Downs road and Arrabury Road, both of which lead to the South Australian town of Innamincka.
Richmond–Croydon Road is a continuous 360 kilometres (220 mi) road route in the Richmond, Croydon and Etheridge local government areas of Queensland, Australia. It is part of the shortest route from the Croydon / Georgetown area to Winton and Longreach. It is also part of the inland freight network linking cattle properties to major freight routes on the Landsborough and Flinders highways.