'Dangerous' rain-damaged Barkly highways costing NT cattle industry, tourists and residents

A sign on the Barkly Highway warning motorists about the flood-damaged road. (ABC Alice Springs: Victoria Ellis)

Vehicles on Barkly highways have been taking a "hell of a hit" after heavy rainfall over the Northern Territory's wet season opened up huge road potholes and ruts.

Parts of Barkly received close to 1000 millimetres of rain, causing widespread flooding that closed the Barkly Highway and led to weeks of weight restrictions.

Brunette Downs is a 12,212 square kilometre cattle station 350 kilometres north-east of Tennant Creek, which relies on the Tablelands, Barkly and Stuart highways to transport stock and receive supplies.

Station maintenance manager Jim Leslie said the highways' poor condition was "getting frustrating" for pastoralists, who relied on the road network for their livelihoods.

"Some of (the holes) are two meters long ... some are up to your knee ... 400 [millimetres] deep, so you could definitely lose a car tyre," he said.

He said the damage was causing heavy wear and tear on vehicles.

"The (road) shoulders with their big drop off are gauging out rims, caving in rims. There's bad tyre wear and tear, then there's many more moving parts underneath them sorts of big things, banging and clanging," he said.

Mr Leslie said a hay truck had tipped on the road, and his team had driven out to right the vehicle and help the driver before salvaging whatever hay they could.

He said the roads were some of the worst he had seen anywhere, and he couldn't understand why they hadn't been properly fixed yet.

"I would have thought the Barkly Highway's a pretty important one to get done up; it's the main freight run for Australia from east to west," he said.

Tourists impacted 

The Stuart Highway between Wauchope and Renner Springs has multiple sections of damaged road.

Meanwhile, the first hundred kilometres of the Barkly Highway's western end has many big holes and long ruts, some covering the entire road width.

The Tablelands Highway is narrow, with steep drop-offs at the edges and frequent, sudden potholes.

Gerard Cavenagh, a tourist travelling around the Barkly and Gulf country, said the region's uncared-for highways were a safety issue for drivers.

He said some potholes were so big it took "a couple of days to drive out of one".

"They need to dig up sections of the road and take it back to dirt until they can repair them," he said.

"The vehicles themselves are taking a hell of a hit because of wheels going in there. It's very dangerous.

"You can blow out of tyre and suspension ...You've got to drive the conditions all the time because it's pretty slow."

Mr Cavenagh said the federal government needed to contribute more funding for repairs and maintenance.

"In this area, there's not a huge number of ratepayers, so I think the federal government's got to kick in and help them with this situation," he said.

Roads on the agenda this election

Member for Barkly Steve Edgington said roads were a big issue for residents at this year's election.

"Money needs to be going into roads because we need to keep our pastoralists moving. It's one of the biggest industries in the Northern Territory," he said.

"And, of course, tourists and local people are suffering quite substantial damage to their vehicles.

"It's costing people money. It's just not good enough."

Repair plans underway

A Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics (DIPL) spokesperson said the Northern Territory Government was investing $7.4 million to repair flood-damaged sections of the Stuart, Barkly and Tablelands highways.

"It is estimated an additional $25 million will be invested for further repairs across the Barkly region road network," they said.

The spokesperson said five floodways on the Stuart Highway, north and south of Tennant Creek, would be sealed in July, while repair work on the Barkly Highway was expected to continue for several months.

"Delays to commence repairs have been attributed to the saturated pavement conditions and unsealed shoulders, making it impossible to utilise heavy machinery without it causing more damage or becoming bogged," the spokesperson said.

The Department of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development provides 80 per cent of funding for Territory roads. A spokesperson said the recent federal budget included 80 million dollars to upgrade priority sections of the Stuart and Barkly highways, including pavement strengthening, widening, resealing and surface correction.

"These works are expected to start soon and be completed by late 2027," the spokesperson said.

"The budget also committed $24 million to upgrade priority sections of the Stuart, Victoria and Barkly Highways to increase resilience to flooding. These upgrades are expected to begin in early 2025 and be completed by late 2028."