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The National Highway is a system of roads connecting all mainland states and territories of Australia, and is the major network of highways and motorways connecting Australia's capital cities and major regional centres.
Highways in Australia are generally high capacity roads managed by state and territory government agencies, though Australia's federal government contributes funding for important links between capital cities and major regional centres. Prior to European settlement, the earliest needs for trade and travel were met by narrow bush tracks, used by tribes of Indigenous Australians. The formal construction of roads began in 1788, after the founding of the colony of New South Wales, and a network of three major roads across the colony emerged by the 1820s. Similar road networks were established in the other colonies of Australia. Road construction programs in the early 19th century were generally underfunded, as they were dependent on government budgets, loans, and tolls; while there was a huge increase in road usage, due to the Australian gold rushes. Local government authorities, often known as Road Boards, were therefore established to be primarily responsible for funding and undertaking road construction and maintenance. The early 1900s saw both the increasingly widespread use of motorised transportation, and the creation of state road authorities in each state, between 1913 and 1926. These authorities managed each state's road network, with the main arterial roads controlled and maintained by the state, and other roads remaining the responsibility of local governments. The federal government became involved in road funding in the 1920s, distributing funding to the states. The depression of the 1930s slowed the funding and development of the major road network until the onset on World War II. Supply roads leading to the north of the country were considered vital, resulting in the construction of Barkly, Stuart, and Eyre Highways.
The Pacific Highway is a 780-kilometre-long (485 mi) national highway and major transport route along the central east coast of Australia, with the majority of it being part of Australia's Highway 1. The highway and its adjoining Pacific Motorway between Brisbane and Brunswick Heads and Pacific Motorway between Sydney and Newcastle links the state capitals of Sydney in New South Wales with Brisbane in Queensland, approximately paralleling the Tasman Sea of the South Pacific Ocean coast, via Gosford, Newcastle, Taree, Port Macquarie, Kempsey, Coffs Harbour, Grafton, and Ballina. Additionally, between Brunswick Heads and Port Macquarie, the road is also signed as the Pacific Motorway, but has not been legally gazetted as such.
The New England Highway is an 883-kilometre (549 mi) long highway in Australia running from Hexham at Newcastle, New South Wales at its southern end to Yarraman, north of Toowoomba, Queensland at its northern end. It is part of Australia's National Highway system, and forms part of the inland route between Brisbane and Sydney.
The Sturt Highway is an Australian national highway in New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. The Sturt Highway is an important road link for the transport of passengers and freight between Sydney and Adelaide and the regions situated adjacent to the route.
The Barton Highway is a short highway in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
The Midland Highway is one of Tasmania's major inter-city highways, running for 176 kilometres (109 mi) between Hobart and Launceston. It is part of the AusLink National Network and is a vital link for road freight to transport goods to and from the two cities. It represents a major north–south transportation corridor in Tasmania and has the route 1 designation as part of the National Highway. The highway consists of various traffic lane arrangements, the most common being two lanes – one in each direction, with overtaking options and at-grade intersections. At both the Launceston and Hobart sections of the highway there are small portions of grade-separated dual carriageway.
Rail transport in Australia is a component of the Australian transport system. It is to a large extent state-based, as each state largely has its own operations, with the interstate network being developed ever since federation. As of 2019, the Australian rail network consists of a total of 32,894 kilometres (20,439 mi) of track built to three major track gauges: 17,972 kilometres (11,167 mi) of standard gauge ), 2,683 kilometres (1,667 mi) of broad gauge, and 11,930 kilometres (7,410 mi) of narrow gauge lines. Additionally, about 1,400 kilometres (870 mi) of 610 mm / 2 ft gauge lines support the sugar-cane industry.
The Princes Freeway is a 159-kilometre (99 mi) Australian freeway, divided into two sections both located in Victoria, Australia. The freeway links Melbourne to Geelong in the west, and to Morwell in the east. It continues beyond these extremities as the Princes Highway towards Adelaide to the west and Sydney to the northeast. The freeway bears the designation M1.
V/Line is a government-owned corporation that operates regional passenger train and coach services in Victoria, Australia. It provides passenger train services on five commuter lines and eight long-distance routes from its major hub at Southern Cross railway station in Melbourne, as well as bus services across Victoria and into New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory and South Australia. In addition, V/Line is responsible for the maintenance of much of the Victorian freight and passenger rail network outside of the areas managed by Metro Trains Melbourne and the Australian Rail Track Corporation.
