Mitchell Highway

Queensland
–New South Wales
Road freight on the Mitchell Highway between Cunnamulla and Charleville, 1979
General information
TypeHighway
Length1,095 km (680 mi)[1]
GazettedAugust 1928 (as Main Road 7)[2]
Route number(s)
  • Alternate A2 (2004–present)
    (Augathella–Charleville)
  • A71 (2004–present)
    (Charleville–QLD/NSW border)
  • B71 (2013–present)
    (QLD/NSW border–Nyngan)
  • A32 (2013–present)
    (Nyngan–Bathurst)
Former
route number
  • National Route 71 (1955–2004/2013)
    (Augathella–Nyngan)
  • National Route 32 (1955–2013)
    (Nyngan–Bathurst)
Major junctions
North end Landsborough Highway
Augathella, Queensland
 
South end Great Western Highway
Bathurst, New South Wales
Location(s)
Major settlementsCharleville, Cunnamulla, Bourke, Nyngan, Dubbo, Orange, Bathurst
Highway system

Mitchell Highway is an outback state highway located in the central and south western regions of Queensland and the northern and central western regions of New South Wales in Australia. The southern part of Mitchell Highway forms part of the National Highway A32 B71 corridor, which stretches from Sydney to Brisbane via Dubbo. Mitchell Highway also forms part of the shortest route between Sydney and Darwin, via Bourke and Mount Isa, making it an important road link for the transport of passengers and freight for regional New South Wales and Queensland.[3] The highway is a part of route Alternative A2 between Augathella and Charleville, route A71 and B71 between Charleville and Nyngan, and part of route A32 between Nyngan and Bathurst.

In New South Wales, the highway's south-eastern terminus is at its junction with Great Western and Mid-Western Highways, and it links with Golden, Newell, Oxley, Barrier and Kamilaroi Highways. In Queensland, the highway links with Balonne and Warrego Highways and its northern terminus is at its junction with Landsborough Highway.

Route

Mitchell Highway lies west of the Great Dividing Range and in New South Wales runs generally northwest–southeast and in Queensland, runs generally north–south in the central western and southwest parts of that state.

From its northern terminus at a junction with the Landsborough Highway near Augathella, Mitchell Highway heads south as route Alternative A2 through Charleville, meeting Warrego Highway heading east as Alternative A2. As route A71, the highway continues south through Cunnamulla, meeting with Balonne Highway, and then further south to the state border between Queensland and New South Wales (called Barringun Road), where it changes to route B71.[4][5]

A typical narrow width of Mitchell Highway in the regional New South Wales village of Nevertire

Approximately 5 kilometres (3 mi) north of Bourke it crosses the Darling River before heading into Bourke where it forms junctions with Kamilaroi Highway heading east and Kidman Way heading south. From this point Mitchell Highway generally heads southeast through to Nyngan, meeting with Barrier Highway, and continues south as route A32. At Nevertire the highway meets Oxley Highway, before passing through Narromine and then heads generally east to the major rural centre of Dubbo, where it meets Newell Highway, before it crosses the Macquarie River and heads south towards Wellington, crossing the Macquarie River again. At Molong, the highway generally starts to head east towards Orange, where an alternative route diverts many heavy vehicles away from the city centre; the portion of Mitchell Highway that passes through Orange city centre is known locally as Summer Street.[6] The southern terminus of Mitchell Highway is at a roundabout in Bathurst, at the junction of Mid-Western Highway to Cowra, and Great Western Highway to Sydney via the Blue Mountains.[7]

History

The passing of the Main Roads Act of 1924[8] 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). North-Western Highway was declared (as Main Road No. 7) on 8 August 1928, from the interchange with Great Western Highway and Mid-Western Highway in Bathurst, via Orange, Dubbo, Nyngan, and Bourke, to the border with Queensland;[2] with the passing of the Main Roads (Amendment) Act of 1929[9] to provide for additional declarations of State Highways and Trunk Roads, this was amended to State Highway 7 on 8 April 1929. On 9 October 1936 the name was changed to Mitchell Highway, in honour of Lieutenant Colonel Sir Thomas Mitchell, who was Surveyor-General of New South Wales in the 1820s and explored much of inland New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland.[10]

