| Type: | rural road |
| State: | NT |
| Road Name: | Plenty Highway |
| Location: | Plenty Highway route map.png |
| Loc Caption: | Map of central Australia with Plenty Highway highlighted in red |
| Length: | 498 |
| Route: | State Route 12 |
| Direction A: | West |
| End A: | Stuart Highway (National Highway 87), 69km (43miles) north of Alice Springs |
| Direction B: | East |
| Exits: | Sandover Highway (State Route 14) |
| End B: | Donohue Highway, Tobermorey Homestead (NT/Queensland border) |
The Plenty Highway is a 498km (309miles) outback mostly unsealed road in the Northern Territory of Australia between the Stuart Highway and north-western Queensland.[1]
The road begins at a turnoff from the Stuart Highway north of Alice Springs, and finishes at Tobermorey Homestead on the Northern Territory/Queensland border. It then continues for another to Boulia in Queensland, as the Donohue Highway.
The first from the Stuart Highway is sealed. Of the next to Jervois Homestead all bar is unsealed as is the rest of the track to the Queensland Border. From the Queensland Border to Boulia the final 128km (80miles) is sealed with another 5km (03miles) east of the border. Information about its condition may be obtained from the Harts Range police station, from the Stuart Highway.
East of Jervois Homestead, the road is formed earth, deteriorating to rocks and bulldust as it nears Tobermorey, from Jervois Homestead. The road north to Urandangi and thence to Mount Isa bears left just before Tobermorey.
The worst sections of the road are in the Northern Territory, with deep potholes and bulldust. On the Queensland side of the border the road has had significant upgrades and is of a hard pack gravel surface. It is from Tobermorey to Boulia and good camping may be found at the Georgina River, at about the mark.
Fuel and food may be obtained at Gemtree, Atitjere community, Jervois Homestead and Boulia. As of June 2018, fuel and camping is available at Tobermorey. Road trains up to in length use both highways.
The Northern Australia Roads Program announced in 2016 included the following project for the Plenty Highway.
The project to progressively seal and provide flood immunity improvements was expected to be complete in late 2021 at a total cost of $25 million.[2]