The Western Highway is the Victorian part of the principal route linking the Australian cities of Melbourne and Adelaide, with a length of approximately 258 kilometres (160 mi) of single carriageway, then 161 kilometres (100 mi) of dual carriageway known as the Western Freeway. It is a part of the National Highway network and designated routes A8 and M8. The western end continues into South Australia as the Dukes Highway, the next section of the Melbourne–Adelaide National Highway. The Western Freeway joins Melbourne's freeway network via the Western Ring Road, in the western suburbs of Melbourne.
The Flinders Highway is a highway that crosses Queensland east to west, from Townsville on the Pacific coast to Cloncurry. The road continues as the Barkly Highway from Cloncurry to the Northern Territory border at Camooweal and beyond. The Flinders Highway passes a number of small outback towns and typical outback landscape predominates towards the inland. It was known as National Route 78 before Queensland began to convert to the alphanumeric system being adopted in Australia and is now designated as A6. The highway is also known as Overlanders Way. Its entire length is part of the National Land Transport Network.
The Roads & Traffic Authority (RTA) was an agency of the New South Wales Government responsible for major road infrastructure, licensing of drivers, and registration of motor vehicles. The RTA directly managed state roads and provided funding to local councils for regional and local roads. In addition, with assistance from the federal government, the RTA also managed the NSW national highway system. The agency was abolished in 2011 and replaced by New South Wales Roads and Maritime Services.
Goulburn Valley Highway is a highway located in Victoria, Australia. The section north of the Hume Freeway is part of the Melbourne to Brisbane National Highway and is the main link between these two cities as well as a major link between Victoria and inland New South Wales. It is also the most direct route between Melbourne and the major regional centre of Shepparton in Victoria.
The Pacific Motorway is a motorway in Australia between Brisbane, Queensland, and Brunswick Heads, New South Wales, through the New South Wales–Queensland border at Tweed Heads.
The Pacific Motorway, signposted M1, is a 127 km (79 mi) stretch of motorway linking Sydney to the Central Coast, Newcastle and Hunter regions of New South Wales. It is also known by its former names F3 Freeway, Sydney–Newcastle Freeway, and Sydney–Newcastle Expressway. It is part of the AusLink road corridor between Sydney and Brisbane. The name "F3 Freeway" reflects its former route allocation, but is commonly used by both the public and the government to refer to the roadway long after the route allocation itself was no longer in use.
The Blue Mountains Line (BMT) is an inter urban commuter rail service operated by NSW TrainLink serving the Blue Mountains region of New South Wales, Australia. The line travels west from Sydney to the major town of Katoomba and on to Mount Victoria, Lithgow and Bathurst. Mount Victoria is the terminus for most electric services, but some services terminate at Lithgow instead. Two express services per day in each direction, known as the Bathurst Bullet, extend to the regional city of Bathurst, which is supplemented by road coaches connecting Bathurst to Lithgow. Due to electrification limits at Lithgow, the Bathurst Bullet is run using the Endeavour railcars, which operate on diesel. The Blue Mountains Line operates over a mostly duplicated section of the Main Western line. As such, the tracks are also traversed by the Central West XPT, Outback Xplorer and Indian Pacific passenger services and by freight trains.
Transport in Sydney is provided by an extensive network of public transport operating modes including suburban rail, light rail, buses, metro and ferries, as well as an expansive network of roadways, cycleways and airports. According to the 2006 census, in terms of travel to work or study Sydney has the highest rate of public transport usage among the Australian capital cities of 26.3% with more than 80% of weekday trips to/from Central Sydney being made by public transport. According to the New South Wales State Plan, the state has Australia's largest public transport system. The public transport network is regulated by Transport for NSW.
Rail transport in Tasmania consists of a network of narrow gauge track of 1,067 mm reaching virtually all cities and major towns in the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Today, rail services are focused primarily on bulk freight, with no commercial passenger services being operated. The mainline railways of Tasmania are currently operated by TasRail, a Government of Tasmania-owned Corporation, who owns and maintains both rolling stock, locomotives, and track infrastructure.
