Castlereagh Highway

The Castlereagh Highway is a 790-kilometre (490 mi)[1] state highway located in New South Wales and Queensland, Australia. The highway's northern terminus is at a junction with the Carnarvon Highway, south of St George, Queensland. Its southern terminus is at a junction with the Great Western Highway at Marrangaroo, 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) north-west of Lithgow. From north to south the highway traverses South West Queensland and the North West Slopes, Orana, and Central West regions of New South Wales.

Castlereagh Highway

Queensland
–New South Wales
Dick O'Brien Bridge (1991) carrying Castlereagh Highway over Barwon River, Walgett, NSW.
General information
TypeHighway
Length790 km (491 mi)[1]
Route number(s)
  • A55 (2005-present)
    (St George-QLD/NSW border)
  • B55 (2013-present)
    (QLD/NSW border-Marrangaroo)
Former
route number
  • National Route 55 (1997-2005)
    (St George-QLD/NSW border)
  • National Route 55 (1974-2013)
    (QLD/NSW border-Gilgandra)
  • State Route 86 (1974-2013)
    (Gilgandra-Marrangaroo)
Major junctions
North end Carnarvon Highway
St George, Queensland
 
South end Great Western Highway
Marrangaroo, New South Wales
Location(s)
Major settlementsDirranbandi, Hebel, Walgett, Gilgandra, Dunedoo, Mudgee
Highway system

The highway is part of the Great Inland Way linking Sydney and Cairns, and provides all-weather access to rugged black opal country of Lightning Ridge.[2]

The Castlereagh Highway was named in 1954 after the Castlereagh River – which it parallels for most of its journey north from Gilgandra[3] – with the river named in honour of Lord Castlereagh.[4][5]

Route

The highway was extended past Gilgandra to include State Route 86 in October 1997. As such the Castlereagh Highway starts just outside Lithgow at a junction with the Great Western Highway and runs in a north-westerly direction through Ilford and the junctions of Bathurst-Ilford Road and Bylong Valley Way, through the regional centre of Mudgee and Gulgong. From there the Castlereagh Highway is concurrent with the Golden Highway through Dunedoo, then branches off in Dunedoo, continuing past Gilgandra until it reaches the Queensland border via Walgett at Hebel. From there it continues to the outskirts of St George where it terminates with the Carnarvon Highway.[6]

Within NSW, the highway was signed National Route 55 in 1974 from Gilgandra to Walgett, then extended from Walgett to the border with Queensland in 1983, and State Route 86 south of Gilgandra. Queensland however signed the Carnarvon Highway as National Route 55 between 1983 and 1997 rather than the Castlereagh Highway, causing a major discrepancy for many years in that National Route 55 met the border at Hebel but abruptly begun again over 100 kilometres (62 mi) east along the border at Mungindi. The Queensland Road Department changed this in 1997 and signed National Route 55 over the border north to Charters Towers in later years. This route was soon replaced with the A7 and A55 designations throughout Queensland in 2005, and the B55 designation in NSW during 2013 to Gilgandra and then south to Lithgow, replacing both State Route 86 and National Route 55.[3][7]

In December 1982, a 15 kilometre deviation opened south of Mudgee as part of the Windamere Dam project.[8]

Major junctions
StateLGA / LGALocationkm[1]miDestinationsNotes
QueenslandBalonneSt George00.0 Carnarvon Highway (A55 north) – St George, Surat, Roma
Carnarvon Highway (National Route 46, south) – Goondiwindi, Mungindi, Moree		T intersection northern terminus; north (A55) and southeast (NR46) as Carnarvon Highway
Castlereagh Highway continues south as route A55
Dirranbandi6842Noondoo-Mungindi Road – MungindiT intersection; Castlereagh Highway continues west and north
8855Railway Street – DirranbandiT intersection; Castlereagh Highway continues south and east
9056Bollon-Dirranbandi Road – BollonT intersection; Castlereagh Highway continues north and south
Hebel15496William Street – GoodoogaT intersection; Castlereagh Highway continues north-east and south-east
Queensland – New South Wales state border15898Queensland – New South Wales state borderRoute transition: north as route A55, south as route B55
New South WalesWalgettWalgett274170 Gwydir Highway (B76 east) – Collarenebri, MoreeT intersection; northern terminus of concurrency with route B76
Barwon River281175Dick O'Brien Bridge
WalgettWalgett284176Kamilaroi Highway – NarrabriT intersection
Namoi River288179Bridge over the river (no known name)
WalgettWalgett289180 Kamilaroi Highway (B76 west) – Brewarrina, Bourke4-way intersection; southern concurrency terminus with route B76
Castlereagh River404251Bridge over the river at Coonamble (no known name)
Castlereagh River462287Bridge over the river at Armatree (12 kilometres (7.5 mi) south of Gulargambone (no known name)
GilgandraGilgandra501311Oxley Highway – Warren, NevertireT intersection; Oxley Highway continues west; Castlereagh Highway continues north and south
501311 Newell Highway (A39 south) – Dubbo, ParkesT intersection; Castlereagh Highway continues north and east, southern concurrency terminus with route A39
Castlereagh River501311Bridge over the river at Gilgandra (no known name)
GilgandraGilgandra502312 Newell Highway (A39 north) – CoonabarabranT intersection; Castlereagh Highway continues south and southeast, northern concurrency terminus with route A39
Castlereagh River541336Bridge over the river 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) west of Mendooran (no known name)
WarrumbungleMendooran553344Mendoran Road – Binnaway, CoonabarabranT intersection; Castlereagh Highway continues south and east
Dunedoo591367 Golden Highway (B84 west) – DubboT intersection; Castlereagh Highway continues north and east, western concurrency terminus with route B84
Talbragar River596370Bridge over the river (no known name)
WarrumbungleDunedoo601373 Golden Highway (B84 east) – Merriwa, Singleton, NewcastleT intersection; Castlereagh Highway continues west and south; eastern concurrency terminus with route B84
Wialdra Creek638396Bridge over the river (no known name)
Cudgegong River657408Holyoake Bridge (1km North of Mudgee)
Mid-WesternIlford725450Bylong Valley Way – Kandos, Rylstone, Bylong, Sandy HollowT intersection
727452Bathurst-Ilford Road – Sofala, Bathurst
LithgowMarrangaroo790490 Great Western Highway (A32) – Bathurst, Lithgow, SydneyDirectional T interchange; southern terminus; east and west as Great Western Highway
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References
  1. Google (15 November 2017). "Castlereagh Highway" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  2. "Welcome to Castlereagh Highway". Lonely Planet. 2016. Archived from the original on 30 October 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  3. "Castlereagh Highway (NSW)". Ozroads. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  4. "Castlereagh River". Geographical Names Register (GNR) of NSW. Geographical Names Board of New South Wales. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  5. The Castlereagh Highway Main Roads September 1954 page 3
  6. "Map of Castlereagh Highway". Bonzle Digital Atlas of Australia. Digital Atlas Pty Limited. 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  7. "Castlereagh Highway (NSW)". Australian Towns, Cities and Highways. Brisbane, Australia: MG. June 2006. Archived from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  8. A Major Deviation of Trunk Route 55 Around Windamere Dam Main Roads March 1983 pages 15-17
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