Flinders Hwy going south on the way to Charters Towers (5930251068)

Flinders Hwy, on the way to Charters Towers (5929694603)

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 The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastlines and encompass a n ...

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 The Overlanders Way is an Australian road route from Townsville in Queensland to Tennant Creek, Northern Territory. It has been designated by the Queensland Government as a State Strategic Touring Route. The route The route is via the Flinder ...

. Its entire length is part of the National Land Transport Network (formerly Auslink). A6FlindersHighway

As at 1957, only the Townsville to Charters Towers section was

sealed Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...

. The rest of the highway was progressively sealed with the last section completed in November 1976.

Northern Australia Roads Program upgrades

The Northern Australia Roads Program announced in 2016 included two projects for the Flinders Highway.

Pavement strengthening

The project for pavement strengthening and rehabilitation between Townsville and Torrens Creek was expected to finish in late 2021 at a total cost of $22.2 million.

Replacement of culverts

The project for replacement of culverts between Charters Towers and Richmond was completed in late 2018 at a total cost of $15.1 million.

Roads of Strategic Importance upgrades

The Roads of Strategic Importance initiative, last updated in March 2022, includes the following projects for the Flinders Highway.

Corridor upgrade

A lead project to upgrade the Queensland section of the Tennant Creek to Townsville corridor, including sections of the Barkly and Flinders Highways, the Kennedy Developmental Road and surrounding state and council roads, at an estimated cost of $250 million, was in the planning stage in 2020.

Overtaking lanes

A project to construct overtaking lanes between Townsville and Charters Towers at a cost of $33.4 million is planned to be completed by mid-2023. This project is targeted for "early works" by the Queensland Government, and has been split into two packages.

Pavement strengthening and widening

A project to strengthen and widen the pavement at Scrubby Creek, between Julia Creek and Cloncurry, at a cost of $32.6 million is due for completion in early 2024. This project is targeted for "early works" by the Queensland Government.

Wide centre line treatment

A project to deliver wide centre lines on a section of road between Townsville and Charters Towers at a cost of $9.7 million was due for completion in early 2022. This project was targeted for "early works" by the Queensland Government, and was split into two packages.

Other upgrades

Construct acceleration lane

A project to construct an acceleration lane at Woodstock, at a cost of $5 million, was completed in December 2020.

Towns

Charters Towers

Charters Towers, 133 km to the south west from Townsville. A former gold rush town with a population of 30 000 in 1890. At that time it was known as "The World" because it seemed to be the centre of everything. Presently it is a centre for cattle grazing, with gold mining continuing to be an important industry. Much of the elegant gold rush architecture of the nineteenth century remains in place and is a tourist attraction.

Pentland

Pentland is located between Charters Towers and

Hughenden Hughenden may refer to: * Hughenden, Queensland, a town in Australia *Hughenden, Alberta, a village in central Alberta, Canada * Hughenden Valley, a village in Buckinghamshire, England * Hughenden Manor, a mansion in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, E ...

. Pentland is about away from the town of Hughenden and from the North Queensland city of Townsville. Hughenden has about 2000 people and Charters Towers has about 9000. Pentland's population is estimated to be 250 people.

Hughenden

Located 243 km further on,

, the administrative centre of Flinders shire is in the heart of sheep and cattle country.

Richmond

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

, a former gold rush town located 112 km further west. Currently a pastoral centre.

Julia Creek

Julia Creek, 147 km further west, another pastoral settlement

Cloncurry

Cloncurry, former copper-mining town located 139 km west from Julia Creek. The first regular Qantas flights started between here and Charleville in 1922 and Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia service started here in 1928. Nowadays it is an important road and rail junction. Flinders Highway ends here.

Major intersections

References

External links

Overlander's Highway
A driving guide by Roderick Eime {{Road infrastructure in Queensland Highways in Queensland North West Queensland