Eyre Highway

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Eyre Highway

General information
Type	Highway
Length	1,675 km (1,041 mi)
Opened	1941
Route number(s)	National Highway 1 (Norseman - SA/WA border) National Highway A1 (SA/WA border - Port Augusta)
Former route number	National Highway 1 (SA/WA border - Port Augusta)
Major junctions
West end	Coolgardie-Esperance Highway, (National Highway 94 / National Route 1), Norseman, Western Australia
	Flinders Highway (B100) Streaky Bay Highway Tod Highway (B90) Lincoln Highway (B100) Stuart Highway (National Highway A87)
East end	Princes Highway (National Highway A1), Port Augusta, South Australia
Location(s)
Major settlements	Nullarbor Plain, Eucla, Ceduna, Kimba

The Eyre Highway is a highway linking Western Australia and South Australia via the Nullarbor Plain. Signed as National Highway 1/A1, it forms part of Highway 1 and the Australian National Highway network linking Perth and Adelaide. It was named after explorer Edward John Eyre, who was the first to cross the Nullarbor by land.

The Eyre Highway starts at Norseman and ends in Port Augusta. The road, and Highway 1, then continues as Port Wakefield Road to Adelaide.

History

There are two parts of the Nullarbor crossing that are now distinct and separate routes to the current Eyre Highway: on the Western Australian side is a mapped Old Coach Road that is further north towards the Trans Australia Railway line. On the South Australian side the older highway route runs from Border Village to the Nullarbor Roadhouse, well away from the coast and running through the centre of the Nullarbor National Park.

Construction on the Eyre Highway first started in July 1941 and was completed six months later. First known as the Forrest Highway (named after John Forrest) Originally, the roads that followed closely to the route were very rough in condition, and during the road around Australia road trials in the 1950s, movie newsreels would show cars on very sandy tracks. The current route of the highway has not been deviated from significantly during various upgrades to the highway.

The differences between the condition of the road on either side of Eucla were notable as late as the mid-1980s. The last section was finally sealed on the South Australian section only in 1976.^[1]

Route description

Western Australia

Mundrabilla Roadhouse, a typical Nullarbor roadhouse

Royal Flying Doctor Service emergency airstrip

The Western Australian section of the Eyre Highway lies entirely on the Nullarbor Plain. The Nullarbor gets its name from Latin for 'no trees'. The typical view is that of a straight highway and practically unchanging flat saltbush-covered terrain, although some parts are located on ridges. The population on this stretch was estimated at 86 as at the 2006 census and, apart from Eucla, no towns exist along the route. Roadhouses providing basic services such as petrol, food and bottled water are approximately 200 km (124 mi) to 300 km (186 mi) apart, but not all are open 24 hours. Because of its remoteness, some sections of the Highway serve as emergency airstrips for the Royal Flying Doctor Service. These airstrips are signposted and have runway "piano keys" painted on the road, and turnaround bays for small aircraft.

This section of the highway includes what is regarded as the longest straight stretch of road in Australia and one of the longest in the world, between Balladonia and Caiguna; the road stretches for 146.6 kilometres (91.1 mi) without turning.

Localities in this section include:

Norseman
Balladonia
Caiguna
Cocklebiddy — South of Cocklebiddy is the Eyre Bird Observatory, located in a restored telegraph station. Many caves are also located in this area and are popular among cave divers and fossil hunters.
Madura — Once a homestead where horses were bred for use in the British Cavalry and for polo. This is now a peaceful roadhouse and hotel located on the pass through Hampton Tablelands. A lookout over the pass is located nearby.
Mundrabilla
Eucla — Located 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) from the WA/SA border, this roadhouse is situated close to the Great Australian Bight. A historic telegraph station, half-buried in sand dunes, can also be viewed nearby.

South Australia

The Great Australian Bight is a short detour away at several places along the highway

Driving north along the Eyre Highway between Iron Knob and Port Augusta.

The South Australian section of the Eyre Highway crosses the eastern section of the Nullarbor Plain before arriving in the town of Ceduna. It then skirts the northern boundary of the Eyre Peninsula before reaching the city of Port Augusta. An alternative route between Ceduna and Port Augusta, formerly signed Alternate Route 1 and now signed B100, follows Flinders Highway and Lincoln Highway down the western and eastern sides of the peninsula respectively.

