Kidman Way

Kidman Way New South Wales
Road sign north of Jerilderie at the southern terminus of the Kidman Way
General information
Type	Rural road
Length	644 km (400 mi)
Route number(s)	B87
Former route number	State Route 87 (1974 - 2013)
Major junctions
North end	Mitchell Highway (B71) / Kamilaroi Highway (B76), Bourke, New South Wales
	Barrier Highway (A32) Lachlan Valley Way Mid-Western Highway (B64) Burley Griffin Way (B94) Sturt Highway (A20)
South end	Newell Highway (A39), 16 km (10 mi) north of Jerilderie, New South Wales
Location(s)
Major settlements	Cobar, Mount Hope, Hillston, Goorawin, Merriwagga, Goolgowi, Griffith, Willbriggie, Darlington Point, Waddi, Coleambally

The Kidman Way is a state rural road in the western Riverina and western region of New South Wales, Australia. The 644-kilometre (400 mi) highway services the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area and outback communities and links the Newell Highway with the Sturt, Mid-Western, Barrier, Mitchell and Kamilaroi highways. The road carries the State Route B87 shield for its entire route, with its northern terminus at Bourke and its southern terminus at a junction with the Newell Highway, situated 16 kilometres (10 mi) north of Jerilderie. The Kidman Way is fully sealed and is accessible by two or four-wheel drive.

The Kidman Way draws its history from the stock routes that linked cattle stations in the region, many of which were owned by Sir Sidney Kidman, an Australian pastoralist and philanthropist.

Route

The Kidman Way runs generally north–south, roughly aligned to the state border between New South Wales and South Australia, approximately 140 kilometres (87 mi) west of the geographic centre of New South Wales.

The southern junction of the Kidman Way is located at a road junction with the Newell Highway, located 16 kilometres (10 mi) north of Jerilderie. From this point the Kidman Way heads north, its only major intersection being with the Sturt Highway at Waddi, as it moves north through the lush Riverina area towards the city of Griffith, passing through the small towns of Coleambally and Darlington Point. Here the Kidman Way crosses the Murrumbidgee River. Griffith is a large regional centre, in the heart of the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area, surrounded by vineyards, orchards and ricefields.

From Griffith, the Kidman Way heads north through the vast, open western plains to Cobar where it meets the Barrier Highway, running east–west. This is where the outback begins, with plenty of kangaroos and emus and giant tumbleweeds roll across the roads. The first 100 kilometres (60 mi) or more from that point are still fairly green passing through towns such as Goolgowi where a roundabout marks its junction with the Mid-Western Highway; as it continues north to Merriwagga and then Hillston. The Kidman Way shares a concurrency with the Lachlan Valley Way for approximately 35 kilometres (22 mi), before that road heads east to Lake Cargelligo and the Kidman Way heads north to Cobar via long, straight, unbroken stretches of road, except for the village of Mount Hope. This section of road does not support any fuel stations. The Kidman Way continues 160 kilometres (100 mi) through mallee and semi-arid woodlands on to Cobar, once famous for copper. From there the road leads to Bourke, where it meets the Mitchell Highway at its northern terminus; and connects to the Kamilaroi Highway.

Additional stock routes, not officially designated as part of the Kidman Way, provide access to south western and central western Queensland and ultimately, via various roads, to Normanton on the Gulf of Carpentaria.

Major intersections

LGA	Location	km	mi	Destinations	Notes
Bourke	Bourke	0	0.0	Mitchell Highway (B71 north) – Cunnamulla, Charleville Mitchell Highway (B71 east, then south) – Nyngan, Dubbo, Orange, Bathurst	Northern highway terminus. Connects to Kamilaroi Highway via Mitchell Highway north. Continues south as B87.
Cobar	Cobar	160– 161	99– 100	Barrier Highway (A32 east) – Nyngan Barrier Highway (A32 west) – Wilcannia, Broken Hill, South Australia	Pair of closely spaced intersections. Western and eastern concurrency termini with Barrier Highway
Carrathool	Wallanthery	381	237	Lachlan Valley Way (east) – Lake Cargelligo	Northern concurrency terminus with the Lachlan Valley Way
	Hillston	415	258	Lachlan Valley Way (southwest) – Booligal and to the Cobb Highway	Southern concurrency terminus with the Lachlan Valley Way
		416	258	Rankins Springs Road (southeast) – Rankins Springs
	Goolgowi	476	296	Mid-Western Highway (A32 northeast) – West Wyalong, Cowra, Bathurst Mid-Western Highway (A32 southwest) – Hay	Roundabout
Griffith	Griffith	526	327	Burley Griffin Way (B94 northeast) – Yenda, Barellan, Temora	B94 western terminus
Murrumbidgee	Darlington Point	559	347	Darlington Point-Whitton Road (east) – Whitton
Murrumbidgee River		560	350	Darlington Point Bridge
Murrumbidgee	Waddi	563– 564	350– 350	Sturt Highway (A20 east) – Narrandera, Wagga Wagga Sturt Highway (A20 west) – Hay, Mildura, Adelaide	Pair of closely spaced intersections. Western and eastern concurrency termini with Sturt Highway.
Jerilderie	Jerilderie, Bundure Junction	644	400	Newell Highway (A39 south) – Jerilderie, Finley, Melbourne	Southern highway terminus
		644	400	Newell Highway (A39 north) – Narrandera, Dubbo, Goondiwindi, Brisbane	Southern highway terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Route transition

See also

• Highways in Australia
• Highways in New South Wales

External links

• Serle, Percival (1949). "Kidman, Sidney". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus & Robertson.
• "Website". S. Kidman & Co Limited. 2015.