Rig Road graded- how far???
Submitted: Tuesday, Jul 08, 2014 at 10:08
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Member - Howard (ACT)
Came down the K 1 last week and got to
Kuncherinna Junction and wow the
Rig road is graded and so are parts of the
Warburton track.
we drove in 7 km on the Rig and still graded as far as we could see but time restraints prevented further investigation. lots cut off dune tops and big ramps put in on approach and departure on most dunes.
asked at Mungerannie and Phlil said they took a triple in to refurbish a
bore but wasnt sure where.
Has anyone travelled the full
rig road since it was graded can can advise how far in from east the grading goes.interested because the
Simpson Desert Bike Challenge goes along the Rig.
personally I think they stuffed the
Warburton as lots of deep soft sand in
places where they tried to straighten the track and
broke up the packed sand surface experienced last year.
cheers
howard
Reply By: cookie1 - Tuesday, Jul 08, 2014 at 10:21
Tuesday, Jul 08, 2014 at 10:21
Apparently they are taking an Oil Rig into Poolawana Oil field and assumed that they went in on the
Warburton line but I haven't had a response from Westprint where I read about it
cheers
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: cookie1 - Wednesday, Jul 09, 2014 at 20:55
Wednesday, Jul 09, 2014 at 20:55
Had this response from John (Westprint)
If you have a Desert Parks Pass you should have the Eastern map of the set of three. It shows the
Approdinna Attora Knolls about 40 kilometres west of Poeppels Corner. Look to the south for about another 45 kilometres and you should find the Poolawanna Oil Well marked. From that point the
Rig Road is 102 kilometres to the Kuncherinna Oil Well site and another 105 kilometres via the
Warburton Track to the
Birdsville Track, making a total of about 200 kilometres of newly-graded, clay-based road.
There are a few other things to remember. The track as I saw it was loose on top making it heavier driving that I expected. If it rains try to get to the French line because the clay will be very boggy. Also remember that there will be heavy traffic on the road from Mid July to Mid August. All vehicles will be expected to be on UHF Channel 10.
cheers
FollowupID:
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Reply By: Robin Miller - Tuesday, Jul 08, 2014 at 18:29
Tuesday, Jul 08, 2014 at 18:29
Can't help much with that today Howard - but you may like to know that the route we pioneered last year has been retraced by others recently.
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Follow Up By: Member - Howard (ACT) - Wednesday, Jul 09, 2014 at 15:24
Wednesday, Jul 09, 2014 at 15:24
Hi Robin,
good to hear someone else is using the route.
will be in melb this weekend leaving tomorrow
cheers howard
FollowupID:
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Reply By: Member - Patto (SA) - Wednesday, Jul 09, 2014 at 14:45
Wednesday, Jul 09, 2014 at 14:45
The
Rig Road is being tidyed up as fa as Poolawanna #3 Oill Well which is just east of the
junction with the Knolls track.
The old oil exploration well is being converted / rehabilatated into a water monitoring well for the Great Artesian Basin.
Currently the well has steel casing in it and it is proposed to reduce the diameter and line it with stainless steel making it a lot safer and more managable and extend its life as a monitoring point for the basin fora long time into the future
Cheers
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Follow Up By: Member - Howard (ACT) - Wednesday, Jul 09, 2014 at 15:22
Wednesday, Jul 09, 2014 at 15:22
thanks for that Patto. will pass on info to SDBC organisers
cheers
howard
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Member - Geoffrey N (NSW) - Wednesday, Jul 30, 2014 at 02:15
Wednesday, Jul 30, 2014 at 02:15
Came W-E across the
Rig Road towards the end of May and the last section (from Poolowanna to the
Warburton) was typical with a couple of large dunes badly eroded on the eastern side. Went back 3 weeks ago (E-W) and it had been graded and recapped, with the accumulated sand blow pushed aside and capable of 60-80kph travel. A real 'WTF' moment! The
bore at the Poolowanna
airstrip had been refurbished.
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