The Murchison Highway is a
highway
A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...
located in the
West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to:
Geography Australia
* Western Australia
*Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia
* West Coast, Tasmania
**West Coast Range, mountain range in the region
Canada
* Britis ...
region of
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
, Australia. The highway runs generally north–south, with
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
, near
Burnie
Burnie is a port city on the north-west coast of Tasmania, Australia. When founded in 1827, it was named Emu Bay, being renamed after William Burnie, a director of the Van Diemen's Land Company, in the early 1840s.
, Burnie had an urban popu ...
, as its northern terminus and
Zeehan
Zeehan is a town on the west coast of Tasmania, Australia south-west of Burnie. It is part of the West Coast Council, along with the seaport Strahan, and neighbouring mining towns of Dundas, Rosebery and Queenstown.
History
The greater ...
as its southern terminus. The highway was opened on 13 December 1963. Part of the highway from to Burnie was known as the Waratah Highway until 1973.
Course
The highway is susceptible to ice and snow in winter. One of the notorious sections is at the edge of
Mount Black; numerous accidents have occurred in the area. Also the
Zeehan
Zeehan is a town on the west coast of Tasmania, Australia south-west of Burnie. It is part of the West Coast Council, along with the seaport Strahan, and neighbouring mining towns of Dundas, Rosebery and Queenstown.
History
The greater ...
to
Rosebery section has hazardous sections which can be affected by cold and wet weather.
Portions of the highway have been made redundant by extra roads built by
Hydro Tasmania
Hydro Tasmania, known for most of its history as the Hydro-Electric Commission (HEC) or The Hydro, is the trading name of the Hydro-Electric Corporation, a Tasmanian Government business enterprise which is the predominant electricity generator i ...
during their work on the upper
Pieman River scheme and the
Henty River
The Henty River is a perennial river in the West Coast region of Tasmania, Australia. The river generally lies north of and south of .
Location and features
Formed by the confluence of the Dobson and Newton Creeks, the river rises below Lake ...
dam schemes. These provide short cuts from
Queenstown straight through to
Tullah by going just west of the
West Coast Range
The West Coast Range is a mountain range located in the West Coast region of Tasmania, Australia.
The range lies to the west and north of the main parts of the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park.
The range has had a significant numb ...
.
The highway crosses the
Mackintosh River and the
Murchison River near the town of Tullah, where the rivers form a
confluence
In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...
to form the
Pieman River.
History
Prior to the construction of the highway, the west coast of Tasmania could only be accessed by the
Emu Bay Railway
The Emu Bay Railway was a Tasmania, Australian railway company. The railway was significant during full operation, in that it linked the Tasmanian Government Railways system at Burnie with that at Zeehan that further linked to the Mount Lyel ...
, or by ship to
Regatta Point
Regatta Point is the location of a port and rail terminus on Macquarie Harbour (West Coast, Tasmania).
Port
Regatta Point is often assumed into the name of the locality across the bay in Macquarie Harbour, Strahan, Tasmania. The other ports ...
or
Strahan in
Macquarie Harbour
Macquarie Harbour is a shallow fjord in the West Coast region of Tasmania, Australia. It is approximately , and has an average depth of , with deeper places up to . It is navigable by shallow-draft vessels. The main channel is kept clear by th ...
.
See also
*
Highways in Australia
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. Prio ...
*
List of highways in Tasmania
The Highways in Tasmania generally expand from Hobart and other major cities with secondary roads interconnecting the highways to each other. Functions of these highways include freight, personal travel and tourism.
The AusLink Network curr ...
References
External links
Road Condition overview
{{Western Tasmania , state=autocollapse
Highways in Tasmania
Pieman River Power Development
Roads in Western Tasmania