Peak Downs Highway
| Peak Downs Highway Queensland | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Peak Downs Highway depicted in green on black. | |
| General information | |
| Type | Highway |
| Length | 264 km (164 mi) |
| Route number(s) |
 State Route 70 |
| Major junctions | |
| West end |
 Gregory Highway /Gregory Developmental Road, Clermont, Queensland |
| East end |
 Bruce Highway, Mackay, Queensland |
| Location(s) | |
| Major settlements | Moranbah, Nebo, Eton |
| Highway system | |
|
Highways in Australia National Highway • Freeways in Australia Highways in Queensland | |
The Peak Downs Highway links the towns of Mackay and Clermont in the Australian state of Queensland.[1] It represents the main link between Queensland's Whitsunday Coast and the Central West region of the state. The highway runs for a total length of 273 kilometres (170 mi), before becoming the Gregory Highway (Highway A7, formerly Highway 55) south to Emerald.[2] Major settlements served by this route include Mackay, Walkerston, Nebo, Moranbah (10 kilometres (6.2 mi) north of the highway, but the largest town along the route) and Clermont. The highway is notorious for the extremely dangerous conditions caused by its service as a primary access route for workers, fuel, machinery and other supplies to the coalmines of the Bowen Basin. The narrow two-lane highway is often congested with oversize loads (e.g. mining haul-trucks, dozers and excavators, tyres and buckets) and road trains, which presents a significant hazard and frustration to fatigued long-haul commuters (Drive-in, Drive-out mine workers) on the road.
See also
Australian Roads portal
References
- ↑ Queensland Government - Department of Transport and Main Roads - Maps
- ↑ Hema, Maps (2007). Australia Road and 4WD Atlas (Map). Eight Mile Plains Queensland: Hema Maps. pp. 10–11. ISBN 978-1-86500-456-3.
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