This is now a no-through road but the public are welcome to cross the
causeway to visit the
memorial sites on each side and use the rest areas.During the wet season, the
Roper River is usually too high for vehicles to cross at the old
causeway, known as the
Roper bar. Both the approach and exit to the bar is via a dirt track and is a 4WD crossing at all times with soft sand on a tight corner on the northern exit.The old
Roper Bar crossing marks the historic 1845 spot where Prussian explorer Ludwig Leichhardt became the first recorded European to cross the
Roper River during his overland expedition from Moreton Bay to Port Essington. He named the river after expedition member John Roper.The main crossing over the
Roper River is via a concrete bridge upstream about a km to the west. On the SW corner of the 4WD
causeway just up the
hill is the
ruins of the
old police station. Worth a look.