Road Photos & Information: New South Wales

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

Statistics:

• Length: 1146 km (Dubbo to Wellington: 51 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: Wellington, Geurie, Wongarbon and Dubbo

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

Wellington to Dubbo			Dubbo to Wellington
Preview:	Description:		Preview:	Description:
	Entering Wellington: Mitchell Hwy as it enters the Wellington areas, July 2006, approaching the Wellington Caves turnoff. Image © Paul Rands			Macquarie River: Looking southeast on the bridge over the Macquarie River in Dubbo. It opened to traffic on the 29th September 1969, at the time it was the 4th longest road bridge in NSW. July 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	Advance Directional Sign: AD sign for Wellington Caves intersection, July 2006. Image © Paul Rands			Macquarie River: July 2006 as you look southeast on the LH Ford Bridge over the Macquarie River in Dubbo. It opened to traffic on the 29th September 1969, at the time it was the 4th longest road bridge in NSW. Image © Paul Rands
	Wellington Caves Intersection: Looking north at Wellington, July 2006 Image © Paul Rands			Black ID Sign: Old black ID sign on the corner of Darling Street (former Newell Hwy) and Mitchell Hwy. July 2006. This sign has since been replaced. Image © Paul Rands
	Tourism Sign: Looking north approaching Wellington-Stuart Town Road, Jul 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	AD Sign: Advance directional sign approaching Wellington-Stuart Town Road at Wellington, July 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	Distance Sign: Sign indicating distances to upcoming centres, northbound after Wellington-Stuart Town Road in Wellington, July 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	Entering Town Area: Speed limit drops to 50, as you enter Wellington's main area. July 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	Advance Directional Sign: NR32 as it approaches Maughan Street in Wellington, July 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	ID Sign: Intersection directional sign as you travel through the Maughan St intersection, Wellington, July 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	Old Meets New: Westbound on Showground Rd (NR32) with this old black sign and brand new alphanumeric sign, July 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	Alphanumeric Sign Assembly : Another alphanumeric sign on the corner of Showground Road (Mitchell Hwy), Renshaw-McGirr Way and Percy Street in Wellington, July 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	Wellington CBD: Passing through the Wellington shopping precinct, northbound, July 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	Macquarie River: Macquarie Bridge in Wellington as it passes over the Macquarie River, July 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	Advance Directional Sign: AD sign at Montefiores approaching Goolma Road, July 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	RD Sign: Distance sign at Montefiores after the Goolma Road junction, July 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	AD Sign: Northbound AD sign as you Dunedoo Road at Montefiores, July 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	Dunedoo Road Intersection: Heading northwest at Montefiores, July 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	110km/h zone: Speed limit increases to 110 km/h here at Maryvale, July 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	Maryvale: Heading northwest as you enter Maryvale, July 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	Dunedoo Road Fingerboard: ID signage at Maryvale showing access to Dunedoo Road, July 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	Maryvale Town Centre: Looking northwest in the town of Geurie, July 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	Mitchell St Intersection : ID sign assembly on the corner of Mitchell Street in Geurie. July 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	AD Sign : Advance directional sign approaching Beni St in Wongabon, July 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	Typical Conditions : Looking northwest on one of the many long and straight sections of the highway, July 2006 at Wongabon. Image © Paul Rands
	AD Sign: Advance directional sign at Orana Heights (in Dubbo) approaching Wheeler Street, July 2006. This sign is somewhat recent (say in the last 5 or so years) and is badly peeling. Image © Paul Rands
	Entering Dubbo: The Mitchell Hwy gains divided roadway as it enters Dubbo. July 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	AD Sign : Westbound approaching Fitzroy Street in Dubbo, July 2006. Local name for Mitchell Hwy through town is Cobra St. Image © Paul Rands
	Darling Street intersection: Mitchell Hwy (NR32) at the junction with Darling St (former NR39) at Dubbo. July 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	Alphanumeric Intersection Directional Sign: Alphanumeric ID sign at the junction of Mitchell Hwy (NR32) and Darling St in Dubbo, August 2008. Image © Richard Wardle
	Macquarie River: Looking northwest approaching the 2013 feet long, 2 lane, 28 span, prestressed concrete bridge over the Macquarie River in Dubbo. It opened to traffic on the 29th September 1969, at the time it was the 4th longest road bridge in NSW. July 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	Road Train Sign: Road train sign near Dubbo on the Mitchell Hwy, March 2007. Image © Mitchell Oliver
Click here for the continuation of NR32 between Wellington and Molong Click here for the continuation of NR32 between Nyngan and Dubbo

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.