Mitchell Highway

Mitchell Highway
Queensland – New South Wales
A typical narrow width of the Mitchell Highway in the regional New South Wales village of Nevertire
General information
Type Highway
Length 1,105 km (687 mi)
Route number(s)
  • A71 / AltA2
  • (Augathella - Charleville)
  • A71
  • (Charleville - Qld/NSW Border)
  • B71
  • (Qld/NSW Border - Nyngan)
  • A32

(Nyngan - Bathurst)

Former
route number
  • National Route 71
  • National Route 32
Major junctions
North end
 
South end
Location(s)
Major settlements Charleville, Cunnamulla, Bourke, Nyngan, Narromine, Dubbo, Wellington, Orange
Highway system
Highways in Australia
National Highway • Freeways in Australia
Highways in Queensland
Highways in New South Wales

The Mitchell Highway is a state highway located in the central and south western regions of Queensland and the northern and central western regions of New South Wales in Australia. The Mitchell Highway forms part of the National Highway A32 corridor, which stretches from Sydney to Adelaide via Dubbo and Broken Hill. The Mitchell Highway also forms part of the shortest route between Sydney and Darwin, via Bourke and Mount Isa; making it an important road link for the transport of passengers and freight for regional New South Wales and Queensland.[1]

In New South Wales, the Mitchell Highway's south-eastern terminus is at its junction with the Great Western and Mid-Western highways, and it links with the Golden, Newell, Oxley, Barrier and Kamilaroi highways. In Queensland, the Mitchell links with the Balonne and Warrego highways and its northern terminates is at its junction with the Landsborough Highway.

Initially an amalgam of trunk routes, the 1,105-kilometre (687 mi)[2] Mitchell Highway was proclaimed a state highway in New South Wales in 1928 and named as the North Western Highway.[3] On 9 October 1936 the name was changed to the Mitchell Highway, in honour of Lieutenant Colonel Sir Thomas Mitchell, who was Surveyor-General of New South Wales in the 1820s and explored much of inland New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland.[4]

The Mitchell Highway carries the A32 shield from its eastern terminus in Bathurst to Nyngan;[5] thereafter carrying the B71 shield north to the New South Wales and Queensland border; the A71 shield to Charleville;[6] and then to its northern terminus with the Landsborough Highway at Augathella, the Mitchell concurrently carries the A71 and Alt A2 shields.[7]

Route

The Mitchell Highway lies west of the Great Dividing Range and in New South Wales runs generally northwest-southeast and in Queensland, runs generally north-south in the central western and southwest past of that state.

From its northern terminus at a junction with the Landsborough Highway near Augathella, the Mitchell Highway heads south, concurrently carrying both the A71 and Alt A2 shields and continues south through Charleville where the Warrego Highway heads east, carrying the Alt 2 shield. As the A71, the Mitchell continues south through Cunnamulla, froming a junction with the Balonne Highway, and then south to the state border between Queensland and New South Wales where its highway shield changes to B71.[2][6][7]

Approximately 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) north of Bourke it crosses the Darling River before heading into Bourke where it forms junctions with the Kamilaroi Highway heading east and the Kidman Way heading south. From this point the highway generally heads southeast through Nyngan where it forms a junction with the Barrier Highway. From this points until its southern terminus, the Mitchell carries the National Highway A32 shield. At Nevertire the Mitchell forms a junction with the Oxley Highway, before passing through Narromine and then heads generally east to the major rural centre of Dubbo where it meets with the Newell Highway and connects to the Golden Highway before crossing the Macquarie River and heading south towards Wellington, again crossing the Macquarie River. At Molong the Mitchell generally starts to head east towards Orange – with an alternate route diverting many heavy vehicles away from the city centre. The portion of the Mitchell Highway that passes through Orange city centre is known as Summer Street.[8] The Mitchell Highway's southeastern terminus is at a roundabout in Bathurst, at the junction of the Mid-Western Highway to Cowra and the Great Western Highway to Sydney via the Blue Mountains.[2][3][5]

