Creating a More Resilient Arnhem Highway

27 August 2022

Better roads create a more resilient Territory. This is why the Territory Labor Government is ensuring they are safer and more accessible for everyone to use.

Work is progressing to deliver Stage 2 of the Adelaide River Floodplains upgrade over the Arnhem Highway at Beatrice Hill Causeway.

This $31.66 million project is jointly funded by the Australian Government $25.33 million) under the Roads of Strategic Importance program, and the Northern Territory Government ($6.33 million).

The Arnhem Highway is a vital route for locals, tourism operators, heavy vehicles operators and transporters, the extractive, mining and construction industries, pastoralists and defence personnel. These upgrades will improve safety for all road users and reduce wet season closures due to flooding.

The works are being delivered by local company Allan King and Sons Construction.

Stage 1 of the Arnhem Highway upgrades over the Adelaide River Floodplains opened to traffic in December 2021, and included upgrading 6.5 kilometres of roadway and building 13 new bridges. 

Final pavement layers and bitumen sealing have been completed for the first 800 metres of new roadway on Stage 2. 

Both Eastern and Western tie in works to connect the new alignment to the existing road are nearing completion, with line marking still to occur.

On-site works to construct the new bridge started mid-July-2022, and piling works for the new bridge foundations have been completed.

Completion of the Stage 2 works is expected by the end of 2023, depending on the time it takes for the new section of road to consolidate, given due to the challenges of construction in a floodplain environment.

For more information on the project visit https://dipl.nt.gov.au/projects/arnhem-highway-adelaide-river-floodplain-upgrade

 Quotes attributed to the Minister for Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics, Eva Lawler:

“The Territory Labor Government is improving our road network and making travel safer and more accessible for road users.

“The project is upgrading a three kilometre section of the Arnhem Highway and building a new four-span bridge at the Beatrice Hill Causeway.

“The Arnhem Highway is a vital connection between Darwin and Jabiru for people whom live in the region, as well as visitors to Kakadu National Park, and is a key route for transporting construction materials extracted from quarries to building sites and providing access to pastoral properties. These upgrades will give everyone more confidence in its reliability in the dry and wet.”

Northern Territory Government