Bucketts Way
The Bucketts Way is a 151-kilometre (94 mi)[1] rural road that links Gloucester to Taree and Raymond Terrace, in New South Wales, Australia. It was named after the Bucketts Mountains, a prominent mountain range near Gloucester. Between 1928 and 1952 the Bucketts Way served as the alignment of the Pacific Highway between Raymond Terrace and Taree.[2] The entire route is designated as Tourist Drive TD2.[3]
Bucketts Way | |
|---|---|
 | |
The Bucketts Range from Bucketts Way. | |
| General information | |
| Type | Road |
| Length | 151 km (94 mi)[1] |
| Route number(s) |  |
| Major junctions | |
| North end | near  Taree, New South Wales |
| Thunderbolts Way | |
| South end | 17 kilometres (11 mi) north of Raymond Terrace, New South Wales |
| Location(s) | |
| Major suburbs | |
Route
In the south, the Bucketts Way branches off to the west of the Pacific Highway 14 km (9 mi) north of the Raymond Terrace bypass. Heading north, it crosses the Karuah River about 8.5 km (5.3 mi) south of Stroud and then roughly follows the course of the Karuah River upstream in a west-north-westerly direction for approximately 25 km (16 mi), crossing the Mammy Johnsons River. It then turns north-north-east and then north for 32 km (20 mi) until it reaches Gloucester, crossing the Avon River on the way. The North Coast Railway line runs parallel with it from just north-east of Stroud Road to Gloucester. At Gloucester, Bucketts Way meets the southern terminus of Thunderbolts Way that leads to the Northern Tablelands and various other national parks and riverside camping reserves along the way. The Bucketts Way continues eastwards to Krambach and then to Taree where it rejoins the Pacific Highway.[4]
It provides access to the Barrington Tops National Park, and is used by tourists as a very scenic alternative to the Pacific Highway. The Bucketts Way travels through two council areas: Port Stephens and Mid-Coast Council. Some councillors of the former Gloucester Shire proposed renaming the section of Bucketts Way south of Gloucester to Thunderbolts Way,[5] as is shown on some tourist maps. This would result in one continuously named road stretching from the Pacific Highway near Raymond Terrace to the New England Highway at Uralla and beyond. However, there is significant community opposition to a name change.
Major junctions
| LGA | Location | km[1] | mi | Destinations | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mid-Coast | Taree | 0 | 0.0 | Manning River Drive [north] – Taree, Wingham Manning River Drive [east] to | Roundabout; northern terminus; road continues north and east as the Manning River Drive | |
| Krambach | 34 | 21 | Mill Street to Avalon Road – Nabiac | Y-intersection | ||
| Fire Station Road | Y-intersection | |||||
| Gangat | 57 | 35 | Wallanbah Road – Bucca Wauka, Dyers Crossing | T-intersection | ||
| Avon River | 69 | 43 | Bridge over the river (Bridge name unknown) | |||
| Gloucester | Gloucester | 71 | 44 | Thunderbolts Way – Walcha, Uralla, Inverell | Roundabout; southern terminus of Thunderbolts Way; Bucketts Way continues south | |
| 74 | 46 | Jacks Road – Waukivory, Upper Mayall, Bulahdelah | ||||
| 80 | 50 | Gloucester Tops Road – Barrington Tops National Park | ||||
| Avon River | 84 | 52 | Bridge over the river (Bridge name unknown) | |||
| Mammy Johnsons River | 112 | 70 | Bridge over the river (Bridge name unknown) | |||
| Mid-Coast | Stroud | 116 | 72 | Stroud Road – Dungog | ||
| Booral | 127 | 79 | Booral Road – Bulahdelah | |||
| Karuah River | 128 | 80 | Bridge over the river (Bridge name unknown) | |||
| Mid-Coast | Limeburners Creek | 145 | 90 | Limeburners Creek Road – Clarence Town | ||
| Port Stephens | Twelve Mile Creek | 151 | 94 | | T-intersection; southern terminus; road continues north and south as the Pacific Highway (A1) | |
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
| ||||||
References
- 154 Manning River Drive, Taree South NSW 2430, Australia to 39 The Bucketts Way, Twelve Mile Creek NSW 2324, Australia (Map). Google Maps. 2016. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
- "Bucketts Way - Formerly part of the Pacific Highway from 1928 until 1952". Ozroads: the Australian Roads Website. Retrieved 15 May 2008.
- "TOURIST Drive 2 - Bucketts Way - Kempsey Area". Destination NSW. Government of New South Wales. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
- "9232 Newcastle, 9233 Dungog, 9234 Upper Manning, 9334 Wingham" (Map). Department of Lands - Spatial Information eXchange. Government of New South Wales. Archived from the original on 25 May 2008. Retrieved 23 May 2009.
- "Bucketts Way - Road Re-Naming" (PDF). Great Lakes Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2009. Retrieved 3 October 2009.
