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Statistics:

• Length: 660 km (QLD border to Broken Hill: 385 km)
• Northern Terminus: Barrier Highway (NR32) at Broken Hill
• Southern Terminus: Calder Highway (A79) at the Victoria Border
• Miscellaneous: Continues as A79 (Calder Highway) in Victoria
• Suburbs, Towns & Localities Along The Route: Packsaddle, Milparinka and Tibooburra

Route Numbering:

• Route Number: None
• Road Authority Internal Classification: State Highway No. 22 1

General Information:

The Silver City Highway is the western most highway in NSW running north/south for 660 km. Over half of the highway is sealed in areas that get the most use. 2 The Silver City Highway then continues from Broken Hill, unnumbered, to the Queensland border at Warri Gate.

The country passed through by the Silver City Highway is of a generally arid nature. 3

The name "Silver City Highway" was given to the road for the reason that its primary purpose is to connect the city of Broken Hill with points north and south and to serve the great silver-lead industry of the area. The road has a wider significance from an Australian point of view, as it connects directly with the road systems of Victoria and Western Queensland. At Broken Hill it intersects the Barrier Highway which, some 30 miles to the west, connects with the South Australian road system. In effect therefore, the Silver City Highway serves to connect the road systems of four of the States of the Commonwealth, and because of this, consideration was given, at one stage, to naming it the "Four States Highway". 4

History:

• 12 November 1976: State Highway 22, later Highway 22, gazetted. 5

Broken Hill to Queensland Border			Queensland Border to Broken Hill
Preview:	Description:		Preview:	Description:
	Black Kilometre Plate: Black kilometre plate at Broken Hill, December 2003. Image © Michael Greenslade			Warri Gate: Warry Gate Rd as it crosses from QLD to NSW to become Silver City Highway via the Warri Gate at Cameron Corner, June 2012. Image © Peter Renshaw
	Road Conditions Sign: Road conditions sign at Broken Hill, December 2003. Image © Michael Greenslade			Services Sign: Services sign on Silver City Hwy at Tibooburra, just south of Warri Gate, June 2012. Image © Peter Renshaw
				Middle Road: Corner of Silver City Hwy and Middle Rd at Tibooburra, June 2012. This is the northernmost sign to feature the name Silver City Highway on it. Image © Peter Renshaw
Click here for the continuation of Silver City Highway as NR79 between Broken Hill and Vic Border

1 Roads & Traffic Authority, Schedule of Classified Roads (and unclassified Regional Roads), Version 2009/2, 20 February 2009
2 Broken Hill City Council, About The City, Accessibility
3 The Roadmakers, A History of Main Roads in New South Wales, ISBN 0724004394, page 236,1976
4 Department of Main Roads, Historical Roads of New South Wales, Silver City Highway, an extract from Main Roads, September 1962
5 Government Gazette, Issue 145, 12 November 1976

Last updated: 12-Sep-2020 11:06

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