Stuart Highway

Stuart Highway
map
Basic data
Operator:	DTEI , NT Roads
Start of the street:	Princes Highway Eyre Highway Port Augusta ( SA ) ( 32 ° 29 ′  S , 137 ° 45 ′  E )
End of street:	Darwin ( NT ) ( 12 ° 27 ′  S , 130 ° 50 ′  E )
Overall length:	2728 km
States :	South Australia Northern Territory
Stuart Highway

 Map with all coordinates: OSM | WikiMap

The Stuart Highway is one of the main highways in Australia . It runs over a length of around 2700 kilometers in a south-north direction and connects Port Augusta in South Australia with Alice Springs in the Red Center of the continent and Darwin , the capital of the Northern Territory .

history

The Stuart Highway is named after John McDouall Stuart , a Scottish explorer who became the first European to cross the Australian continent from south to north in 1862 . In 1872, the Trans- Australian Telegraph Line was built through the Australian outback along the route Stuart had taken . In 1907 it was driven over by a car for the first time. In the 1980s, the Stuart Highway was straightened and paved, so that its current course sometimes deviates several kilometers from the original route of Stuart.

course

South Australia

Border marker between South Australia and the Northern Territory

The Stuart Highway begins in Port Augusta at the northern end of the Spencer Gulf . There, the Princes Highway (NA1) coming from the south splits into the Stuart Highway (NA87) and the Eyre Highway (NA1), which leads to the west .

The Stuart Highway initially runs about 170 kilometers in a north-westerly direction to Pimba . At Pimba the Borefield Road (B97) branches off to the Oodnadatta Track . This road leads to Woomera , Roxby Downs , the Andamooka - opal fields and the Olympic Dam mine, before it reaches the Oodnadatta Track. The nearest town on the Stuart Highway is about 115 kilometers from Glendambo . The stretch to Glendambo is characterized by large salt lakes on both sides of the highway, such as Lake Gairdner . Until shortly before Glendambo, the tracks of the Trans-Australian Railway run parallel to the highway , on which The Ghan and the Indian Pacific also operate.

From Glendambo, the Stuart Highway runs about 250 kilometers north through the Woomera Prohibited Area to Coober Pedy . Coober Pedy is known as the "Opal Capital of the World". The city is characterized by oversized molehills, which were heaped up by the opal prospectors, and the underground dwellings of its residents. In Coober Pedy the Anne Beadell Highway branches off to the west , the William Creek Road to the east and the road to Oodnadatta to the north .

About 60 kilometers northwest of Coober Pedy, the trans-Australian railroad meets the Stuart Highway again. Another 175 kilometers north is the town of Marla . Here is the northern end of the Oodnadatta Track coming from the east. The border between South Australia and the Northern Territory is reached 160 kilometers north of Marla.

Northern Territory

Signpost on the Stuart Highway

The Stuart Highway in the Darwin suburbs

94 kilometers after the border between South Australia and the Northern Territory is Erldunda on the Stuart Highway. Here the Lasseter Highway (S4) branches off to Yulara , the Uluṟu-Kata-Tjuṯa National Park and the Watarrka National Park with the Kings Canyon .

Another 200 kilometers north of the Stuart Highway reaches Alice Springs , the only major city in the Australian outback. The city is the most important supply station in the center of the country and the starting point for tours to the tourist highlights of the MacDonnell Ranges . The Ross Highway (S8) leads into the East McDonnell Ranges, the Larapinta Drive (S2 / S6) leads into the West McDonnell Ranges and to Hermannsburg . A few kilometers outside of Alice Springs, the Tanami Road (S5) branches off to the west from the Stuart Highway. Another 50 kilometers north of the Plenty Highway (S12) branches off in an easterly direction. This highway, like the Sandover Highway (S14), which is connected shortly after the junction from the Stuart Highway , leads to northwest Queensland .

Between Erldunda and the junction of Plenty Highway, the Stuart Highway is also part of the Outback Highway , which connects northern Queensland with southern Western Australia .

In its further course, the Stuart Highway passes the villages of Ti-Tree , Barrow Creek , Wycliffe Well and Wauchope before reaching the rock formations of the Karlu Karlu , better known as the Devils Marbles . The next larger town on the Stuart Highway is the old gold rush town of Tennant Creek , about 500 kilometers north of Alice Springs. Threeways is about 25 kilometers away . Here the Barkly Highway (A66) branches off to the east and leads to Mount Isa in northern Queensland.

Other towns along the Stuart Highway include Renner Springs , Elliott , Newcastle Waters and Dunmarra , where the Buchanan Highway (R80) branches off and leads into northern Western Australia. Shortly before reaching Daly Waters , a place that is best known for its interesting roadhouse , the Carpentaria Highway (R1) meets the Stuart Highway from the east . This is part of National Highway 1 . After the two highways meet to its end, the Stuart Highway also bears this name.

Continuing north-west, the Stuart Highway passes Larrimah and Mataranka , where the Roper Highway (S20) branches off before reaching Katherine and the nearby Nitmiluk National Park , which is best known for the 13 gorges of the Katherine Gorge . In Katherine, the Victoria Highway (N1) branches off to the west .

At Pine Creek , about 90 kilometers northwest of Katherine, the Kakadu Highway (S21) branches off the southern of the two main roads into Kakadu National Park . This is followed by the places Adelaide River , known as the entrance to Litchfield National Park and Noonamah . Further north is the junction of the Arnhem Highway (S36) towards Kakadu National Park and the city of Palmerston , one of the largest suburbs in Darwin. About 15 kilometers north of Palmerston, the Stuart Highway passes Darwin Airport and ends near the center of Darwin at the intersection of Smith Street and Daly Street.

The highest point on the highway is 731 meters, the lowest is 9 meters.

Special

Road signs on the Stuart Highway

Solar Challenge

The World Solar Challenge is held every two years on the Stuart Highway . This is a race for vehicles with solar drive, which is held in ongoing traffic and is intended to serve the development of solar vehicles suitable for everyday use.

Cannonball Run

In 1994 the first and so far only Cannonball Run took place in Australia. Based on the American model, this was a high-speed race for sports cars for private individuals and amateur racing drivers. The circuit ran from Darwin to Yulara and back. Four people were killed in an accident at a checkpoint south of Alice Springs. After that, a speed limit of 150 km / h was introduced for the rest of the race.

Royal Flying Doctor Service

Like other highways in the Australian outback, the Stuart Highway also serves as an emergency landing runway for the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia . Sections of the highway are specially marked as emergency landing strips and special care is required when driving on these sections. In the event of an aircraft landing, all vehicles must leave the road.

Labelling

The official street names of the individual sections are:

• National Highway A87 in South Australia,
• National Highway 87 from the border with South Australia to Daly Waters and
• National Highway 1 from Daly Waters to Darwin .

Often you will also find signs saying "Stuart Highway".

For some years now, the Australian highways have officially been given names and markings that attract tourists. In the case of the Stuart Highway (including extension to Adelaide ) is the "Explorer Highway".

source

• Steve Parish: Australian Touring Atlas . Steve Parish Publishing. Archerfield QLD 2007. ISBN 978-1-74193-232-4 . Pp. 70, 71, 72, 95, 96, 98, 99, 100, 101

Web links

Wikivoyage: Stuart Highway  - Travel Guide

Commons : Stuart Highway  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Denis O'Byrne: Telegraph Stations of Central Australia . Alice Springs n.d. ISBN 0-7245-1595-X , p. 21.
2. ^ Map of the Central Australian Tourism Industry Association from 2010
3. ↑ maps.bonzle.com - Stuart Highway . Retrieved April 19, 2012.