Outback-exploring grey nomads who have been on the road for a year or two will have noticed the way the slow march of the bitumen is making remote country more easily accessible to a wider range of vehicles.
One of the latest examples is in New South Wales where work is underway to seal 12.5 kilometres of previously unsealed surface on the National Park Road – which leads to the Warrumbungle National Park.
Transport for NSW says the total cost of the improvements comes to $4,878,344, with the NSW Government providing $3 million through the Fixing Local Roads Program, and the Australian Government and Gilgandra Shire Council contributing $878,444 and $999,900 respectively.
More and more remote roads are slowly getting sealed. PIC: Tom Shamberger / Pexels
It says the work will make the route safer, reduce travel times and make it more resilient to adverse weather events.
Annabelle Park has lived in the Warrumbungle area for most of her life, and now works at the Warrumbungle National Park, says the work will bring huge benefit to visitors.
“At the national park’s visitor centre, we have people coming from across the country and the world to visit the park, so we have a huge map that shows where all the sealed and unsealed roads are,” she told Transport NSW. “Lots of people ask about accessibility and we will direct them onto a sealed road rather than the National Park Road if they were headed in that direction, particularly if they are towing a caravan or if the weather is bad.”
The road being improved has long been an alternate connection for tourists, who flock to the national park to experience its hiking trails, eye-catching landscapes and diverse flora and fauna.
Transport NSW says the park is also listed with the International Dark Sky Association as one of the world’s best locations for night sky viewing. The site’s extremely low levels of light pollution are also beneficial for its resident nocturnal animals.
“People are astonished by how visible the night sky is here,” said Ms Park. “I started to explore the national park in my gap year, climbing peaks with my family … it’s not just about the beautiful scenery and the hiking, it’s about experiences with family, making memories and connecting.”
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Warrumbungle NP isn’t remote it’s adjacent to the Newell Hwy & stands out like a beacon as you drive close by.
Sealing the 12km access road will please RV owners that don’t want to get their rigs dusty though.
Many sealed roads in far north Australia also carry heavy and wide loads. Usually requiring the entire pavement seal. Often with police escorts. All fine.
However many of these same sealed roads have very poor shoulder maintenance. Often with deep ruts beside a razor sharp, seal edge.
Beware, (as I found), car / caravan owners these sharp edges can rip a tyre to shreds. And you will find there are no replacement tyres anywhere in the Pilbra – unless you wait a week to have one shipped up from Perth.
Sealed roads are great, but road authorities need to better maintain them.
Typical Tyre Mechanics answer in WA and NT; “It’ll be on the next truck.”
Surely you don’t expect every tyre place in outback Australia to stock every make and size tyre, including Highway AT & MT versions, and in sufficient numbers to cater for possible full replacement. A sure-fire way to send them broke carrying all that little used stock.
Best idea is to ensure that what you have is suitable for the intended trip and in good condition to hopefully not need replacements.
I would expect Tyres for Land cruisers would be standard in te NT outback!
Too many brands and model types to be all covered plus alt. rim dimensions fitted by various owners
The sealing of SOME NP roads is quite okay BUT this may only give the NP people to increase them fees to stay there!! I hope it doesn’t.
Perhaps if our politicians worried more about Australia, roads, housing, laws etc we would all be better off?
Mixed bag here. Having travelled the Tanami, The Gibb, The Plenty/Donoghue & The True Savannah Way (from Burketown to Roper Bar with our RV’s and a myriad of other unsealed roads my choice is leave well graded as they are and enjoy a sedate progress along them to all the beaut remote places. Other RVer’s will disagree and good luck to them.
Yes. For many NP’s we tried to get to, the roads were so bad, that we gave up going to them.
Nice that they’re doing a bit with those heavily visited places, but how about doing some REAL maintenance on the existing roads?