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.
Highways in Australia are generally high capacity roads managed by state and territory government agencies, though Australia's federal government contributes funding for important links between capital cities and major regional centres. Prior to European settlement, the earliest needs for trade and travel were met by narrow bush tracks, used by tribes of Indigenous Australians. The formal construction of roads began in 1788, after the founding of the colony of New South Wales, and a network of three major roads across the colony emerged by the 1820s. Similar road networks were established in the other colonies of Australia. Road construction programs in the early 19th century were generally underfunded, as they were dependent on government budgets, loans, and tolls; while there was a huge increase in road usage, due to the Australian gold rushes. Local government authorities, often known as Road Boards, were therefore established to be primarily responsible for funding and undertaking road construction and maintenance. The early 1900s saw both the increasingly widespread use of motorised transportation, and the creation of state road authorities in each state, between 1913 and 1926. These authorities managed each state's road network, with the main arterial roads controlled and maintained by the state, and other roads remaining the responsibility of local governments. The federal government became involved in road funding in the 1920s, distributing funding to the states. The depression of the 1930s slowed the funding and development of the major road network until the onset on World War II. Supply roads leading to the north of the country were considered vital, resulting in the construction of Barkly, Stuart, and Eyre Highways.
Australia's Highway 1 is a network of highways that circumnavigate the country, joining all mainland capital cities except the national capital of Canberra. At a total length of approximately 14,500 km (9,000 mi) it is the longest national highway in the world, surpassing the Trans-Siberian Highway and the Trans-Canada Highway. Over a million people traverse some part of the highway network every day.
Federal Highway is a highway in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. It is a part of a motorway-standard link between Sydney and Canberra, and is also the main thoroughfare between those cities.
Stuart Highway is a major Australian highway. It runs from Darwin, in the Northern Territory, via Tennant Creek and Alice Springs, to Port Augusta in South Australia; a distance of 2,720 km (1,690 mi). Its northern and southern extremities are segments of Australia's Highway 1. The principal north–south route through the central interior of mainland Australia, the highway is often referred to simply as "The Track".
A routenumber, designation or abbreviation is an identifying numeric designation assigned by a highway authority to a particular stretch of roadway to distinguish it from other routes and, in many cases, also to indicate its classification, general geographical location and/or orientation. The numbers chosen may be used solely for internal administrative purposes; however, in most cases they are also displayed on roadside signage and indicated on maps.
The Victoria Highway links the Great Northern Highway in Western Australia with the Stuart Highway in the Northern Territory. The highway is a part of the Perth - Darwin National Highway link. It is signed as National Highway 1, and is part of Highway 1, a circular route around the country. It is 555 kilometres (345 mi) long, and most of the route – some 470 kilometres (290 mi) – lies within the Northern Territory. In some areas it runs in parallel with the Northern Territory's Victoria River, from which its name originates.
The M1 Pacific Motorway is a 127-kilometre motorway linking Sydney to Newcastle via the Central Coast and Hunter regions of New South Wales. Formerly known but still commonly referred to by both the public and the government as the F3 Freeway, Sydney–Newcastle Freeway, and Sydney–Newcastle Expressway, it is part of the AusLink road corridor between Sydney and Brisbane. The name "F3 Freeway" reflects its former route allocation before it was decommissioned and replaced by the rollout of alphanumeric signposts.
Tiger Brennan Drive is a major arterial road in the western suburbs of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. The road travels southeast–east starting from Darwin CBD toward Darwin's eastern suburb of Berrimah, then continues to a connection with the Stuart Highway at Palmerston. Tiger Brennan Drive runs parallel with the Stuart Highway for most of its length. The road was named after Harold "Tiger" Brennan, a long serving Northern Territory politician and former mayor of Darwin. The Berrimah Road to Stuart Highway Section has been assigned the alphanumeric route designation A15.
The Cox Peninsula Road is a rural road in the Northern Territory of Australia linking the Cox Peninsula and western shore of Darwin Harbour to the Stuart Highway in the rural suburb of Noonamah on the outskirts of Darwin. The route is approximately 80 km (50 mi) and passes through the town of Berry Springs as well as the rural areas of Tumbling Waters and Blackmore heading west, before turning north towards the Indigenous community of Belyuen. The road ends at a junction with Charles Point Road in Wagait Shire, a few kilometres west of Mandorah on the Cox Peninsula.
In the Northern Territory, Highway 1 is a 1,414-kilometre (879 mi) long route with a 316-kilometre (196 mi) long spur, that connects Darwin to northern Western Australia and Queensland. The route traverses the territory, from the Western Australian border near Kununurra, to Katherine, and then across to the Queensland border near Wollogorang, with a spur section linking Katherine to Darwin. Highway 1 continues around the rest of Australia, joining all mainland state capitals, and connecting major centres in Tasmania. All roads within the Highway 1 system are allocated a road route numbered 1, M1, A1, or B1, depending on the state route numbering system. In the Northern Territory, the highway is designated as National Highway 1 where it is concurrent with the National Highway routes linking Darwin to Adelaide and Perth. The eastern section from Daly Waters to Queensland is designated as National Route 1.
