A section of the Stuart Highway has been closed due to flooding between the Roper Highway and Three Ways, the NT Emergency Service has said, with various other low-lying sections flooded with water levels still rising on Friday afternoon.

The flooding has impacted areas 2.5 km north of the Daly Waters intersection and 20km north of Three Ways at Phillip Creek.

Emergency services said the highway is expected to be closed all weekend and not expected to open again until Monday, January 22.

“We are urging motorists to avoid the area and reconsider travel due to heavy rain and rising water over the road,” said incident controller Paul Faustmann.

“Never drive into flood waters. If it’s flooded, forget it.”

Sections of the Stuart Highway also flooded back in December 2022, which reportedly delayed some freight coming to Darwin, officials said at the time. In February 2023, the highway was closed for two weeks due to flooding affecting freight to Darwin, but upgrades were allegedly made since that time. Freight to Darwin also comes by rail, with no reports of the rail line being affected by flooding recently.

The NT’s road report, with the latest road conditions, can be found here.