Localities in this section include:

Nullarbor
Yalata
Nundroo
Penong
Ceduna — Westernmost big town in South Australia, located near the Great Australian Bight. Offers fishing and whale watching between May and September.
Wirrulla
Cungena
Poochera — A small town, the entrance of which is distinguished by spectacular native pines. Poochera is the home of the dinosaur ant, the most primitive surviving ant species.
Minnipa
Wudinna - Gateway to the Gawler Ranges and home to the Australian Farmer.
Kyancutta
Kimba — a grain-growing and pioneer town, and home to the "Big Galah", an 8 metres (26 ft) monument.
Iron Knob, off road
Port Augusta

Major intersections

State	LGA	Location	km^[2]	Mile	Destinations	Notes
Western Australia	Dundas	Norseman	0	0	Coolgardie-Esperance Highway (National Highway 94 north / National Route 1 south) – Coolgardie, Kalgoorlie, Perth, Esperance, Albany	Western highway terminus
Western Australia	Dundas	Eucla	720	447	Western Australia / South Australia border	National Highway 1 eastern terminus
South Australia	Outback Areas CDT	Border Village	720	447	Western Australia / South Australia border	National Highway A1 western terminus
	Ceduna	Ceduna	1204	748	Flinders Highway (B100) – Streaky Bay, Port Lincoln
	Streaky Bay	Poochera	1337	831	Streaky Bay Highway – Streaky Bay
	Wudinna	Kyancutta	1422	884	Tod Highway (B90) south – Lock, Port Lincoln	T-Junction: Eyre Highway south-eastbound continues as Tod Highway
	Outback Areas CDT	Iron Knob	1598	993	Dickenson Street to Iron Knob Whyalla Road – Iron Knob, Whyalla
	Port Augusta	Port Augusta West	1640	1,019	Lincoln Highway (B100) south-west – Whyalla, Port Lincoln	T-Junction: Eyre Highway south-westbound continues as Lincoln Highway
	Port Augusta	Port Augusta	1664	1,034	Stuart Highway (National Highway A87) – Coober Pedy, Alice Springs, Darwin	Highway terminus: continues south east as Augusta Highway (Princes Highway, A1) towards Adelaide
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Route transition

References

Notes

↑ "Road links to the East". State Library of Western Australia. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
↑ Google Inc. "Eyre Highway". Google Maps (Map). Cartography by Google, Inc. https://maps.google.com.au/maps?saddr=Eyre+Hwy%2FNational+Highway+1&daddr=Eyre+Hwy%2FNational+Highway+A1&hl=en&ll=-33.449777,131.572266&spn=14.388499,28.54248&sll=-32.480719,137.75355&sspn=0.003557,0.006968&geocode=FSrkFP4dETFCBw%3BFQJkEP4dP_E1CA&gl=au&mra=mift&mrsp=1&sz=18&t=m&z=6. Retrieved 28 March 2013.

External links

Route map: Google / Bing

KML file (edit)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eyre Highway.

Across the Nullarbor Driving Guide by Roderick Eime

v t e Named locations on the Nullarbor Plain, Australia

Western Australia	Norseman Balladonia Caiguna Cocklebiddy Madura Mundrabilla Eucla

South Australia	Border Village Nullarbor Yalata Nundroo Penong Ceduna

v t e Road infrastructure in South Australia

Freeways	Gawler bypass road South Eastern Freeway

Interstate Highways	Barrier Highway Dukes Highway Eyre Highway Port Wakefield Road Princes Highway Stuart Highway Sturt Highway

State Highways	Barossa Valley Highway Flinders Highway Glenelg Highway Lincoln Highway Mallee Highway Riddoch Highway Southern Ports Highway Tod Highway Wimmera Highway

Roads	Adelaide Mannum Road Gorge Road Macclesfield Road Onkaparinga Valley Road Main South Road Strathalbyn-Goolwa Road Wellington Road

Outback Tracks	Anne Beadell Highway Birdsville Track Gunbarrel Highway Mount Davies Road Oodnadatta Track Strzelecki Track

v t e Road infrastructure in Western Australia

Freeways	Graham Farmer Freeway Kwinana Freeway Mitchell Freeway

Metropolitan highways	Albany Highway Canning Highway Great Eastern Highway (Bypass) Leach Highway Reid Highway Roe Highway Stirling Highway Tonkin Highway Wanneroo Road West Coast Highway

Highways and major roads	Albany Highway Brand Highway Brockman Highway Brookton Highway Bussell Highway Coalfields Road Coolgardie–Esperance Highway Dampier Highway Derby Highway Eyre Highway Forrest Highway Geraldton – Mount Magnet Road Goldfields Highway Great Eastern Highway Great Northern Highway Great Southern Highway Indian Ocean Drive Mandjoogoordap Drive Muirs Highway North West Coastal Highway Old Coast Road South Coast Highway South Western Highway Vasse Highway Victoria Highway

Outback Tracks	Anne Beadell Highway Buntine Highway Canning Stock Route Cape Leveque Road Connie Sue Highway Duncan Road Gary Highway Gary Junction Road Gibb River Road Great Central Road Gunbarrel Highway Kalumburu Road Sandy Blight Junction Road Talawana Track Tanami Road

Road routes in Western Australia

National Highway 1

National Highways

National Routes

1
Alt 94

State Routes

2
3
4
5
6
7
8
10
12
13
14
18
19
20
21
22
26
27
30
Alt 30
31
36
40
41
50
51
52
53
55
56
60
61
64
65
66
71
72
75
76
77
78
81
82
83
84
85
87
102
104
107
115
116
120
123
136
138

Tourist Drives

List of road routes in Western Australia

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.