Tanami Road (State Route 5)

Statistics:

• Length: 703 km
• Northern Terminus: WA Border / Tanami Rd, northwest of Tanami
• Southern Terminus: Stuart Hwy (NH87) at Burt Plain
• Miscellaneous: Continues as Tanami Rd (unnumbered) in Western Australia
• Suburbs, Towns & Localities Along Route: Burt Plain, Tilmouth Well Roadhouse, Yuendumu, Rabbit Flat Roadhouse (closed) and Tanami

Route Numbering:

• Current:

General Information:

State Route 5, Tanami Road (or Tanami Track) is a mostly gravel road (though there are limited sealed sections, including the first ~160 km from Stuart Hwy) of varying condition and quality and used by travellers is a short cut from Alice Springs to the Kimberley in Western Australia. The road is named after the desert it passes through.

Sparsely populated, the route is traversed by road trains, some tourists and those who live in the region. The route is remote and for the experienced and prepared outback traveller and offers very limited access to fuel and supplies. The route services a number of mines and indigenous communities. There's no public access to the mines unless during an emergency. 1

History:

• 2003: Sealing of 10 kilometres of Tanami Road. 2
• 2009: Works to seal a 13.9km section of Tanami Road that normally floods during the Wet Season. Northern Territory Government, Media Release, 13 July 2009
• December 2018: An additional three kilometres of dual lane seal was completed. 3

Stuart highway to Western Australia Border			Western Australia Border to Stuart Highway
Preview:	Description:		Preview:	Description:
	Narrow Road Warning: Warning for narrow road and edge drop-offs, Burt Plain, November 2016. Image © Paul Rands			Advance Directional Sign: AD sign at Burt Plain approaching Stuart Hwy (NH87), November 2016. Image © Paul Rands
	Road Conditions Sign: Road conditions sign at Burt Plain, after Stuart Hwy (NH87), November 2016. Image © Paul Rands			Stuart Highway: Tanami Rd (SR5) at the junction with Stuart Hwy (NH87) at Burt Plain, November 2016. This is the southern terminus for SR5. Image © Paul Rands
	Reassurance Directional Sign: Distance sign at Burt Plain, November 2016. Image © Paul Rands
	Last Fuel Warning: Sign indicating last fuel in NT and distance to next fuel in WA, Burt Plain, November 2016. Image © Paul Rands
	Services Sign: Services sign at Burt Plain, November 2016. Image © Paul Rands

1 HEMA Maps, Tanami Track, The Kimberley, WA
2 Northern Territory Government, Media Releases, Tanami Road Upgrade, 30 April 2003
3 Northern Territory Government, Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics, Road Development and Upgrades Across the Territory, 27 February 2019

Last updated: 23-Dec-2019 19:22

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