Peak Downs Highway

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Peak Downs Highway
Queensland
Peak Downs Hwy.png
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 HighwayFreeways 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.

A coal train runs alongside the Peak Downs Highway.

See also

Australian Roads portal

References

  1. Queensland Government - Department of Transport and Main Roads - Maps
  2. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.


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