Northern Highway (Victoria)

Last updated

Northern Highway

Australia Victoria location map.svg
Red pog.svg
North end
Red pog.svg
South end
Coordinates
General information
TypeHighway
Length164.8 km (102 mi) [1]
Gazetted November 1914 (as Main Road) [2]
July 1925 (as State Highway) [3]
Route number(s) AUS Alphanumeric Route B75.svg B75 (1997–present)
Former
route number
  • Australian national route 75.svg National Route 75 (1955–1997)
    Entire route
  • Australian national highway 31.svg National Highway 31 (1974–1976)
  • Australian national route 31.svg National Route 31 (1954–1974)
    (Kilmore–Beveridge)
Major junctions
North endAUS Alphanumeric Route B75.svg Cobb Highway
VIC/NSW border
 
South endAUS Alphanumeric Route M31.svg Hume Freeway
Beveridge, Victoria
Location(s)
Region Loddon Mallee, Hume [4]
Major settlements Rochester, Elmore, Heathcote, Kilmore, Wallan
Highway system

Northern Highway is a rural highway in northern Victoria, linking Echuca on the banks of the Murray River with Beveridge a short distance north of the northern suburban fringes of Melbourne. [5] In conjunction with McIvor Highway, it provides an important link between Melbourne and Bendigo. It forms a significant freight route providing access to markets and ports in Melbourne and the rural primary production areas of the Murray Valley and southern New South Wales, and serves a number of agricultural and tourism-related industries along its length.

Contents

Route

Northern Highway commences at the state border with New South Wales as a continuation of Cobb Highway into Victoria and heads in a southerly direction as a two-lane, single carriageway rural highway through the western part of the regional town of Echuca, running concurrent with Murray Valley Highway for a short period, before continuing south through flat open country through Rochester, Elmore and Heathcote, then traverses moderately hilly terrain through Kilmore and Wallan, before eventually terminating at the interchange with Hume Freeway a short distance south of Wallan in Beveridge.

History

The passing of the Country Roads Act of 1912 [6] through the Parliament of Victoria provided for the establishment of the Country Roads Board (later VicRoads) and their ability to declare Main Roads, taking responsibility for the management, construction and care of the state's major roads from local municipalities. Kilmore-Heathcote(-Bendigo) Road was declared a Main Road, from Kilmore to Pyalong on 30 November 1914, [2] and from Pyalong and Heathcote (and continuing west to Bendigo) on 28 May 1915; [7] Heathcote-Elmore Road was declared a Main Road, between Tooleen and Elmore on 17 March 1915, [8] and between Heathcote and Tooleen on 28 May 1915; [9] and Bendigo-Echuca Road between north-eastern Bendigo and Elmore was declared a Main Road on 17 May 1915. [9]

The passing of the Highways and Vehicles Act of 1924 [10] provided for the declaration of State Highways, roads two-thirds financed by the State government through the Country Roads Board. Northern Highway was declared a State Highway on 1 July 1925, [3] cobbled from a collection of roads from Bendigo through Elmore and Rochester to Echuca (for a total of 55 miles), subsuming the original declaration of Bendigo-Echuca Road. In the 1947/48 financial year, its southern end was rerouted south of Elmore: instead of running to Bendigo, it was extended further south via Heathcote to meet Hume Highway at Kilmore, [11] subsuming the original declarations of Heathcote-Elmore Road and Kilmore-Heathcote-Bendigo Road as Main Roads; the previous alignment of Northern Highway from Elmore to Bendigo was subsumed into Midland Highway. Northern Highway was extended south one last time when the Kilmore bypass was opened in 1976, from Kilmore to Beveridge (just south of Wallan) along the former alignment of Hume Highway.

Northern Highway was later signed National Route 75 in 1955; with Victoria's conversion to the newer alphanumeric system in the late 1990s, this was updated to route B75.

The passing of the Road Management Act 2004 [12] granted the responsibility of overall management and development of Victoria's major arterial roads to VicRoads: in 2022, VicRoads re-declared this road as Northern Highway (Arterial #6540), beginning in Echuca and ending in Beveridge. [5]

