Flinders Highway, Queensland

The Flinders Highway in Queensland crosses 776km in the north of the state from Townsville to Cloncurry. Towns on the Flinders Highway include Charters Towers, Hughenden and Julia Creek.

The Flinders Highway is the main sealed east to west route across North Queensland. If you’ve got a conventional vehicle, rather than a 4WD, you’ll almost certainly pass along it if driving to the Northern Territory from Cairns or Townsville.

How long is the Flinders Highway, Queensland?

The Flinders Highway runs from Townsville on the Queensland coast to Cloncurry in the north-west of the state and carries the A6 badge throughout. The total length of the Flinders Highway is 776km. It becomes the Barkly Highway once it reaches Cloncurry.

Where does the Flinders Highway begin?

The Flinders Highway begins at the junction with the Bruce Highway in Townsville. The next major junction is with the Gregory Highway in Charters Towers.

Charters Towers accommodation options include the Charters Towers Motel and the Big4 Aussie Oasis Holiday Park.

Another major junction comes 373km in, at Hughenden. This is where the Flinders Highway meets the Kennedy Developmental Road coming from Winton. The Hughenden-Muttaburra Road from Muttaburra also meets the highway here.

A replica Muttaburrasaurus outside the Flinders Discovery Centre in Hughenden, Queensland. Photo courtesy of Tourism and Events Queensland.

Flinders Highway towns: Julia Creek and Cloncurry

The next town along the Flinders Highway is Julia Creek. Here comes the junction with State Route 84, which is the Julia Creek-Kynuna Road if coming north from Kynuna, and the Wills Developmental Road if coming south from Burketown.

Finally in Cloncurry, the Landsborough Highway merges into the Flinders Highway. Then, shortly afterwards, it becomes the Barkly Highway, heading west to Mount Isa and Camooweal.

For road condition information, visit the QLDtraffic website.

More Australian highways