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.
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.
Barrier Highway is a highway in South Australia and New South Wales, and is designated part of route A32. The name of the highway is derived from the Barrier Ranges, an area of moderately high ground in the far west of New South Wales, through which the highway traverses.
A routenumber, designation or abbreviation is an identifying numeric designation assigned by a highway authority to a particular stretch of roadway to distinguish it from other routes and, in many cases, also to indicate its classification, general geographical location and/or orientation. The numbers chosen may be used solely for internal administrative purposes; however, in most cases they are also displayed on roadside signage and indicated on maps.
Mallee Highway is a highway in south-eastern South Australia and north-western Victoria, running mostly across the Mallee plains. It forms part of the shortest route between Adelaide and Sydney.
Murray Valley Highway is a 663-kilometre (412 mi) state highway located in Victoria and New South Wales, Australia. 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.
Moorooduc Highway is a 16 km highway which runs from Frankston to Tuerong and, together with the Mornington Peninsula Freeway, was part of the main route from Melbourne to the Mornington Peninsula until the completion of Peninsula Link in 2013. 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: McMahons Road, Frankston–Flinders Road, and Moorooduc Road.
Main North Road is the major north–south arterial route through the suburbs north of the Adelaide City Centre in the city of Adelaide, South Australia, and linking to Gawler on Adelaide's outer north-eastern fringes.
Glenelg Highway is a rural highway in south-eastern Australia, linking Mount Gambier with Ballarat. Most of the highway is located within the Western part of the state of Victoria, though a short, 15 km stretch from the South Australia/Victoria state border near Ardno to Glenburnie is located in South Australia. Some maps identify the South Australian stretch as Casterton Road. Major towns along its route include Casterton, Coleraine and Hamilton.
Wimmera Highway is a 345 kilometre highway that connects the towns of Marong, Victoria and Naracoorte, South Australia, through the major junctions of Sunraysia Highway, Henty Highway and Western Highway.
The M80 Ring Road is a partially complete urban freeway ring road around Melbourne, Australia. This article will deal with the entire length of the corridor for sake of completion, as well to avoid confusion between declarations.
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.
