The Plenty Highway is a outback mostly unsealed road in the

Northern Territory of Australia The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

between the

Stuart Highway Stuart Highway is a major Australian highway. It runs from Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin, in the Northern Territory, via Tennant Creek and Alice Springs, to Port Augusta in South Australia; it has a distance of . Its northern and souther ...

and north-western

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

Route description

The road begins at a turnoff from the Stuart Highway north of

Alice Springs Alice Springs () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William ...

, and finishes at

Tobermorey Tobermorey Station is a pastoral lease that operates as a cattle station in the Central Australia, Alice Springs region of the Northern Territory. Tobermorey is on the western edge of Punthamara territory Location The property is situated a ...

Homestead on the Northern Territory/Queensland border. It then continues for another to Boulia in Queensland, as the

Donohue Highway The Donohue Highway is a mostly unpaved outback track that leads through the northern foothills of the Simpson Desert in Queensland to Tobermorey Homestead, Northern Territory near the Northern Territory/Queensland border in Australia. The roa ...

. The first from the Stuart Highway is sealed. Of the next to Jervois Homestead all bar is unsealed as is the rest of the track to the Queensland Border. From the Queensland Border to Boulia the final is sealed with another east of the border. Information about its condition may be obtained from the

Harts Range Harts Range, officially registered as Hart Range, is a town in the Northern Territory of Australia located on the Plenty Highway by road northeast of Alice Springs. It is also the name of a mountain range, after which it was named. It has also ...

police station, from the Stuart Highway. East of Jervois Homestead, the road is formed earth, deteriorating to rocks and

bulldust Bulldust or bull dust is a fine, soft and powdery red aeolian dust that is common across Australia, especially in the Outback and desert. Bulldust is a type of fugitive dust that when disturbed can have dangerous effects. Bulldust is common on r ...

as it nears Tobermorey, from Jervois Homestead. The road north to

Urandangi Urandangi (formerly also spelled Urandangie) is an outback town in the locality of Piturie in the Shire of Boulia, Queensland, Australia. Geography The town is located on the banks of the Georgina River in Central West Queensland, north ...

and thence to Mount Isa bears left just before Tobermorey.

Road condition

The worst sections of the road are in the Northern Territory, with deep potholes and bulldust. On the Queensland side of the border the road has had significant upgrades and is of a hard pack gravel surface. It is from Tobermorey to Boulia and good camping may be found at the

Georgina River The Georgina River is the north-westernmost of the three major rivers of the Channel Country in Central West Queensland, that also flows through a portion of the Northern Territory, in central Australia. Part of the Lake Eyre basin, the Georg ...

, at about the mark. Fuel and food may be obtained at Gemtree, Atitjere community, Jervois Homestead and Boulia. As of June 2018, fuel and camping is available at Tobermorey.

Road train A road train, also known as a land train or long combination vehicle (LCV) is a semi-trailer used to move road freight more efficiently than single-trailer semi-trailers. It consists of one semi-trailer or more connected together with or wit ...

s up to in length use both highways.

Upgrades

The

Northern Australia Roads Program Northern Australia Roads Program is a suite of projects designed to deliver upgrades to high priority roads in northern Australia. In 2016 the Australian Government announced 19 projects to be funded under this program, and in 2020 another was add ...

announced in 2016 included the following project for the Plenty Highway.

Progressive sealing and flood immunity

The project to progressively seal and provide flood immunity improvements was expected to be complete in late 2021 at a total cost of $25 million.

Junctions and localities

References