Major intersections

StateLGALocationkm[2]miDestinationsNotes
QueenslandMurwehAugathella00 Landsborough Highway (National Highway A2 northwest) – Barcaldine, Longreach, Cloncurry
Landsborough Highway (National Highway A2 southeast) – Morven, Roma, Dalby, Toowoomba		Route northern terminus;
Northern concurrency terminus
Charleville7848 Warrego Highway (National Highway Alt A2 east) – Morven, Roma, Dalby, ToowoombaSouthern concurrency terminus
ParooCunnamulla278173Bulloo Development Road (west) – Lake Bindegolly National Park
282175 Balonne Highway (State Route 49 east) – St George, Dalby
New South WalesNew South Wales – Queensland
state border		397247New South Wales – Queensland state borderNorthbound transition as
Southbound transition as
Darling River528328Gateway Bridge
BourkeBourke533331 Kamilaroi Highway (State Highway B76 east) – Brewarrina, Walgett, Narrabri, Gunnedah
534332 Kidman Way (State Highway B87 south) – Cobar, Hillston, Griffith, Jerilderie
BoganNyngan736457 Barrier Highway (National Highway A32 west) – Cobar, Wilcannia, Broken Hill, South AustraliaNorth-westbound transition as
South-eastbound transition as
Nevertire796495 Oxley Highway (State Highway B56 east) – Warren, Coonabarabran, Tamworth, Port Macquarie
Nevertire-Bogan Road (west) – Tottenham, Tullamore
NarromineNarromine863536Peak Hill Road (south) – Peak Hill, ParkesRoundabout
DubboDubbo901560 Newell Highway (National Highway A39 north) – Gilgandra, Coonabarabran, Moree, Goondawindi;
 – connects at Dubbo to Golden Highway (B84 east) – Dunedoo, Denman, Newcastle
Newell Highway (National Highway A39 south) – Parkes, West Wyalong, Narrandera, Finley, and then to Victoria		Roundabout
Macquarie River902560L H Ford Bridge
Macquarie River951591Bridge over the river (unknown name) at Wellington
CabonneMolong1018633 Peabody Road (B81 south) – to the Escort Way (B81 south) – Canowindra, Cowra
OrangeOrange1049652Northern Distributor Road (northeast)Alternate route to bypass Orange city centre; Roundabout
1052654Escort Way (west) – Eugowra, Forbes
1057657Northern Distributor Road (northwest)Alternate route to bypass Orange city centre
BathurstBathurst1105687 Great Western Highway (National Highway A32 east) – Lithgow, Katoomba, Sydney
Mid-Western Highway (State Highway A41 southwest) – Cowra, West Wyalong, Hay		Route south-eastern terminus;
Roundabout
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References

  1. ↑ Sinclair Knight Merz Pty Ltd (June 2007). "Sydney–Dubbo Corridor Strategy: Building our National Transport Future" (PDF). Auslink. Australia: Department of Transport and Regional Services. ISBN 978-1-921095-46-7. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Google (4 April 2015). "Driving directions Mitchell Highway". Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Mitchell Highway (NSW)". OzRoads: The Australian Roads website. Retrieved 14 August 2008.
  4. ↑ "Mitchell Highway: History and Development". OzRoads: The Australian Roads website. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Rands, Paul (7 December 2013). "Great Western Highway, Mitchell Highway & Barrier Highway (A32)". Road Photos & Information: Queensland. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Rands, Paul (2015). "Mitchell Highway (A71)". Road Photos & Information: Queensland. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Rands, Paul (2015). "Warrego Highway & Mitchell Highway (Alternate A2)". Road Photos & Information: New South Wales. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  8. ↑ "Summer Street Commercial Area" (PDF). Orange City Council. Archived from the original on 22 July 2008. Retrieved 14 August 2008.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mitchell Highway.