The Hunter Expressway is a 39.5-kilometre (24.5 mi) long dual carriageway freeway in New South Wales, Australia. It was previously known as the F3 to Branxton link or Kurri Kurri Corridor during the planning stage. It has two lanes in each direction, running generally north west from the Pacific Motorway at the Newcastle Link Road interchange to the eastern end of the Belford Bends Deviation on the New England Highway north of Branxton. The road allows traffic to bypass the Maitland area, Lochinvar, Greta and Branxton. The expressway opened on 22 March 2014.
References
- 1 2 "NATION BUILDING PROGRAM (NATIONAL LAND TRANSPORT) ACT 2009". Austlii.edu.au. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
- ↑ "ComLaw Acts - AusLink (National Land Transport) Act 2005 (93)". Comlaw.gov.au. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
- ↑ "INFRASTRUCTURE AUSTRALIA ACT 2008 (NO. 17, 2008)". Austlii.edu.au. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
- ↑ "NATION BUILDING AND JOBS PLAN (STATE INFRASTRUCTURE DELIVERY) ACT 2009". Austlii.edu.au. Archived from the original on 3 July 2010. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
- ↑ "NATION-BUILDING FUNDS ACT 2008". Austlii.edu.au. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
- ↑ "Project Search Page". Nationbuildingprogram.gov.au. Archived from the original on 13 October 2010. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
- ↑ "National Projects". Nationbuildingprogram.gov.au. 6 March 2013. Archived from the original on 9 January 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
- ↑ "Hume Highway - Holbrook Bypass". Nationbuildingprogram.gov.au. 16 May 2013. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
- ↑ "Pacific Highway upgrade". Pacific Highway upgrade. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
- ↑ dead link but available at wayback machine
- ↑ "The Kempsey bypass moving ahead". Coffscoastadvocate.com.au. 7 July 2010. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
- ↑ Pacific Highway – Sapphire to Woolgoolga duplication gets underway Archived 25 August 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ "AusLink Projects". Auslink.gov.au. Archived from the original on 20 July 2008. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
- ↑ Ballina bypass Archived 17 January 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Initial works Archived 7 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Ballina bypass cost blows out to $640m Archived 20 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ "Abigroup News | Abigroup Limited - Constructing Australia's Future". Abigroup.com.au. 22 December 2009. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
- ↑ $310 million Banora Point upgrade moves ahead Archived 22 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Banora Point upgrade
- ↑ "Pacific Highway - Banora Point Upgrade". Nationbuildingprogram.gov.au. Archived from the original on 24 February 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
- ↑ $1.65 BILLION HUNTER EXPRESSWAY TO CREATE JOBS AND EASE TRAFFIC CONGESTION Archived 19 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ "The Hunter Expressway". Rta.nsw.gov.au. Archived from the original on 4 April 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
- ↑ "Road projects : VicRoads". Vicroads.vic.gov.au. 31 December 2009. Archived from the original on 13 July 2009. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
- ↑ "Empire Theatre". Toowoombarc.qld.gov.au. Archived from the original on 19 February 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
- ↑ "Abbott commits to Toowoomba bypass". News.smh.com.au. 16 July 2010. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
- ↑ "Great Western Highway". Rta.nsw.gov.au. Archived from the original on 22 April 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
- ↑ "Projects". Archived from the original on 22 June 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
- ↑ Addressing Barton Highway safety – Local – General – Yass Tribune Archived 18 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Money, money, money! Funds flow for Barton Highway - Local - General - Yass Tribune [ dead link ]
- ↑ Barton planning progress – Local – General – Yass Tribune [ dead link ]
- ↑ "RTA Barton Highway". Rta.nsw.gov.au. Archived from the original on 6 April 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
- ↑ "Barton funds but no bypass". 24 October 2012. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
- ↑ "Nation Building Program". Auslink.gov.au. 15 May 2013. Archived from the original on 13 October 2008. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
- ↑ "Federal Government announces Auslink transport plan". PM . Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 7 June 2004. Archived from the original on 15 January 2016.
- ↑ Pallas, Tim (22 May 2007). "CONFIRMED: ELECTION + AUSLINK = THE GREAT PORK BARREL" (Press release). Victorian Government. Archived from the original on 4 April 2011.
- ↑ Keane, Bernard (24 April 2009). "Budget countdown: Auslink infrastructure planning fail". Crikey . Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.