The passing of the Roads Act of 1993[11] updated road classifications and the way they could be declared within New South Wales. Under this act, Mitchell Highway today retains its declaration as Highway 7, from the state border with Queensland at Barringun to the intersection with Great Western and Mid-Western Highways at Bathurst.[12]

Mitchel Highway was signed National Route 71 between Augathella and Nygan, and National Route 32 between Nyngan and Bathurst, in 1955. With both states' conversion to their newer alphanumeric systems in 2004 and 2013, its former route numbers were updated to Alternative A2 between Augathella and Charleville and A71 between Charleville and the state border within Queensland in 2004, and B71 between the state border and Nyngan and A32 between Nyngan and Bathurst within New South Wales in 2013.[13]

Truck explosion

On 5 September 2014, a truck travelling on Mitchell Highway rolled off a road bridge at Angellala Creek approximately 30 km south of Charleville (26°39′15″S 146°10′34″E / 26.6541°S 146.1760°E / -26.6541; 146.1760). The truck was carrying 52 tonnes of ammonium nitrate which exploded. The blast destroyed the two road bridges and severely damaged the adjacent rail bridge.[14] The blast was so powerful that the truck was disintegrated and the dangers posed by the remaining ammonium nitrate necessitated a 2 km exclusion zone around the site for a number of days.[15] The large crater formed by the blast closed the highway necessitating detours of up to 600 km.[16] The Department of Transport and Mains Road was allowed to commence work at the site on 13 September and by 23 September had constructed a temporary side track around the blast site suitable for cars, buses and light trucks. By 7 October, the side track had been upgraded to support road trains, ending the need to detour.[17] In April 2015, the $10 million tender to reconstruct the highway and bridges were awarded and the construction work took place between June and November 2015.[18] In early 2016, a competition was held to decide a new name for the bridge.[17]

Major intersections

StateLGALocationkm[1]miDestinationsNotes
QueenslandMurwehAugathella00.0 Landsborough Highway (A2) – Cloncurry, Longreach, MorvenNorthern terminus of Mitchell Highway and route Alternative A2
Charleville7748 Diamantina Developmental Road (State Route 14) – Quilpie, Windorah, Bedourie
7848 Warrego Highway (Alt A2 east) – Morven, Roma, Dalby, ToowoombaNorthern terminus of route A71, route Alternative A2 continues east along Warrego Highway
ParooCunnamulla278173Bulloo Developmental Road (west) – Lake Bindegolly National Park
282175 Balonne Highway (State Route 49) – St George, Dalby
Barringun (QLD)397247 Mitchell Highway (A71)Southern terminus of route A71
State borderQueensland – New South Wales state border
New South WalesBourkeBarringun (NSW) Mitchell Highway (B71)Northern terminus of route B71
Darling River528328Gateway Bridge
BourkeBourke533331 Kamilaroi Highway (B76) – Brewarrina, Walgett, Narrabri, Gunnedah
534332 Kidman Way (B87) – Cobar, Hillston, Griffith, Jerilderie
BoganNyngan736457 Barrier Highway (A32 west) – Cobar, Wilcannia, Broken Hill, BurraSouthern terminus of route B71, route A32 continues west along Barrier Highway
Nevertire796495Oxley Highway (north) – Warren, Coonabarabran, Tamworth, Port Macquarie
Nevertire-Bogan Road (south) – Tottenham, Tullamore
NarromineNarromine863536Peak Hill Road – Peak Hill, ParkesRoundabout
DubboDubbo901560 Newell Highway (A39) – Moree, Gilgandra, Parkes, Narrandera
Macquarie River902560L.H. Ford Bridge
Macquarie River951591Macquarie Bridge over the river at Wellington
CabonneMolong1,018633 Peabody Road (B81), to Escort Way (B81) – Canowindra, Cowra
OrangeOrange1,049652Northern Distributor Road (northeast) – OrangeAlternative route to bypass Orange city centre; roundabout
1,052654Escort Way – Eugowra, Forbes
1,057657Northern Distributor Road (northwest) – OrangeAlternative route to bypass Orange city centre
BathurstBathurst1,095680 Mid-Western Highway (A41 southwest) – Blayney, Cowra, Hay
Brilliant Street (southeast) – Bathurst, Mount Panorama Circuit
Great Western Highway (A32 northeast) – Lithgow, Katoomba, SydneySouthern terminus of highway at roundabout, route A32 continues east along Great Western Highway
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
  •       Route transition

