Statutory Authority overview | |
---|---|
Formed | 26 March 1913 |
Preceding Statutory Authority |
|
Dissolved | 30 June 1983 |
Superseding Statutory Authority | |
Jurisdiction | Victoria, Australia |
Headquarters | Kew, Victoria |
Employees | 4,597 (June 1982) |
Annual budget | $342 million (1981/82) |
Minister responsible |
|
Statutory Authority executives |
|
Key document |
|
The Country Roads Board was a government authority responsible for the construction and maintenance of main roads in the state of Victoria, Australia between 1913 and 1983.
The Country Roads Board (CRB) was formed to take over responsibility from the Board of Lands and Works for the care and management of the main roads of the state. Until then there was a lack of co-operation between the agencies with operational responsibility for roads, the Roads and Bridges Branch of the Public Works Department and local municipalities, in the construction and maintenance of main roads. Expenditure of state funds was without proper supervision or a thorough investigation into actual needs. The absence of a systematic policy, as well as a lack of funds, had resulted in Victorian roads being in a deplorable condition.[ citation needed ] At this time the use of the motor car accentuated the demands for better roads. [1]
As a result of these needs the Country Roads Act 1912 (No.2415) was proclaimed in 1913 establishing the Country Roads Board as a central road authority with responsibility for those roads within the State considered to be main roads.[ citation needed ]
The initial functions of the Board, set out in the 1912 Act, were:
After an initial investigation by the Board, construction guidelines were established and the letting of construction contracts, either directly by the Board or by municipal councils, proceeded by about 1915.
The responsibilities of the CRB expanded over time. Responsibility for major roads in Melbourne was shared with the Melbourne & Metropolitan Board of Works, until all road responsibilities were passed to the CRB on 1 July 1974. [2] [3]
At various times other types of roads were proclaimed under legislation and subsequently came within the responsibility of the Country Roads Board. The Development Roads Act 1918 provided for the declaration of 'Developmental Roads', roads which would serve to develop any area of land by providing access to a railway station for primary producers. The Highways and Vehicles Act 1924 provided for the declaration of certain arterial roads as State Highways. The Tourists' Roads Act 1936 provided for the declaration of roads of sufficient interest or roads leading to tourist resorts or attractions as Tourists' Roads. The Country Roads Act 1956 enabled the Board to construct by-pass roads which became popularly known as freeways. At the time of its cessation, the CRB was responsible for 23,763 kilometres of road. [4]
The first chairman of CRB was William Calder who remained in charge until his death in 1928.
Another prominent chairman was Donald Victor Darwin who took over in 1949, and steered the board through a massive post-war expansion program.
The CRB was abolished and succeeded by the Road Construction Authority on 1 July 1983 by operation of the Transport Act 1983. [5] This step occurred as part of a suite of major institutional changes in the Victorian transport portfolio affecting roads, trains and trams and related matters.
The Road Construction Authority was later merged with the Road Traffic Authority on 1 July 1989 to form the Roads Corporation. [6] The Roads Corporation is still in place today and trades as VicRoads. [7]
In November 1966, the CRB launched CRB News as its in house magazine. [8] [9]
Princes Highway is a major road in Australia, extending from Sydney via Melbourne to Adelaide through the states of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. It has a length of 1,941 kilometres (1,206 mi) or 1,898 kilometres (1,179 mi) via the former alignments of the highway, although these routes are slower and connections to the bypassed sections of the original route are poor in many cases.
Nepean Highway is a major highway in Victoria, running south from St Kilda Junction in inner-southern Melbourne to Portsea, tracing close to the eastern shore of Port Phillip for the majority of its length. It is the primary road route from central Melbourne through Melbourne's southern suburbs. This name covers a few consecutive roads and is not widely known to most drivers except for its central section, as the entire allocation is still best known by the names of its constituent parts: St Kilda Road, Brighton Road and Nepean Highway proper, and Point Nepean Road. This article will deal with the entire length of the corridor for sake of completion.
Bass Highway is an 87 kilometre highway in Victoria, Australia, running along the coasts of Western Port and Bass Strait, between Lang Lang and Leongatha via Wonthaggi. A good portion of the highway serves as a gateway from Melbourne to Phillip Island. It was named due to its proximity to Bass Strait.
South Gippsland Highway is a partially divided highway connecting the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne through the South Gippsland region of in Victoria, Australia to the town of Sale. The highway serves as a gateway from Melbourne to many attractions including Wilsons Promontory and Phillip Island as well as being an important road for farmers in Gippsland.
