The news that another significant section of one of Australia’s most iconic – and rough – ‘highways’ is to be sealed has been welcomed by politicians, and probably by most grey nomads.
The NT Government has allocated more than $44 million to upgrade and seal a 27-kilometre section of the Plenty Highway in Central Australia.
The Plenty Highway is one of the seven interconnecting roads that make up The Outback Way, a key tourism route also known as Australia’s longest shortcut that cuts through the middle of Australia from Queensland through to Alice Springs in the NT before finishing in Western Australia.
The upgrades are designed to improve safety and will also provide greater access and benefits to remote communities as well as the tourism, mining and freight sectors.
The Plenty Highway, just after turnoff from the Stuart Highway. PIC: Outback Highway Development Council Inc / Newshub
Concrete causeways will be constructed at the crossings of the Plenty and Marshall Rivers and Bonya Creek and the intersections to Bonya community and the Jervois Station Roadhouse will be formalised, upgraded and sealed.
Works are anticipated to start in the next week or so and be completed by December, 2025.
“This multi-million dollar project on the Plenty Highway in Central Australia will improve road safety and reduce travel time for Territorians, drive visitors and all motorists that use this key route,” Minister for Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics Joel Bowden said. “With the majority of the unsealed section of the Highway below natural surface level, heavy rains can cause road closures and heavy vehicle restrictions, which is why we will continue to progress the sealing of this key Highway.”
Outback Highway Development Council, Chair Pat Hill, was delighted with the news.
“We applaud the NT government for getting on with the job … taking another step towards completing their part of the Outback Way,” she said. “This will only benefit everyone in the Outback and the nation, the sealing of Australia’s third transnational link, enabling so much growth to happen, for people and industry.”
While most grey nomads will no doubt welcome the sealing of this – and other tracks – as it opens more of the country up to them, others still mourn the loss of the ’adventure’ that the arrival of bitumen can bring.
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In the past I was keen for the adventure of dirt roads leading to remote places but as I get older, and more conservative, I prefer the bitumen – but not the single lane where everyone flicks rocks at you.
We recently had to cancel a leg of our current trip.
Broken Hill to Tibooburra is all bitumen now but after recent rains the road was closed because of water over floodways.
Just because a road is sealed doesn’t mean its an all weather road.
Better than dirt though.
But if it’s sealed it’s a massive repair whereas with dirt a grader can fix up a lot of damage quite quickly and far cheaper.
I grew up in the North Eastern Wheatbelt of Western Australia and can still remember the rotten dirt roads in our district. It is 2024 and no major roads should be unsealed. Joh Bjelkie-Peterson had the right idea, sealing most of the developmental roads.
Only the townies with sealed roads to their doors want rotten corrugated roads.
27kms is better than nothing
Unfortunately the Qld development roads have not been maintained. We travelled much of the Qld outback last year & with a caravan in tow it is a horror story on your back.
When I was younger I loved the adventure.now I am on my own and still love the adventure but preferably on sealed roads. Lovely to th8 k all roads are for everyone on not just the 4 wheel drivers.
Seal them all baby, better for tourism and for those towns that will see increased visitor numbers.
With more and more travelers out here having options on the way you choose to go between destinations can only be a good thing.
How wonderful, the whole route needs to be bituminized ASAP.
If you haven’t got a plan B (and C and maybe even D) you should stay home. Every major bitumen highway has been cut, sometimes for weeks over the last few months. If not by floods, then by fires. Sealing a few second and third tier outback roads isn’t going to make any difference and anyway, the yahoos in their fancy 4WD can always tackle the REAL outback instead of patting themselves on the back just for driving on highways like the Great Central Highway (which we recently drove in a 12.5 metre passenger bus) , Birdsville Highway and the like
Corrugated and rough dirt roads simply are never fun.
Bitumen or concrete are goood. Im not fussy.
Yes, have to agree. Nothing worse than corrugated and pot holed dirt roads, especially if you have back and spinal cord issues! You really know what it does to your body!
While it may be an adventure for many grey nomads, we need to consider the people who live along these roads and the people who travel them on a regular basis. We travelled the Plenty Highway with a offroad caravan in July 2017, six weeks after a rain event. Sections of it were chewed up and we were travelling at 15kms per hour on sections between the Qld/NT border and Jervois Station. Despite our slow speed and having an Offroad caravan, we lost the door to our fridge/freezer. It was an event to remember but also an expensive trip. We appreciated the sections after Jervois Station where the graders had made the road as smooth as a billiard table. They deserved a carton or two!
Please! Let’s be honest , the majority here (and on most sites) are caravanners or basic tourist, not adventurers. Just because it makes people feel like pioneers going over tracks thousands of others have gone before (and thousands more continue to travel) means nothing against the benefits to remote communities of sealing these essential highways.
