Kennedy Highway

Kennedy Highway
Kennedy Developmental Road
Queensland
Kennedy Development Road viewed from Cornpore Lookout between Middleton and Boulia
General information
Type Highway
Length 1,179.8 km (733 mi)
Route number(s) National Route 1
(Smithfield - Forty Mile Scrub)
State Route 62
(Forty Mile Scrub - Bouila)
Major junctions
NE end Captain Cook Highway, Smithfield, Queensland
  Mulligan Highway
Malanda-Atherton Road
Gulf Developmental Road
Gregory Developmental Road
Flinders Highway
Landsborough Highway
SW end Diamantina Developmental Road, Boulia, Queensland
Location(s)
Major settlements Mareeba, Ravenshoe, Hughenden, Winton
Highway system
Highways in Australia
National HighwayFreeways in Australia
Highways in Queensland

The Kennedy Highway (Highway 1) is a highway in northern Queensland, Australia. It runs for approximately 243 km from Smithfield, on the northern outskirts of Cairns, to the Gulf Developmental Road in the vicinity of Forty Mile Scrub and Undara Volcanic national parks, about 40 kilometres south of Mount Garnet.[1] South of this junction, the road continues as the Kennedy Developmental Road (State Highway 62) via Hughenden eventually to Boulia about 936 kilometres away; National Route 1 and the Gulf Developmental Road head west to Normanton via Georgetown.

From Smithfield, the highway climbs up into the Atherton Tableland before heading in a general south-westerly direction to the aforementioned junction. The highway is mostly two-lanes. Major towns on, or just off, the Kennedy Highway include Smithfield, Kuranda, Mareeba, Atherton, Ravenshoe and Mount Garnet. Past Mount Garnet, the Kennedy Highway is mostly single lane bitumen.

Two northern councils are proposing development of the road which would allow for the transport of products from Far North Queensland to markets in New South Wales and Victoria considerably quicker than via existing coastal routes which have rougher terrain and are sometimes impassable due to floods.[2]

Major intersections

LGALocationkmmiDestinationsNotes
CairnsSmithfield00 Captain Cook Highway (44) north - Port Douglas /
south (1) Cairns
North-eastern end of Kennedy Highway (National Route 1) From here to Kuranda the road is more commonly known as Kuranda Range road.
Barron River12.67.8Bridge at Kuranda
Barron River47.329.4Bridge at Mareeba
MareebaMareeba48.129.9Mareeba Connection Road - North - Mareeba
48.930.4Mulligan Highway (81) - North - Mareeba and Mount Molloy
TablelandsAtherton80.349.9 Atherton-Herberton Road (52) - south - HerbertonWestern concurrency terminus with State Route 52
81.050.3Gillies Highway (52) (via Louise Street) - north, then east - YungaburraEastern concurrency terminus with State Roure 52
83.952.1 Malanda-Atherton Road (25) - east - Malanda
Barron River90.156.0Bridge at Wongabel
TablelandsWondecla / Evelyn boundary108.467.4 Longlands Gap-Herberton Road (52) - west - Herberton
Evelyn117.272.8 East Evelyn Road (24) - east - Millaa Millaa
Wild River, which becomes
Herbert River just downstream (south) of this point
154.996.3Bridge at Millstream / Innot Hot Springs boundary
TablelandsMinnamoolka243.5151.3 Gulf Developmental Road (1) - west - GeorgetownKennedy Highway continues south as Kennedy Developmental Road (State Route 62)
EtheridgeConjuboy338.4210.3 Gregory Developmental Road (63) - south-east - Charters TowersFrom here to Hughenden the road is more commonly known by its former name, the Hann Highway
Flinders River603.7375.1Bridge at Hughenden
FlindersHughenden604.1375.4 Flinders Highway (A6) - south, then east - Charters Towers /
west - Richmond
Eastern concurrency terminus with Flinders Highway
604.4375.6 Flinders Highway (A6) - west - RichmondWestern concurrency terminus with Flinders Highway. Kennedy Developmental Road continues south-west via Resolution Street.
WintonWinton819.7509.3 Landsborough Highway (A2) - south-east - Longreach /
north-west - Cloncurry
Eastern concurrency terminus with Landsborough Highway. Kennedy Developmental Road enters Winton as Manuka Street.
Corfield825.6513.0 Landsborough Highway (A2) - north-west - CloncurryWestern concurrency terminus with Landsborough Highway
BouliaBoulia1179.8733.1 Diamantina Developmental Road (83) - north-west - Dajarra and Mount Isa /
south-west - Birdsville
Western end of Kennedy Developmental Road (State Route 62)
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References

  1. Hema, Maps (2007). Australia Road and 4WD Atlas (Map). Eight Mile Plains Queensland: Hema Maps. pp. 13–14. ISBN 978-1-86500-456-3.
  2. Sam Davis (2 August 2012). "Queensland roads holding back nation's fresh fruit". ABC Far North Queensland (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). Retrieved 21 September 2012.