Home | Links | Search | Updates | FAQ | About | Contact Roads | Signals | Roadsigns | Towns & Cities | International | Publications | Sign Drawings

Statistics:

• Length: 681 km
• Northern Terminus: NSW / QLD Border at Tibooburra
• Southern Terminus: Sturt Hwy (A20) at Buronga
• Miscellaneous: Continues as Warry Gate Road in Queensland
• Suburbs, Towns & Localities Along Route: Buronga, Mourquong, Dareton, Curlwaa, Wentworth, Anabranch, South Broken Hill, Broken Hill, Fowlers Gap, Packsaddle, Milparinka, Tibooburra and Warri Gate

Route Numbering:

• Current: B79
• Former:
• Multiplexes: A32
• Road Authority Internal Classification: HW22 1

General Information:

Silver City Highway is a rural route in far western New South Wales. The route is sealed from Buronga to just northwest of Tibooburra, which is where the B79 signage ends. The Silver City Highway then continues unnumbered to the Queensland border at Warri Gate.

The country passed through by the Silver City Highway is of a generally arid nature. 2

The name "Silver City Highway" was given to the road for the reason that its primary purpose is to connect the city of Broken Hill with points north and south and to serve the great silver-lead industry of the area. The road has a wider significance from an Australian point of view, as it connects directly with the road systems of Victoria and Western Queensland. At Broken Hill it intersects the Barrier Highway which, some 30 miles to the west, connects with the South Australian road system. In effect therefore, the Silver City Highway serves to connect the road systems of four of the States of the Commonwealth, and because of this, consideration was given, at one stage, to naming it the "Four States Highway". 2

Multiplexes along the route include:

• A32 (Barrier Hwy), for 1 km, at Broken Hill

History:

• 1893: Timber bridge over the Darling River at Wentworth was constructed. 3
• 1969: Sealing of the last 19.5 miles of gravel surface on the Silver City Highway between Wentworth and Broken Hill completed. 4
• 23 January 1969: Replacement Bridge over the Darling River at Wentworth opened to traffic. The bridge is 532 feet long, is two lanes wide, and feautres six spans, one of which is a lift span. 3
• 12 November 1976: State Highway 22, later Highway 22, gazetted. 5
• 2013: Stage 1 of a project to widen and strengthen the highway at Ascot Vale, south of Broken Hill completed. 6
• August 2013: Completion of improvement work on a 9.8 kilometre length of the Silver City Highway south of Packsaddle. The $4 million work involved surfacing an unsealed section of road which was often closed following wet weather. 7
• September 2013: $3.7 million project to seal 9.8 kilometres of the highway south of Packsaddle roadhouse completed. 6
• November 2013: Works start on widening lanes and installation of safety barriers at the junction with Mourquong Road at Mourquong. 8
• June 2014: Work commenced on widening a 2.1 kilometre section of the road and shoulder and drainage improvements, at Popiltah, north of Wentworth. 9
• August 2014: Completion of improvement works at Popiltah. 10
• March 2015: Strengthen works begin on the twin Bunnerungee Bridges at Anabranch South. 11
• April 2015: Stage 2 of upgrade works at Ascot Vale, south of Broken Hill completed. 6
• June 2015: $1.8 million to seal and upgrade a 4.4 kilometre section of the highway around the Milparinka intersection at the Peak Hill causeways completed. 6
• July 2015: Completion of a $4.7 million upgrade to the Silver City Highway at Shannons Creek, which includes an RFDS airstrip. 6
• 30 May 2016: Word started on the initial sealing of a five kilometre section of the Silver City Highway at Barons Creek, 181 kilometres north of Broken Hill, closing a gap between previously sealed sections north of Barons Creek. 12

Buronga to Queensland Border			Queensland Border to Buronga
Preview:	Description:		Preview:	Description:
	Intersection Directional Sign: ID sign facing Cameron Corner Rd at Tibooburra, September 2018. Image © Richard Wardle			Intersection Directional Sign: ID sign facing Henry Roberts Rd at Packsaddle, September 2018. Image © Richard Wardle
	Briscoe Street: ID sign at the junction with Briscoe St, Tibooburra, September 2018. Image © Richard Wardle			Advance Directional Sign: AD sign at Tibooburra, approaching Tibooburra Rd, July 2016. Image © Richard Wardle
	Road Conditions Sign: Road conditions sign on the outskirts of Tibooburra, September 2018. Image © Richard Wardle			Intersection Directional Sign: ID sign facing Tibooburra Rd at Tibooburra, July 2016. Image © Richard Wardle
	Reassurance Directional Sign: Distance sign as the Silver City Hwy (B79) at Tibooburra, September 2018. Image © Richard Wardle			Advance Directional Sign: AD sign on Tibooburra Rd at Tibooburra approaching Silver City Hwy (B79), July 2016. Image © Richard Wardle
				Road Conditions Sign: Road conditions sign on the outskirts of Tibooburra, July 2016. Image © Richard Wardle
				Reassurance Directional Sign: Distance sign as the Silver City Hwy (B79) heads southwest from Tibooburra, July 2016. Image © Richard Wardle

1 Roads and Maritime Services, Schedule of Classified Roads, January 2014
2 Department of Main Roads, Historical Roads of New South Wales, Silver City Highway, an extract from Main Roads, September 1962
3 The Roadmakers, A History of Main Roads in New South Wales, ISBN 0724004394, page 236,1976
4 Western Herald, Silver City Highway Construction, Page 5, 22 November 1968
5 Government Gazette, Issue 145, 12 November 1976
6 Roads & Maritime Services, Media Releases, New sealed road in Shannons Creek provides airstrip to help save lives, 22 July 2015
7 Roads & Maritime Services, Media Releases, Silver City and Cobb highways sealing completed, 6 August 2013
8 Roads & Maritime Services, Media Releases, Safety upgrade at Silver City Highway intersection, 14 November 2013
9 Roads & Maritime Services, Media Releases, Silver City Highway improvements at Popiltah, 27 May 2014
10 Roads & Maritime Services, Media Releases, A safer Silver City Highway at Popiltah, 14 August 2014
11 John Williams MP, Media Release, Work Starts To Strengthen Bunnerungee Bridge On Silver City Highway, 2 March 2015
12 Roads & Maritime Services, Media Releases, Initial sealing of Silver City Highway starts at Barons Creek, 30 May 2016

Last updated: 15-Feb-2019 16:52

This site © Paul Rands. All rights reserved. Some portions © (copyright) by their respective and credited owners. Permission must be obtained before using any images from this site. For details, please email by clicking here.