Road Photos & Information: New South Wales

Great Western Highway, Mitchell Highway & Barrier Highway (National Route 32) - Nyngan to Dubbo

Statistics:

• Length: 1146 km (Nyngan to Dubbo: 163 km)
• Western Terminus: NSW-SA Border at Cockburn
• Eastern Terminus: Western Fwy (Metroad 4) and Governors Dr at Glenbrook
• Miscellaneous: Continues as A32 (Barrier Hwy) in South Australia
• Suburbs, Towns & Localities Along The Route: Narromine, Trangie and Nevertire

Route Numbering:

• Current:   
• Road Authority Internal Classification: HW7 (Bathurst to Nyngan) 1
• Forthcoming Alphanumeric:  

General Information:

National Route 32 is the main route linking the New South Wales state capital, Sydney, with the west of the state. The road varies from arterial road conditions, rural expressway and rural highway.

• Mitchell Highway:

The Mitchell Highway links north-western NSW with Dubbo, Bathurst and eventually Sydney.

The highway starts at Bathurst as National Route 32 and heads west through the Great Dividing Range to Orange then continues north through Molong, Wellington and Dubbo. From Dubbo, the highway follows the Bourke railway line in a north-westerly direction to Nyngan. The highway's route number changes to NR71 (after the Barrier Highway junction at Nyngan), and then it continues north-west to Bourke and terminates at the QLD border, just north of Barringun.

The Mitchell Highway is named after Major Thomas Mitchell, who was Surveyor-General of New South Wales in the 1820s and explored much of inland New South Wales and Victoria.

History:

• 1896: Western Road extended to reach Warren, now located on Oxley Highway. 2
• 7 June 1926: A board meeting resolved to set aside funding from the Commonwealth's road funding scheme for road development to be used on some of NSW 'great trunk routes', which included the Great Western Road. 2
• 1939: 44% or 120 miles of Mitchell Hwy paved with bitumen surface. 2
• 6 November 1972: Completion of bitumous sealing along Mitchell Highway. 2
• 2003: Reconstruction and widening of the highway including sealing road shoulders and line marking at Narromine. 3

Preview:	Description:
	Intersection Directional Sign: ID sign assembly at the junction with Dandaloo St in Narromine, August 2008. Note the alphanumeric route number, which should be coverplated with NR32, as the new numbering system has not been officially rolled out on the state network, with the exception of 2 routes. Image © Richard Wardle
	Intersection directonal Sign: ID sign assembly facing Warren Rd at Narromine, August 2008. Note the alphanumeric route number, which should be coverplated with NR32, as the new numbering system has not been officially rolled out on the state network, with the exception of 2 routes. Image © Richard Wardle
	Reassurance Directional Sign: RD sign as you leave Narromine, August 2008. Note the alphanumeric route number, which should be coverplated with NR32, as the new numbering system has not been officially rolled out on the state network, with the exception of 2 routes. Image © Richard Wardle
Click here for the continuation of NR32 between Dubbo and Wellington Click here for the continuation of NR32 between Nyngan and South Australia

1 Roads and Traffic Authority, Schedule of Classified Roads (and unclassified Regional Roads), 25 February 2008
2 Department of Main Roads. The Roadmakers, A History of Main Roads in New South Wales, ISBN 0 7240 0439 4
3 Roads & Traffic Authority, Community update, Road activity update – Western NSW, February 2003.