Hoddle Highway is an urban highway in Melbourne linking CityLink and the Eastern Freeway, itself a sub-section of Hoddle Main Road. Both of these names are not widely known to most drivers, as the entire allocation is still best known as by the names of its constituent parts: Hoddle Street, Punt Road and Barkly Street. This article will deal with the entire length of the corridor for sake of completion.
Calder Highway is a rural highway in Australia, linking Mildura and the Victoria/New South Wales border to Bendigo, in North Central Victoria. South of Bendigo, where the former highway has been upgraded to freeway-standard, Calder Freeway links to Melbourne, subsuming former alignments of Calder Highway; the Victorian Government completed the conversion to freeway standard from Melbourne to Bendigo on 20 April 2009.
Maroondah Highway is a major east–west thoroughfare in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, and a highway connecting the north-eastern fringes of Melbourne to Mansfield, at the lower alpine region of Victoria, Australia.
Western Highway is a major arterial route in western Victoria with a length of approximately 258 kilometres (160 mi) of single carriageway, then 161 kilometres (100 mi) of dual carriageway known as Western Freeway, linking the western suburbs of Melbourne to the border with South Australia at Serviceton. It is the Victorian part of the principal route linking the Australian cities of Melbourne and Adelaide, and is a part of the National Highway network, designated routes A8 and M8. The western end continues into South Australia as Dukes Highway, the next section of the Melbourne–Adelaide National Highway.
Goulburn Valley Highway is a highway located in Victoria, Australia, linking Tocumwal on the Murray River through North Central Victoria to Eildon. 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.
Murray Valley Highway is a 663-kilometre (412 mi) rural highway located in Victoria, Australia, between Euston, New South Wales and Corryong, Victoria. The popular tourist route mostly follows the southern bank of the Murray River and effectively acts as the northernmost highway in Victoria. For all but the western end's last three kilometres, the highway is allocated route B400.
Hyland Highway is a rural highway connecting the towns of Traralgon and Yarram in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. It was named after Sir Herbert Hyland, a popular politician for the Country Party in the Gippsland area.
The Great Alpine Road is a country tourist road in Victoria, Australia, running from Wangaratta in the north to Bairnsdale in the east, passing through the Victorian Alps. The road was given its current name because it was considered the mountain equivalent to Victoria's world-famous Great Ocean Road in the south-west of the state. The road usually remains open during winter; however, vehicles travelling between Harrietville and Omeo are required to carry diamond-pattern snow chains during the declared snow season.
Midland Highway is a major rural highway linking major towns in Victoria, beginning from Geelong and winding through country Victoria in a large arc through the cities of Ballarat, Bendigo and Shepparton, eventually reaching Mansfield at the foothills of the Victorian Alps.
Greensborough Highway is a highway in the north-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, and is an important route for north-east Melbourne. This name is not widely known to most drivers, as the entire allocation is still best known as by the names of its constituent parts: Lower Heidelberg Road, Rosanna Road, Lower Plenty Road, Greensborough Road and Greensborough Bypass. This article will deal with the entire length of the corridor for sake of completion.
Hopkins Highway is a short highway in south-western Victoria, Australia, serving to link Hamilton Highway at Mortlake with Princes Highway at the port city of Warrnambool. It is named after the Hopkins River, with which it runs in close proximity.
Burwood Highway is a major transportation link with Melbourne's eastern fringe at the foot of the Dandenong Ranges, linking the suburbs of Hawthorn and Belgrave. The highway is considered a major link for people who live in the Dandenong Ranges and acts as one of the major feeder roadway in the area along with Canterbury Road, Ferntree Gully Road, EastLink and Wellington Road.
Melba Highway is a semi-rural highway that connects the outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne to the town of Yea, in Victoria's Upper Goulburn region. It is named after Dame Nellie Melba, a famed Australian opera singer of the early 20th century, whose former country estate lies at the southern end of the highway in Coldstream.
Warrigal Road is a major inner urban road in southeastern Melbourne, Australia. On weekdays, it is heavily trafficked as it runs through many major suburbs along its route, traversing some of Melbourne's eastern and south-eastern suburbs. These suburbs include Chadstone, Oakleigh, and Cheltenham. The Chadstone Shopping Centre can be accessed directly from Warrigal Road at its eastern entrance.
Yarra Bank Highway is a short urban highway in central Melbourne, Australia. It runs parallel to the Yarra River and provides an important alternate route to CityLink's Domain and Burnley Tunnels, used by trucks carrying hazardous loads prohibited from the tunnels, and provides another route when the tunnels are closed for maintenance. Prior to the construction of CityLink, the highway provided the main link between the Monash Freeway and the West Gate Freeway. It is known along its route as Power Street, City Road, Alexandra Avenue and Olympic Boulevard.
Ballarat Road is a major urban arterial road in the western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.