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.
Pacific Highway is a 790-kilometre-long (491 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 and the Coral Sea of the South Pacific Ocean coast, via regional cities and towns like Gosford, Newcastle, Taree, Port Macquarie, Kempsey, Coffs Harbour, Grafton, Ballina, Byron Bay, Tweed Heads and the Gold Coast, which is part of Queensland. Additionally, between Brunswick Heads and Port Macquarie, the road is also signed as Pacific Motorway, but has not been legally gazetted as such.
The A3 is a route designation of a major metropolitan arterial route through suburban Sydney, connecting the A8 at Mona Vale at its northern end, to Princes Highway at Blakehurst at its southern end. This name covers a few consecutive roads and is widely known to most drivers, but the entire allocation is also known – and signposted – by the names of its constituent parts: Mona Vale Road, Ryde Road, Lane Cove Road, Devlin Street, Church Street, Concord Road, Homebush Bay Drive, Centenary Drive, Roberts Road, Wiley Avenue and King Georges Road.
The A9 is a route designation of the outer western Sydney Bypass, connecting Windsor to Campbelltown via Penrith. This name covers a few consecutive roads and is widely known to most drivers, but the entire allocation is also known – and signposted – by the names of its constituent parts: Macquarie Street, George Street, The Northern Road, Richmond Road, Parker Street and Narellan Road.
Cumberland Highway is a 34-kilometre (21 mi) long urban highway located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The highway links Pacific Highway and Pacific Motorway (M1) at Pearces Corner, Wahroonga in the northeast with Hume Highway at Liverpool in the southwest. This name covers a few consecutive roads and is widely known to most drivers, but the entire allocation is also known – and signposted – by the names of its constituent parts: Pennant Hills Road, James Ruse Drive, Briens Road, Old Windsor Road, Hart Drive, Freame Street, Emert Street, Jersey Road, Betts Road, Warren Road, Smithfield Road, Palmerston Road, (New) Cambridge Street, Joseph Street and Orange Grove Road. The entire length of Cumberland Highway is designated part of route A28.
M1 Pacific Motorway is a 127-kilometre motorway linking Sydney to Newcastle via the Central Coast and Hunter regions of New South Wales. Formerly known but still commonly referred to by both the public and the government as the F3 Freeway, Sydney–Newcastle Freeway, and Sydney–Newcastle Expressway, it is part of the AusLink road corridor between Sydney and Brisbane.
The M5 Motorway is a 28.8-kilometre (17.9 mi) series of tolled motorways located in Sydney, New South Wales designated as route M5. It is part of the Sydney Orbital Network.
Southern Cross Drive is a 4.8 km (3 mi) dual carriage untolled motorway in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Part of the M1 and Sydney Orbital Network, the road, a freeway that opened in 1969, links South Dowling Street at Kensington in the north to General Holmes Drive at Sydney Airport in the south.
King Georges Road is a 9.0-kilometre-long (5.6 mi) major suburban arterial road through south-western Sydney, Australia. It is a constituent part of the A3 route.
James Ruse Drive is a 6.4-kilometre-long (4.0 mi) limited-access urban highway located to the east and north of Parramatta, in Western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Originally a series of disconnected urban streets, it was later upgraded to act as a bypass of central Parramatta.
Lane Cove Road is a 4.9-kilometre-long (3.0 mi) major suburban arterial road through North Ryde in Sydney, Australia. It is a constituent part of the A3 route.
Camden Valley Way is a 23-kilometre (14 mi) arterial road between the southwestern fringes of suburban Sydney and the historic town of Camden. It is a former alignment of Hume Highway.
Ryde Road is a 3.3-kilometre-long (2.1 mi) arterial road in Sydney, Australia. It is a constituent part of the A3 (Sydney) route.
In New South Wales, Highway 1 is a 1,351-kilometre (839 mi) long route that crosses the state, from the Queensland/New South Wales border near Tweed Heads to the Victorian border near Timbillica. It provides the main coastal route between Brisbane and Melbourne via Sydney. Highway 1 continues around the rest of Australia, joining all mainland state capitals, and connecting major centres in Tasmania.
Windsor Road is a notable road in the Hills District of Sydney, linking Windsor and North Parramatta in Sydney's west. It is a constituent part of route A2.
Old Windsor Road is a notable and historic road in Sydney, Australia. It starts from Kellyville, New South Wales and ends at Northmead, New South Wales, just north of Parramatta, and acts as part of a main arterial between Parramatta and Windsor. A section at its southeastern end is a constituent part of Cumberland Highway.
The A38 is a route designation of a major metropolitan arterial route through suburban Sydney, linking M2 Hills Motorway in North Ryde and Pittwater Road (A8) in Dee Why. This name covers a few consecutive roads and is widely known to most drivers, but the entire allocation is also known – and signposted – by the names of its constituent parts: Delhi Road, Millwood Avenue, Fullers Road, Pacific Highway, Boundary Street, Babbage Road and Warringah Road.
Heathcote Road is a 24-kilometre-long (15 mi) major arterial road in the south of Sydney, Australia. It plays a major role in the servicing of traffic travelling between the Illawarra and Western Sydney, and its eastern end is a constituent part of the A6 route.
