Gwydir Highway New South Wales
The Gwydir River Bridge on the highway at Gravesend.
General information
Type	Highway
Length	568 km (353 mi)[1]
Gazetted	August 1928[2]
Route number(s)	B76 (2013–present)
Former route number	National Route 38 (1962–2013)
Major junctions
West end	Castlereagh Highway Walgett, New South Wales
	Newell Highway Fossickers Way New England Highway
East end	Big River Way Grafton, New South Wales
Location(s)
Major settlements	Collarenebri, Moree, Warialda, Inverell, Glen Innes
Highway system
Highways in Australia National Highway • Freeways in Australia Highways in New South Wales

Gwydir Highway is a 568-kilometre (353 mi)^[1] state highway in northern New South Wales, Australia. The highway was named after the Gwydir River, which in turn was named after a locale in Wales.

Route

Rocky Ford Bridge on the highway over the Barwon River at Collarenebri

Gwydir Highway traverses the New England region from the inland plains to the coastal region, linking Walgett, Collarenebri, Moree, Warialda, Inverell, Glen Innes and Grafton. The western termination of the highway is at the junction with Castlereagh Highway, 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) north of Walgett.

At Moree it intersects the Newell Highway. At Inverell, it has an intersection with Thunderbolts Way. At Glen Innes it intersects New England Highway. At South Grafton on the Clarence River, it joins Big River Way and Summerland Way. Between Glen Innes and South Grafton, Gwydir Highway runs between the Gibraltar Range and Washpool National Parks.

History

The passing of the Main Roads Act of 1924^[3] through the Parliament of New South Wales provided for the declaration of Main Roads, roads partially funded by the State government through the Main Roads Board (later the Department of Main Roads, and eventually Transport for NSW). Gwydir Highway was declared (as Main Road No. 12) from the intersection with North Coast Highway (today Pacific Highway) in South Grafton, via Buccarumbi, Glen Innes, Inverell, Moree to the crossing of the Barwon River at Mogil Mogil,^[2] and Main Road No. 68 was declared along its future alignment from Walgett via Collarenabri to Mogil Mogil (and continuing northwards to the state border with Queensland, and westwards via Brewarrina, Bourke, Louth, Wilcannia, Menindee, Pooncarrie and Wentworth to the state border with South Australia)^[2] on the same day, 8 August 1928. With the passing of the Main Roads (Amendment) Act of 1929^[4] to provide for additional declarations of State Highways and Trunk Roads, these were amended to State Highway 12 and Trunk Road 68 on 8 April 1929. In late 1929, the western end was amended to terminate via Grawan Bridge at Collarenebri instead.^[5]

In December 1960, a 160-kilometre deviation between Glen Innes and Grafton via Jackadgery opened, with the old road via Buccarumbi renamed Old Glen Innes Road.^[6]

The passing of the Roads Act of 1993^[7] updated road classifications and the way they could be declared within New South Wales. Under this act, the western end of Gwydir Highway (as State Highway 12) was extended from Collarenabri to the intersection with Castlereagh Highway north of Walgett, subsuming the former alignment of Main Road 68 (formerly Trunk Road 68, officially splitting it into a western section terminating at Walgett, and an eastern section terminating in Collarenabri), on 17 December 1993.^[8] When Pacific Highway's Grafton bypass opened in May 2020, Gwydir Highway (as Highway 12) was officially extended east along the old alignment of Pacific Highway to Tyndale, on 5 July 2022,^[9] although the road is known locally and sign-posted as Big River Way. Gwydir Highway today, as part of Highway 12, still retains this declaration.^[10]

The highway was allocated National Route 38 in 1962, from Grafton to Collarenebri, later extended with the highway to north of Walgett in 1993. With New South Wales' conversion to the newer alphanumeric system in 2013, this was replaced with route B76 across the whole highway.^[11]

Major junctions

LGA	Location	km[1]	mi	Destinations	Notes
Walgett	Walgett	0	0.0	Castlereagh Highway (B55 north, B55/B76 south) – Walgett, Lightning Ridge, Coonamble, Gilgandra	Western terminus of highway Route B76 continues south along Castlereagh Highway
	Collarenebri	60	37	Herbert Street (north) – Collarenebri Wilson Street (east) – Mungindi, Collarenebri Airport	4-way intersection
Barwon River		61	38	Rocky Ford Bridge
Moree Plains	Moree	200	120	Heber Street (east) – Moree Balo Street (south) – Moree	4-way intersection
		201	125	Carnarvon Highway – Mungindi, St George	T-intersection
		202	126	Moree Bypass (Newell Highway) (A39 north) – Goondiwindi	Northern terminus of concurrency with route A39 at T-intersection
Mehi River		203	126	Doctor Geoffrey Hunter Bridge
Moree Plains	Moree	204	127	Moree Bypass (Newell Highway) (A39 south) – Narrabri, Gilgandra, Dubbo	Southern terminus of concurrency with route A39
		205	127	Mungindi railway line
Gwydir River		259	161	Gwydir River Bridge
Gwydir	Warialda	279	173	Allan Cunningham Road (Fossickers Way) (B95) – Bingara, Barraba, Tamworth
		281	175	Warialda Road – Yetman
Macintyre River		341	212	Bridge over the river (bridge name unknown)
Inverell	Inverell	342	213	Byron Street – Inverell, Ashford	Roundabout
		343	213	Tingha Road (Thunderbolts Way) – Uralla, Walcha, Gloucester
Glen Innes Severn	Glen Innes	409	254	Church Street (New England Highway) (A15 north) – Stanthorpe, Warwick	Concurrency with route A15
				Church Street (New England Highway) (A15 south) – Armidale, Tamworth, Newcastle
Beardy Waters		415	258	Bridge over the river (bridge name unknown)
Mann River		524	326	Bridge over the river (bridge name unknown)
Clarence Valley	South Grafton	566	352	Bent Street – Grafton via Grafton Bridge	Roundabout
		567	352	North Coast railway line
		568	353	Big River Way (B76/B91 north, B91 south) – Tyndale, Glenugie to Pacific Highway (A1) – Brisbane, Coffs Harbour, Newcastle, Sydney to Summerland Way (B91) – Casino, Kyogle, Brisbane	Eastern terminus of highway at roundabout Route B76 continues eastwards along Big River 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 New South Wales

References