Castlereagh Highway

Castlereagh Highway commences at an intersection with Carnarvon Highway, south of {{QLDcity|St George}}, Queensland, and heads in a south-westerly direction via Dirranbandi to Hebel, where it crosses the state border with New South Wales just beyond and continues in a southerly direction, past Lightning Ridge to Walgett, where it crosses the Barwon and Namoi Rivers and meets the Gwydir and Kamilaroi Highways. Continuing south through Coonamble, the highway crosses the Castlereagh River and meets the Oxley and Newell Highways in Gilgandra. It continues in a south-easterly direction through Dunedoo, sharing a short concurrency with Golden Highway, continues through the regional centres of Gulgong and Mudgee, through Ilford and the junctions of Bathurst-Ilford Road and Bylong Valley Way, before eventually terminating at an interchange with Great Western Highway at Marrangaroo, {{convert|10|km}} north-west of Lithgow.{{cite web |url=http://www.bonzle.com/c/a?a=p&p=169662&cmd=sp |title=Map of Castlereagh Highway |work=Bonzle Digital Atlas of Australia |publisher=Digital Atlas Pty Limited |date=2016 |access-date=30 October 2016}}

The passing of the Main Roads Act of 1924[http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/num_act/mra1924n24133/ State of New South Wales, An Act to provide for the better construction, maintenance, and financing of main roads; to provide for developmental roads; to constitute a Main Roads Board] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220811000905/http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/num_act/mra1924n24133/ |date=11 August 2022 }} 10 November 1924 through the Parliament of New South Wales provided for the declaration of Main Roads, roads partially funded by the State government through the Main Roads Board (MRB, later Transport for NSW). Main Road No. 55 was declared from the intersection with Great Western Highway near Marrangaroo, via Ilford, Mudgee, and Gulgong to Craboon (and continuing northwards via Coolah eventually to the intersection with Oxley Highway at Mullaley), Main Road No. 56 was declared from Walgett, via Coonamble to Gilgandra (and continuing southwards via Dubbo, Forbes, Cowra, Yass and Canberra eventually to the intersection with Queanbeyan-Braidwood Road, today Kings Highway, at Queanbeyan), and Main Road No. 205 was declared from Craboon via Dunedoo to Mendooran (and continuing northwards via Tooraweenah to Coonamble), on the same day, 8 August 1928. With the passing of the Main Roads (Amendment) Act of 1929[https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/pdf/asmade/act-1929-15 State of New South Wales, An Act to amend the Main Roads Act, 1924-1927; to confer certain further powers upon the Main Roads Board; to amend the Local Government Act, 1919, and certain other Acts; to validate certain payments and other matters; and for purposes connected therewith.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812065622/https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/pdf/asmade/act-1929-15 |date=12 August 2022 }} 8 April 1929 to provide for additional declarations of State Highways and Trunk Roads, these were amended to Trunk Roads 55 and 56 and Main Road 205 on 8 April 1929. Trunk Road 77 was later declared from the intersection with Oxley Highway at Gilgandra via Mendooran and Dunedoo, to Trunk Road 55 at Craboon, on 16 March 1938.{{cite news |title=Main Roads Act, 1924-1937 |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/225071161 |work=Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales |issue=46 |via=National Library of Australia |date=25 March 1938 |pages=1222 |access-date=31 August 2022 |archive-date=29 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220829045308/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/225071161 |url-status=live }}

The Department of Main Roads, which had succeeded the MRB in 1932, declared State Highway 18 on 16 March 1938, from the intersection with State Highway 11 (later known as Oxley Highway) at Gilgandra via Coonamble and Walgett to the state border with Queensland near Brenda; with the declaration of State Highway 17 (later known as Newell Highway) on the same day,{{cite news |title=Main Roads Act, 1924-1937 |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/225071835 |work=Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales |issue=58 |via=National Library of Australia |date=14 April 1938 |pages=1525–6 |access-date=29 August 2022 |archive-date=29 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220829081035/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/225071835 |url-status=live }} the northern end of Trunk Road 56 was truncated to meet State Highway 17 at Forbes, as a result. State Highway 18 was named Castlereagh Highway on 12 May 1954,{{cite news |title=Main Roads Act, 1924-1954 |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/220375256 |work=Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales |issue=89 |via=National Library of Australia |date=4 June 1954 |pages=1648 |access-date=31 August 2022 |archive-date=31 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220831072602/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/220375256 |url-status=live }} after the Castlereagh River, with the river named in honour of Lord Castlereagh.{{NSW GNR|id=JPKqoexOGH|title=Castlereagh River|date=22 April 1977|access-date=18 January 2013}}{{cite news |url=https://media.opengov.nsw.gov.au/pairtree_root/87/16/eb/dc/47/00/44/6f/af/b6/67/ac/a7/7d/06/05/obj/Sep_1954.pdf |title=Historical Roads of New South Wales |newspaper=NSW Main Roads |location=Sydney |date=September 1954 |pages=3 |publisher=OpenGov NSW}}