Most caravanners (and other 4wders) rarely venture more than a few kilometres from their vehicles. Some (few, comparatively) do go on somewhat more remote tracks, but are hardly adventurers. The very few who do get truly off the beaten track are not going to be affected by these changes.
Indeed. You have nailed it Mark.
Bloody great idea, open up the country, yes it’s large, dry but beautiful.
I love my motorhome & my bank account too much to try travelling rough corrugated dirt roads with many inconsiderate 4WD’s flying past me throwing up rocks & stones everywhere.
The reason why I don’t drive on out back roads, is the corrugation, which shatters everything to peices.
Our full thanks for this planned project. Being on sealed roads doesn’t spoil trips for us. Plenty of opportunities still feel the sand & rock under the wheels. Those just short turnoffs away. Be wonderful
Opportunity add fluorescent cats eyes for night Driving. We’d appreciate that too. Thanks NT
The sealing of major highways is great for communities and buissnees as for me that sense of outback challenge and excitement somewhat disappears ,it not quite the same with a sealed rod
One must remember that these roads are in fact communication and supply highways much like the internet and phones ( wired or mobile) are and are everything to all those that live along or off them.
There plenty of instances of roads being out not just from floods – which can affect any type of road, but even just producing bog holes, impassable ruts, no traction whatsoever. and those are only the miles of flat ones.
Want adventure – the bitumen will save one time to get to the roads still a 4WD adventure. Plenty out there.there are sum buts though
I think gravel roads are maybe easier to repair not sure about dirt though
Bitumen requires a dry base to lay down new stuff and if cracks form the water will get under it and it does not like that
Looking forward to the sealing of the outback way for the benefit of all the people that need to travel those roads for work or business and a living
which will in turn bring a third way for transport and tourism development for all states
just like when the south road opened up to Alice Springs it changed the way of travelling
Not just for tourism but many identified popular dirt tracks should be black top (dual lanes minimum) for national security. You only need to look at a map of Australia to see the limited main sealed roads that link states. WA has just 2 to the rest of Aust, NT to Qld just 1, SA to NT 1 also, SA to NSW 2 (1 is marginally via Vic). In country this size that is ridiculous.
There are several other roads, along with the Plenty Hwy, needing similar attention.The Tanami would cut thousands of km for transport heading north west out of Alice Springs from southern states. Linking Lyndhurst in SA to Thargomindah in Qld for mining. Laverton in WA to Alice Springs in the NT would cut thousands of kms for trucks from Perth to the NT & Qld. Even the shorter link from just north of Glendambo in SA to the Eyre Hwy between Wudinna & Ceduna would do likewise. Imagine the cost savings for products not to mention jobs & tourism created. Governments are always looking for ways to stimulate the economy so what better way than road building?! But do we have the vision?
Just ask the locals whether they want dirt or bitumen and the truck drivers to I will take bitumen over dirt anytime
Dirt road is ok if it is graded, the Sandover highway is a joke. Must be the worst in Australia, it’s about time the NT government gets their act together. Some sections are sealed and only near townships like Alparra. Why even bother. Just grade the worst parts after rain.
$44million for 27kms seems a bit expensive
We’ve done the “Plenty” twice. First time we got a flat tyre and we picked up dirty fuel at the Jervois station and the car went into “limp home” mode. We swore we we would not ever take that road again but we did and this time the Fridge walked out and busted the ammonia pipe and all contents on the floor.
I think most commenters here are missing the point, it is not just about those of you looking for an adventure, this is more to do with connecting all States with roads that can be used for the transporting crucial needs to remote ares and across the country safely. Most comments here are the one time adventure seekers that think it’s great fun to hook up van and shake the shit out and off it and the car all to return home to their concrete jungles acting like Trazan and Jane. Stop and smell the roses.
This has being wanted for years,open the outback for tourists+ short cut for truckies.
all for it from WA.
NT main roads should fix the Victoria Hwy first.
The people who live and work in these areas and have to repair and maintain there vehicles and machinery deserve the same luxury as their coastal counterparts.
We did the development road to Cape York in 2018. Mostly dirt and rough. We found that we were so focused on the road to avoid holes and what not that we missed the scenery. The dirt became a chore after many kilometres and we couldn’t wait to get back onto the blacktop.
How does the nature of the road surface affect the adventure …….Really?
Sealing the roads is great for the majority. Climate will still affect them at times. And the ‘adventurers’ can find other dirt tracks to test their skills and satisfy the spirit – lots of country out there.
Let’s just hope that the rubbish doesn’t come with it