It runs from Darwin, in the Northern Territory, via Tennant Creek and Alice Springs, to Port Augusta in South Australia; it has a distance of 2,720 km (1,690 mi).

The highway is named after Scottish explorer John McDouall Stuart, who was the first European to cross Australia from south to north.

These sections of highway have been specially selected and prepared for the landing of aircraft which only takes place after the piece of road has been closed by the police.

Some of the rest stops are located at scenic points with information boards, but others are little more than a picnic table and a rubbish bin in an otherwise deserted area.

[5] There are no police patrolling the majority of this remote highway and until the end of 2006 there was no speed limit outside towns and other built-up areas on the Northern Territory part.

John McDouall Stuart led the first successful expedition to traverse the Australian mainland from south to north and return, through the centre of the continent, in 1861–1862.

[10][11] North of Alice Springs the road was in comparatively good condition, with sections allowing speeds of up to 50 miles per hour (80 km/h).

[12] With the onset of World War II, supply roads leading to the north of the country were considered vital by the federal government.

[13][14] A central north–south highway was planned to connect the railheads at Alice Springs and Birdum,[15] with surveying completed in August 1940.

The task of constructing the highway was split between the Main Roads Departments[16] of three states, to ensure completion before the next wet season.

[17][18] The Alice Springs–Birdum road was completed by December 1940,[19] – upgraded from an often impassable track to an all-weather sealed highway that could cope with heavy military traffic.

During the wet season, the road north of Birdum was impassable, which meant that a single railway line was the only connection through to Darwin.

[27][28] The South Australian section is signposted as 110 km/h (68 mph) outside built-up regions, between Port Augusta and the Northern Territory border.

In October 2013 the NT Government announced a trial period of reverting to an open speed limit on the 200 km (120 mi) stretch between Alice Springs and Barrow Creek, beginning 1 February 2014.