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.
New England Highway is an 883-kilometre (549 mi) long highway in Australia running from Yarraman, north of Toowoomba, Queensland at its northern end to Hexham at Newcastle, New South Wales at its southern end. It is part of Australia's National Highway system, and forms part of the inland route between Brisbane and Sydney.
Sturt Highway is an Australian national highway in New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. It is an important road link for the transport of passengers and freight between Sydney and Adelaide and the regions along the route.
Victoria has the highest density of roads of any state in Australia. Unlike Australia's other mainland states where vast areas are very sparsely inhabited, Victoria has population centres spread out over most of the state, with only the far north-west and the Victorian Alps without permanent settlement. Population centres are linked by high quality highways and freeways. The state capital, Melbourne, has the most extensive freeway network of any city in Australia.
Downer Group is an integrated services company active in Australia and New Zealand.
Carnarvon Highway is a state highway in Queensland and New South Wales, Australia, linking the township of Rolleston in Queensland's Central Highlands Region, via the town of St George, eventually to Moree in northern New South Wales. It is the main access road to the Carnarvon National Park, and serves as a strategic route to take B-doubles and other large vehicles to the Queensland ports north of Rockhampton.
Strathfield railway station is a heritage-listed railway station located on the Main Suburban line in the Sydney suburb of Strathfield in the Municipality of Strathfield local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The station is served by Sydney Trains T1 North Shore & Western Line, T9 Northern Line and T2 Inner West & Leppington Line suburban services as well as NSW TrainLink Intercity and regional services. The station is located on the Main Northern and Main Western railway lines, forming a major junction for regional and suburban rail services. The station and associated infrastructure was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
Transport in Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia, consists of several interlinking modes. Melbourne is a hub for intercity, intracity and regional travel. Road-based transport accounts for most trips across many parts of the city, facilitated by Australia's largest freeway network. Public transport, including the world's largest tram network, trains and buses, also forms a key part of the transport system. Other dominant modes include walking, cycling and commercial-passenger vehicle services such as taxis.
VicRoads is a government joint venture in the state of Victoria, Australia. In the state, it is responsible for driver licensing and vehicle registration. It is owned and operated through a joint venture between the Victorian government and a consortium made up of Aware Super, Australian Retirement Trust and Macquarie Asset Management.
Shared space is an urban design approach that minimises the segregation between modes of road user. This is done by removing features such as kerbs, road surface markings, traffic signs, and traffic lights. Hans Monderman and others have suggested that, by creating a greater sense of uncertainty and making it unclear who has priority, drivers will reduce their speed, in turn reducing the dominance of vehicles, reducing road casualty rates, and improving safety for other road users.
The Sydney Coordinated Adaptive Traffic System, abbreviated SCATS, is an intelligent transportation system that manages the dynamic timing of signal phases at traffic signals, meaning that it tries to find the best phasing for a traffic situation. SCATS is based on the automatic plan selection from a library in response to the data derived from loop detectors or other road traffic sensors.
Road transport is an element of the Australian transport network, and contributes to the Australian economy. Australia relies heavily on road transport due to Australia's large area and low population density in considerable parts of the country.
Activity centre is a term used in urban planning and design for a mixed-use urban area where there is a concentration of commercial and other land uses. For example, the central business districts of cities (CBD) are also known as “Central Activities Districts” (CAD) (also known as Downtown in North America or "Central Activities Zone" in the United Kingdom in recognition of the fact that commercial functions are not the only things that occur there. The term activity centre can also be used to designate an area for mixed-use development, whatever its current land use happens to be.
The Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) is a car safety performance assessment programme based in Australia and founded in 1993. ANCAP specialises in the crash testing of automobiles sold in Australia and the publishing of these results for the benefit of consumers. ANCAP provides consumers with transparent advice and information on the level of occupant and pedestrian protection provided by different vehicle models in the most common types of crashes, as well as their ability—through technology—to avoid a crash.
The Department of Main Roads (DMR) was an agency of the New South Wales Government, responsible for planning, constructing and maintaining major road infrastructure. The DMR directly managed highways and major roads and provided funding to local councils for regional and local roads. The agency was merged with other agencies to form the Roads & Traffic Authority in 1989.
The normal function of traffic lights requires more than sight control and coordination to ensure that traffic and pedestrians move as smoothly, and safely as possible. A variety of different control systems are used to accomplish this, ranging from simple clockwork mechanisms to sophisticated computerized control and coordination systems that self-adjust to minimize delay to people using the junction.
Cycling in Australia is a common form of transport, recreation and sport.
The Department of Transport (DOT) was the government agency responsible for the coordination, integration and regulation of the transport system in the State of Victoria, Australia. The department generated planning, policy, and legislation for transport in Victoria. As a result, the department drove the integration of Victoria's transport land and water transport systems and the delivery of public transport, road and port services and associated activities across the State. The department's stated mission was "Building a safer, fairer and greener transport system for all Victorians to create a more prosperous and connected community."
Public Transport Victoria (PTV) is the brand name for public transport in the Australian state of Victoria. It was the trading name of the Public Transport Development Authority (PTDA), a now-defunct statutory authority in Victoria, responsible for providing, coordinating, and promoting public transport.
The Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) is a government department in Victoria, Australia. Commencing operation on 1 January 2019 as the Department of Transport (DOT), the DOT was formed in machinery of government changes made by Premier Daniel Andrews after the re-election of his Labor government at the 2018 Victorian state election. The re-shuffle saw the "super-ministry" Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources abolished and its functions reassigned to the DOT and Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions.