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Google (4 April 2015). "Mitchell Highway" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Main Roads Act, 1924-1927". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 110. National Library of Australia. 17 August 1928. pp. 3814–20. Archived from the original on 3 August 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  3. ↑ Sinclair Knight Merz Pty Ltd (June 2007). Sydney–Dubbo Corridor Strategy: Building our National Transport Future (PDF). Australia: Department of Transport and Regional Services. ISBN 978-1-921095-46-7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 March 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2015. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  4. ↑ Rands, Paul (2015). "Mitchell Highway (A71)". Road Photos & Information: Queensland. Archived from the original on 10 April 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  5. ↑ Rands, Paul (2015). "Warrego Highway & Mitchell Highway (Alternate A2)". Road Photos & Information: New South Wales. Archived from the original on 10 April 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  6. ↑ "Summer Street Commercial Area" (PDF). Orange City Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2008. Retrieved 14 August 2008.
  7. ↑ Rands, Paul (7 December 2013). "Great Western Highway, Mitchell Highway & Barrier Highway (A32)". Road Photos & Information: Queensland. Archived from the original on 10 April 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  8. ↑ State of New South Wales, An Act to provide for the better construction, maintenance, and financing of main roads; to provide for developmental roads; to constitute a Main Roads Board Archived 11 August 2022 at the Wayback Machine 10 November 1924
  9. ↑ State of New South Wales, An Act to amend the Main Roads Act, 1924-1927; to confer certain further powers upon the Main Roads Board; to amend the Local Government Act, 1919, and certain other Acts; to validate certain payments and other matters; and for purposes connected therewith. Archived 12 August 2022 at the Wayback Machine 8 April 1929
  10. ↑ "Mitchell Highway: History and Development". OzRoads: The Australian Roads website. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  11. ↑ State of New South Wales, An Act to make provision with respect to the roads of New South Wales; to repeal the State Roads Act 1986, the Crown and Other Roads Act 1990 and certain other enactments; and for other purposes. Archived 11 August 2022 at the Wayback Machine 10 November 1924
  12. ↑ Transport for NSW (August 2022). "Schedule of Classified Roads and Unclassified Regional Roads" (PDF). Government of New South Wales. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  13. ↑ "Road number and name changes in NSW" (PDF). Roads & Maritime Services. Government of New South Wales. 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 March 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  14. ↑ "Queensland Disaster Committee Management 2014–15 Management Report" (PDF). Queensland Government. p. 7. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 December 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  15. ↑ "Truck hauling fertiliser explodes in outback Queensland, injuring 8". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 7 September 2014. Archived from the original on 29 October 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  16. ↑ Calligeros, Marissa (23 September 2016). "Dirt road opens to Charleville after Mitchell Highway truck explosion". Brisbane Times. Archived from the original on 5 January 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  17. 1 2 "Angellala Bridge reconstruction works". Department of Transport and Main Roads. Queensland Government. Archived from the original on 13 September 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  18. ↑ Howells, Melinda (22 April 2016). "Angellala Creek bridge, destroyed in outback Queensland truck explosion, to be ready by November". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 14 July 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
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