Road Photos & Information: Northern Territory
  Stuart Highway (National Highway 87)

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Route Numbering:

General Information:

The Stuart Highway is one of NT's most important routes, linking Darwin, Alice Springs and the populated areas of South Australia, including Adelaide.

Named for explorer John McDouall Stuart, the first European to cross Australia from South to North, and it generally follows his route. The Stuart Highway crosses the desert of Central Australia to savannah grasslands and tropical wetlands in the North. 1

History:

The Stuart Highway began as a dirt track servicing the construction of the Overland Telegraph in the 1870s and served to link the railheads until World War II. 1

Construction of the telegraph line had required the development of a track along the line’s route, to enable wagons and other vehicles to travel with loads of posts, wire, and other materials. An area of approximately two chains width (about 40 metres) was cleared on either side of the line and this became “the track” – the only transport route south. 2

For the whole length of “the track” there were frequent deviations. Detours were made to reach watering places and wet season detours were developed to avoid low and boggy ground. Tracks were continually deviated and altered by “self-help” travellers. There was no formal development or maintenance of the road, beyond the Two and a Half Mile (Parap) in Darwin, until the late 1920s. 2

From 1936 a low standard dry weather road was developed from Darwin to Adelaide River, roughly along the present route of the Stuart Highway. From Adelaide River a similar low standard road was developed southward to the railhead at Larrimah. However, construction and maintenance of these roads was given a very low priority because the same route was served by the North Australia Railway line. 2

When war loomed it became apparent that the railway could not meet all defence requirements. Planners saw a need for an all weather road to service dispersed military installations, particularly airfields, in the immediate Darwin hinterland. So, from May 1941, the Darwin Adelaide River section (115km) was upgraded to an all weather gravel road standard. The work was done by the New South Wales Department of Main Roads. 2

By early 1943 traffic between Darwin and Adelaide River had reached 2000 vehicles per day, mostly heavy lorries. The gravel surface disintegrated under this traffic and so it was decided to provide a bitumen seal – 6.2m wide to Adelaide River and 4.8m wide from there to Larrimah. 2

Similar work was done by interstate Main Roads teams on southern section of the Stuart Highway, with the result that by 1944 the highway was bitumen sealed, although some sections were very narrow. 2

1 NT Government Chief Minister's Office
2 Litchfield Shire Council
3 Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government

Last updated: 26-Dec-2019 16:36

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