A single lane of the Barkly Highway will reopen today, April 5, to B-doubles and double road trains, with strict access hours and reduced speed limits in place.
There is a 13 axle (double road train) limit until the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics team can better assess the impacts of heavy vehicles on the road.
Access over the next three days is as follows (April 5, 6 and 7):
- Eastbound traffic is permitted to travel ONLY between 6:00am to 9:00am ACST (NT to QLD)
- Westbound traffic is permitted to travel ONLY between 12noon to 3:00pm ACST (QLD to NT).
The directional flow of traffic may change from Monday April 8, with further updates from the department in coming days.
The severely degraded sections of the Barkly Highway are:
- 5-7km from the Stuart Highway turnoff on the Barkly Highway
- 32km from the Stuart Highway turnoff on the Barkly Highway
- A 50km to 60km section from the Stuart Highway turnoff on the Barkly Highway
There is currently still water over the road, with sections that require repair.
*An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the highway was reopening to B-doubles only, however the new access conditions apply to double road trains as per above.