Lyell Highway
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Lyell Highway Tasmania |
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| Lyell Highway descending towards Queenstown | |
| Type | Highway |
| Length | 248 km (154 mi) |
| Route number(s) |
 A10(Granton - Queenstown)  B24(Queenstown - Strahan) |
| Former route number |
 State Route 8(Granton - Queenstown) |
| SSE end |
 Brooker HighwayGranton, Tasmania |
Zeehan Highway Boyer Road Marlborough Highway Gordon River Road
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| NNW end |
Harvey Street Strahan, Tasmania |
| Major settlements | New Norfolk, Ouse, Queenstown |
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Highways in Australia National Highway • Freeways in Australia Highways in Tasmania |
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The Lyell Highway (Route A10) is a highway in Tasmania, running from Hobart to Queenstown. It is the one of two transport routes that passes through the West Coast Range, the other being the Anthony Road (B28).
The name is derived from Mount Lyell, the mountain peak where copper was found in the late 19th century; the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company was the predominant business in Queenstown for almost 100 years.
Starting at Granton it winds along the southern side of the Derwent River in a generally north westerly direction to New Norfolk. This section has in the past been susceptible to flooding
At New Norfolk it crosses the Derwent River and winds its way through hilly terrain to Hamilton. Just prior to Hamilton is the turnoff to Bothwell via a sealed route that passes Arthurs Lake and ultimately goes on to Launceston.
After Hamilton, the small town of Ouse is the only other population centre on the highway until the former Hydroelectricity town of Wayatinah.
When the highway was first constructed, it made use of existing tracks and roads in the Victoria Valley area, directly north of Ouse, leaving the Ouse and Derwent River valleys and climbing the hilly country through the towns of Osterley, Victoria Valley and Dee before rejoining the present highway near Brontë. This route closely skirts Dee Lagoon, and runs close to several other lakes, particularly Lake Echo. The now-bypassed road is narrow, and unsealed.
When the hydro-electric system was expanding and their works were under construction at Tarraleah, the highway was re-aligned to follow the Derwent River until it passed Tarraleah to provide better access to the area for construction vehicles. The Ouse-Tarraleah section was opened to traffic in August 1940 even though construction work hadn't finished. After Tarraleah the road climbs steeply out of the Nive River gorge until it re-joins the original route near Brontë.
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Wikipedia