Ootann Road is a continuous road route in the

Mareeba Mareeba is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Mareeba in Far North Queensland, Australia. Between 2008 and 2013, it was within the Tablelands Region. The town's name is derived from an Aboriginal word meaning ''meeting of the waters'' ...

and Tablelands local government areas of

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, Australia. It is a north-south link between the

Burke Developmental Road The Burke Developmental Road is a Queensland (Australia) developmental road. It links Cloncurry and Normanton in a south–north direction, then turns to the north-east north of Normanton for before turning south-east till Dimbulah, where it ...

and the

Kennedy Highway The Kennedy Highway is a highway in northern Queensland, Australia. It runs as National Route 1 for approximately 243 km from Smithfield, on the northern outskirts of Cairns, to the Gulf Developmental Road in the vicinity of Forty Mile S ...

, servicing a number of cattle grazing and production areas in northern Queensland. It is also part of the shortest route from the area to .

Route description

Ootann Road commences at an intersection with the Burke Developmental Road in , about south-west of the town. It runs generally south through Almaden and , and then turns east through and , ending at an intersection with the Kennedy Highway in Gunnawarra. This intersection is about south-west of . The road initially follows the

Etheridge railway line Etheridge railway line is a heritage-listed railway line between Mount Surprise and Forsayth, both in the Shire of Etheridge, Queensland, Australia. It includes Mount Surprise railway station, Einasleigh railway station, Wirra Wirra railwa ...

, passing a side road that leads to Ootann railway station and Ootann airport. It crosses the Sandy Tate River as it enters Barwidgi. It continues to follow the line until it reaches the former Gelaro railway station, where it crosses the line before the railway turns to the west and the road turns south-east, then south. Continuing south it crosses the Rocky Tate River and turns south-east, entering Forty Mile from the west. It then turns east, where it again crosses the Sandy Tate River. The road continues generally east across Forty Mile and Gunnawarra before meeting the Kennedy Highway. Land use along this road is mainly stock grazing on native vegetation. There are no major intersections on this road.

Road condition

Much of the road remains unsealed, but approximately was sealed in 2018-19 under an $5.9 million project funded by the

Northern Australia Beef Roads Program Northern Australia Beef Roads Program is a suite of projects designed to deliver targeted upgrades to key roads for transporting cattle in northern Australia. In 2016 the Australian Government announced 18 projects to be funded under this program. ...

. In November 2021 funding of $7.4 million under the

Roads of Strategic Importance Roads of Strategic Importance (ROSI) is a $5.8 billion initiative of the Australian Government designed to help connect regional businesses to local and international markets, and to better connect regional communities. The source for this article ...

program was announced for this road.

Roads of Strategic Importance

Roads of Strategic Importance (ROSI) is a $5.8 billion initiative of the Australian Government to help connect regional businesses to markets, and to better connect regional communities. It primarily funds road infrastructure in designated strategic corridors. The $7.4 million for Ootann Road is in addition to previously funded projects for the Cairns to Northern Territory Border corridor.

History

Almaden was settled as a mining town prior to 1894, when its first school opened. The

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

from arrived in 1901 on its way to the mining towns of and . Several pastoral runs were established in the district. Valley of Lagoons Station is a pastoral lease about south of Mount Garnet that was established in 1862. was originally an outstation of Valley of Lagoons, but became a separate entity in 1865. Over time other pastoral runs were established in the surrounding area. Early roads were cut from both Almaden and Gunnawarra to provide access for wheeled vehicles to the pastoral runs and other settlements. Over time these tracks were improved and extended to eventually form a through road.

Modern usage

Although not yet fully sealed the road is used extensively by road trains carrying cattle, and by other large trucks conveying heavy goods.

References

{{Road infrastructure in Queensland Roads in Queensland