Eyre Developmental Road (Bedourie - Birdsville), pave and seal

Works have been completed to seal around 35km of the 185km road, improving safety, connectivity and wet weather access.

A program including 3 separate projects has been completed, sealing around 35km of dirt road between Bedourie and Birdsville.

The road runs on to the South Australian border, where it continues as the Birdsville Track.

The road supports outback tourism by connecting travellers with far western Queensland. Traffic volumes on this road have grown significantly in recent times, due to popular annual events like the Birdsville Big Red Bash and the Birdsville Races.

Sealing more dirt sections of the road is providing better and more reliable heavy vehicle access for the cattle, agriculture and mining industries.

Benefits

  • Improves safety
  • Improves network efficiency
  • Improves flood immunity
  • Better road access
  • Reduces travel time
  • Contributes to economy
  • Contributes to regional growth
  • Reduces maintenance
  • Improves ride quality

Key features

  • Sealed around 35km of gravel road to a width of 6m.
  • Improves safety, travel times, reliability and wet weather access.
  • Better connects communities. 
  • Provides additional overtaking opportunities.

Funding

The 3 projects were funded separately: Eyre Developmental Road (Bedourie – Birdsville) (Section 1), pave and seal - $10 million. Fully funded by the Queensland Government. Investment ID 1647774 Eyre Developmental Road (Bedourie – Birdsville) (Section 2), pave and seal - $4.5 million. Jointly funded under the Regional Economic Enabling Fund ($3.6 million Australian Government; $0.9 million Queensland Government). Investment ID 1687043 Eyre Developmental Road (Bedourie – Birdsville), Old Roseberth pave and seal - $4.5 million. Jointly funded through Tranche 3 of the Australian Government's Road Safety Program ($3.6 million Australian Government; $0.9 million Queensland Government). Investment ID 2127443

Total investment
$19 million
Australian Government
$7.2 million
Queensland Government
$11.8 million

Current status

All 3 projects were delivered by Diamantina Shire Council.

  1. Eyre Developmental Road (Bedourie – Birdsville) (Section 1), pave and seal
    Construction started in February 2021 and was completed in May 2022. The project paved and sealed around 20km of the road. 

  2. Eyre Developmental Road (Bedourie – Birdsville) (Section 2), pave and seal
    Construction started in June 2021 and was completed in December 2022. The project paved and sealed several sections. 

  3. Eyre Developmental Road (Bedourie – Birdsville), Old Roseberth pave and seal
    Construction started in February 2022 and was completed in November 2022. The project paved and sealed around 4.5km of the road.

Project map

Eyre Developmental Road map