Attractions

Major intersections and towns

StateLGALocation [1] [5] km [1] miDestinationsNotes
New South Wales Murray River Moama 0.00.0AUS Alphanumeric Route B75.svg Cobb Highway (B75)  Deniliquin, Hay, Wilcannia Southern terminus of Cobb Highway, route B75 continues north
River Murray Dhungala Bridge
State borderNew South Wales – Victoria state border
Victoria Campaspe Echuca AUS Alphanumeric Route B75.svg Northern Highway (B75)Northern terminus of Northern Highway
Campaspe River 1.10.68Yakoa Bridge
Campaspe Echuca 1.50.93AUS Alphanumeric Route C349.svg Warren Street (C349)  Echuca, Moama Roundabout
3.01.9AUS Alphanumeric Route B400.svg Murray Valley Highway (B400 north)  Kerang, Swan Hill, Mildura Concurrency with route B400
4.22.6AUS Alphanumeric Route B400.svg Murray Valley Highway (B400 east)  Cobram, Wodonga, Corryong
8.95.5AUS Alphanumeric Route C334.svg Echuca-Mitiamo Road (C334)  Mitiamo, Durham Ox
Ballendella22.614.0AUS Alphanumeric Route C341.svg Prairie-Rochester Road (C341)  Tennyson, Prairie
Waranga Western Channel 25.916.1Bridge (name unknown)
Campaspe Rochester 29.318.2AUS Alphanumeric Route C362.svg Webb Road (C362)  Kyabram,
to AUS Alphanumeric Route C347.svg Heathcote-Rochester Road (C347 south)  Corop, Heathcote
29.818.5 Echuca railway line
Greater Bendigo Elmore 46.729.0AUS Alphanumeric Route C337.svg Elmore–Raywood Road (C337)  Kamarooka, Raywood
47.129.3AUS Alphanumeric Route A300.svg Midland Highway (A300 west)  Bendigo, Ballarat, Geelong Concurrency with route A300
Campaspe Runnymede48.730.3AUS Alphanumeric Route A300.svg Midland Highway (A300 east)  Shepparton, Benalla, Mansfield
Creek View60.337.5AUS Alphanumeric Route C345.svg Bendigo-Murchison Road (C345)  Rushworth, Murchison, Violet Town
Greater Bendigo Ladys View85.553.1AUS Alphanumeric Route C347.svg Heathcote-Rochester Road (C347 north)  Corop, Elmore
McIvor Creek96.259.8Bridge (name unknown)
Greater Bendigo Heathcote 96.359.8AUS Alphanumeric Route B280.svg McIvor Highway (B280)  Axedale, Bendigo
97.260.4AUS Alphanumeric Route C326.svg Heathcote-Redesdale Road (C326)  Redesdale, Kyneton
Argyle 101.763.2AUS Alphanumeric Route C344.svg Heathcote-Nagambie Road (C344)  Nagambie
Mitchell Tooborac 113.770.6AUS Alphanumeric Route C384.svg Seymour-Tooborac Road (C384)  Puckapunyal, Seymour
114.971.4AUS Alphanumeric Route C325.svg Lancefield–Tooborac Road (C325)  Lancefield, Sunbury
Kilmore 144.089.5AUS Alphanumeric Route C311.svg Broadford–Kilmore Road (C311)  Broadford
147.391.5AUS Alphanumeric Route C324.svg Kilmore-Lancefield Road (C324)  Lancefield, Woodend
150.793.6AUS Alphanumeric Route C729.svg Wandong Road (C729)  Wandong, Epping
Wallan 161.2100.2AUS Alphanumeric Route C727.svg Watson Street (C727 east, unallocated west)  Whittlesea,
to AUS Alphanumeric Route M31.svg Hume Freeway (M31 north)  Seymour, Wodonga, Sydney
Beveridge 164.8102.4AUS Alphanumeric Route M31.svg Hume Freeway (M31 south)  Craigieburn, Thomastown, Melbourne Southern terminus of highway and route B75
Southern exit and northern entrance only
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

Australia road sign W5-29.svg Australian Roadsportal

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Google (28 June 2024). "Northern Highway" (Map). Google Maps . Google. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
  2. 1 2 "Victorian Government Gazette". State Library of Victoria. 9 December 1914. p. 5527. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
  3. 1 2 "Country Roads Board Victoria. Twelfth Annual Report: for the year ended 30 June 1925". Country Roads Board of Victoria. Melbourne: Victorian Government Library Service. 31 December 1925. p. 3.
  4. "Victoria's Regions". Regional Development Victoria. Victoria State Government. 11 August 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 VicRoads. "VicRoads – Register of Public Roads 2024". Government of Victoria. p. 929. Archived from the original on 19 June 2024. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  6. An Act relating to Country Roads State of Victoria, 23 December 1912
  7. "Victorian Government Gazette". State Library of Victoria. 9 June 1915. p. 2028. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  8. "Victorian Government Gazette". State Library of Victoria. 24 March 1915. p. 1102. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  9. 1 2 "Victorian Government Gazette". State Library of Victoria. 2 June 1915. p. 1944. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  10. An Act to make further provision with respect to Highways and Country Roads Motor Cars and Traction Engines and for other purposes State of Victoria, 30 December 1924
  11. "Country Roads Board Victoria. Thirty-Fifth Annual Report: for the year ended 30 June 1948". Country Roads Board of Victoria. Melbourne: Victorian Government Library Service. 1 November 1948. p. 7.
  12. State Government of Victoria. "Road Management Act 2004" (PDF). Government of Victoria. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 October 2021. Retrieved 19 October 2021.