The alignment north of Lightning Ridge was altered on 17 June 1959 to meet the state border with Queensland at Hebel via Angledool, instead of via Brenda.{{cite news |title=Main Roads Act, 1924-1958 |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/219940193 |work=Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales |issue=75 |via=National Library of Australia |date=3 July 1959 |pages=1990–2 |access-date=31 August 2022 |archive-date=31 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220831075356/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/219940193 |url-status=live }} In December 1982, a 15 kilometre deviation opened south of Mudgee as part of the Windamere Dam project.{{cite journal |url=https://media.opengov.nsw.gov.au/pairtree_root/87/16/eb/dc/47/00/44/6f/af/b6/67/ac/a7/7d/06/05/obj/Sep_1954.pdf |title=JOURNAL OF THE DEPARTMENT OF MAIN ROADS, NEW SOUTH WALES |journal=Main Roads |location=Sydney |volume=48 |number=1 |date=March 1983 |pages=15–7 |publisher=OpenGov NSW}}

The Roads & Traffic Authority, succeeding the New South Wales DMR in 1989, extended the highway declaration south from Gilgandra via Dunedoo and Mudgee to Marrangaroo on 3 October 1997, subsuming Main Road 77 (previously Trunk Road 77).{{cite news |title=Roads Act 1993 |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/231957945 |work=Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales |issue=107 |via=National Library of Australia |date=3 October 1997 |pages=8453 |access-date=31 August 2022 |archive-date=31 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220831082047/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/231957945 |url-status=live }} The southern end of Main Road 56 (previously Trunk Road 56) was truncated to meet State Highway 18 east of Craboon, as a result.

The passing of the Roads Act of 1993[https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/act-1993-033 State of New South Wales, An Act to make provision with respect to the roads of New South Wales; to repeal the State Roads Act 1986, the Crown and Other Roads Act 1990 and certain other enactments; and for other purposes.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220811000905/http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/num_act/mra1924n24133/ |date=11 August 2022 }} 10 November 1924 through the Parliament of New South Wales updated road classifications and the way they could be declared within New South Wales. Under this act, Castlereagh Highway today retains its declaration as Highway 18, from the state border with Queensland at Hebel to the intersection with Oxley Highway in Gilgrandra, then from the intersection with Newell Highway in Gilgandra to the intersection with Golden Highway in Dunedoo, then from the intersection with Golden Highway near Craboon to the interchange with Great Western Highway at Marrangaroo.{{cite web |url=https://roads-waterways.transport.nsw.gov.au/business-industry/partners-suppliers/lgr/documents/classified-roads-schedule.pdf |title=Schedule of Classified Roads and Unclassified Regional Roads |author=Transport for NSW |date=August 2022 |publisher=Government of New South Wales |access-date=1 August 2022 |archive-date=25 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220825104657/https://roads-waterways.transport.nsw.gov.au/business-industry/partners-suppliers/lgr/documents/classified-roads-schedule.pdf |url-status=dead }}

Within New South Wales, the highway was signed National Route 55 in 1974 from Gilgandra to Walgett, and State Route 86 south of Gilgandra; National Route 55 was extended north from Walgett to the border with Queensland in 1983. Queensland however signed Carnarvon Highway as National Route 55 between 1983 and 1997 rather than Castlereagh Highway, causing a major discrepancy for many years in that National Route 55 met the border at Hebel but abruptly begun again over {{convert|100|km}} east along the border at Mungindi. The Queensland Road Department changed this in 1997 and signed National Route 55 over the border north to St George, and eventually to Charters Towers in later years. With both states' conversion to the newer alphanumeric system between 2005 and 2013, its route number was updated to route A7 between Rolleston and Roma and A55 between Roma and the state border for the highway within Queensland in 2005, and eventually along the remaining highway within New South Wales as route B55 in 2013.{{cite web |url=http://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/documents/projects/key-build-programs/alpha-numeric/nsw-factsheet.pdf |title=Road number and name changes in NSW |work=Roads & Maritime Services |publisher=Government of New South Wales |date=2012 |access-date=7 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160325194425/http://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/documents/projects/key-build-programs/alpha-numeric/nsw-factsheet.pdf |archive-date=25 March 2016 |url-status=dead}}

The Roads of Strategic Importance initiative, last updated in March 2022, includes the following project for Castlereagh Highway.

A project to upgrade the intersection with Carnarvon Highway at a cost of $3.4 million was completed in mid-2022.{{cite web |url=https://investment.infrastructure.gov.au/projects/ProjectDetails.aspx?Project_id=106748-19QLD-RSI |title=Carnarvon Highway and Castlereagh Highway Intersection Upgrade |publisher=Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications |date=28 January 2022 |access-date=6 May 2022}} This project was targeted for "early works" by the Queensland Government.{{cite web |url=https://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/_/media/projects/r/roads-stimulus-packages-queensland/road-stimulus-packages-jointly-funded-australian-government.pdf?sc_lang=en&hash=2CE432E465807F6B231DD64BEA34F9E4 |title=ROSI early works package |publisher=Queensland Government |date=29 April 2020 |access-date=7 May 2022}}

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{{stack|{{Portal|Australian Roads|New South Wales|Queensland}}}}

• Highways in Australia
• List of highways in New South Wales
• List of highways in Queensland

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{{Road infrastructure in Queensland}}

Category:Highways in New South Wales

Category:Highways in Queensland