It’s a long and bumpy road ahead but work is about to start on a staged upgrade of the 498-kilometre Plenty Highway, which runs from the Stuart Highway in the NT through to north-west Queensland.
A government spokesperson said the upgrade to a 5.5-kilometre section in the Harts Range area, about 215 kilometres north-east of Alice Springs, would lead to ‘improved access for tourism, cattle and mining industries and local Indigenous communities’.
The $7.88 million project is being jointly funded by the Australian and Northern Territory Governments.
“This is a key route on our regional road network for the cattle industry, local communities and tourists visiting the lower Barkly region, and these works are part of a staged upgrade of the Outback Way on the Plenty Highway between the Stuart Highway and Harts Range,” said Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Darren Chester. “I expect the work to start very soon now.”
The project is designed to improve the highway’s safety and reliability, particularly during and following heavy rains.
“The upgrade is going to help improve productivity for a variety of industries, including the mining and freight transport sectors, regional tourism, and the cattle industry which will have better market access,” said Country Liberals Senator for the Northern Territory, Nigel Scullion.
