Bold plans to build a sealed road across the centre of Australia have received a funding boost.
The Federal government today made an election pledge to spend another $678 million to keep the nation-building project on track.
Work has been progressing for a decade already and even after that money is spent, there will be several hundred kilometres to go.
Already about half the 2720 kilometres of the Outback Way has been sealed and upgraded.
The importance of outback transport routes was highlighted recently after flash flooding cut rail links and the Stuart Highway from east to west and south to north.
Many say the construction of an all-weather road east-west across the centre of Australia is as important as the transcontinental railway line built more than a century ago.
Successive governments have already poured more than $330 million over the past decade into effort to link Laverton in outback WA to Winton in Queensland.
The railway line from Adelaide to Darwin is almost the same distance.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the new funding today.
The plan is to seal another 1000 kilometres of road and further upgrade other sections.
The remaining unsealed and substandard sections of Outback Way in Queensland and Western Australia will be sealed.
The Plenty Highway and Tjukaruru Road in the Northern Territory will be upgraded.
More than 90 per cent of the Outback Way in Queensland is now fully sealed.
More than $41 million of this most recent funding round will go towards progressively sealing the remaining unsealed sections of the Donohue Highway.
Most of the Outback Way bisects the NT even though there is more in the WA left to seal.
The bulk of the money, $400 million, has been pledged to seal the full length of Outback Way in WA.
Building a sealed outback road will cutting travel times for freight and tourists while giving residents along the route improved access to the outside world.
Many four-wheel-drive adventurers have the collection of roads and tracks which together make up the Outback Way on their bucket list to complete before the project is finished and today's challenge is gone.
The route includes the Great Central Road in WA, Tjukaruru Road and the Lasseter, Stuart and Plenty highways in the NT and the Donohue Highway, Kennedy Developmental Road and Diamantina Developmental Road in Queensland.
The Federal government kickstarted the mighty project in 2013 with $42 million.
The state and NT governments also kick in some funds for various stages of the project as do local councils when they see benefit for locals as well.
Upgrade works between Winton and Boulia in Queensland have recently finished as attention now turns to upgrading the Richmond-Winton Road.
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said the government was delivering on its commitment to seal the entire length of Outback Way.
"These upgrades will spark new opportunities for industries along the route, including the critical earth precincts north of Alice Springs, the gold precincts around Laverton and the massive beef industry, while ensuring communities and people on the corridor have better access to supplies."
The funding commitment represents 80pc of the total funding package, with state and territory governments providing the remaining 20pc.
Start the day with all the big news in agriculture! Sign up below to receive our daily Farmonline newsletter.