Old Hume Highway –Victoria | |
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A section of the Old Hume Highway, now known as the Yass Valley Way, across the Yass River, New South Wales | |
Coordinates | |
General information | |
Type | Road |
Opened | November 1842 |
Major junctions | |
NE end |
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SW end |
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Location(s) | |
Major suburbs | Camden, Campbelltown, Mittagong, Berrima, Goulburn, Yass, Gundagai, Albury, Wodonga, Wangaratta, Benalla, Euroa, Broadford, Craigieburn, Campbellfield |
Highway system | |
The Old Hume Highway, an urban and rural road, may be described as any part of an earlier route of the Hume Highway, which traverses Victoria and New South Wales between the cities of Sydney and Melbourne in Australia. In some places, the highway has been deviated several times since the first rough track was made between Sydney and Melbourne in November 1842. [1]
Since the time of the first track, the route of what is now the Hume Highway has been the main road link between the Australia's two largest cities – Sydney and Melbourne. Since February 1960 a freeway standard of road has been developed along this route. Where the alignment of the original road is reasonably flat and straight it has been duplicated and retained for traffic in one direction. In some locations the original road has been replaced by a dual carriageway road right beside the original road. In other locations the new road deviates from the original by many kilometres.
In both Victoria and New South Wales since 2013, 100% of the Hume Highway has been upgraded to at least dual carriageway standard and is called the Hume Freeway. [2] In both metropolitan Sydney and Melbourne, the road reverts to the Hume Highway and takes on the conditions of an urban highway. [3] [4] [5]
Many of the superseded sections of the Hume Highway are of historical interest as they provide insights into the small historical towns which have since been bypassed. In the past when the highway passed through these towns, many were thriving centres. Many of the superseded sections of the highway still form the main access roads into and through these towns. One section of the Old Hume Highway, called the Yass Valley Way, travels through Yass in southern New South Wales.
The section of the Hume Highway between the Cross Roads, at Prestons on Sydney's southwestern fringe, and the Medway Rivulet near Berrima, was completely superseded in the period 1973–1992 by a new route built as a freeway.
Most of the highway route between Breadalbane, west of Goulburn, and Derringullen Creek, west of Yass, was replaced during 1994. This included a bypassing of the Cullerin Range. The previous route of the highway over the Cullerin Range was itself a deviation built in 1920, using sections of railway formation abandoned several years earlier when the Main Southern railway line was deviated at the time it was duplicated. The deviations were an attempt to ease the gradients against heavily laden Sydney-bound steam trains.
The Breadalbane–Derringullen Creek deviation is in most places quite close to the previous highway, most of which remains for local use. This section also included the abandoning of the route over the Mundoonen Range which, when it was rebuilt in the 1960s, was designed to be duplicated.
Between Conroys Gap and Coolac, most of the earlier alignment was replaced in 1983 and 1996 by realignment associated with dual carriageway construction, although sections such as that south of Connors Creek were rebuilt in 1979 with the earthworks being done for a second carriageway, which was subsequently built in 1994.
The current route of the highway between Tumblong and Tarcutta is the third route of the highway in this location. The original route led west from Tumblong along the Murrumbidgee River, before turning south over difficult country, crossing what is now the Sturt Highway and rejoining the current route of the highway as Lower Tarcutta Road. This was replaced in December 1938 by the first Tumblong deviation, to the east of the current route. The main features of this section of the highway were a deep, narrow cutting and the reinforced concrete bowstring arch bridge over Hillas Creek. This has been preserved, and is visible on the western side of the highway close to the interchange with the Snowy Mountains Highway.
North of Albury, a major deviation of the highway was constructed in the 1930s due to the inundation of the original route caused by the raising of the wall of the Hume Dam on the Murray River. The deviation commences at Bowna and terminates at Guinea Street, Albury (the first part of the Riverina Highway east from Albury as far as what is now Old Sydney Road was until then the Hume Highway). On the southern side at Bowna Waters the old route terminates at dead end. On the northern side the old route is now a road that services local farms, including Willow Park, with the remainder of the old route now being part of private property and inaccessible to road traffic. Parts of the old route are visible when the waters of Lake Hume are low from the air and satellite imagery (Google Map)
This section needs additional citations for verification .(January 2017) |
The Hume Highway, including the sections now known as the Hume Freeway and the Hume Motorway, is one of Australia's major inter-city national highways, running for 840 kilometres (520 mi) between Melbourne in the southwest and Sydney in the northeast. Upgrading of the route from Sydney's outskirts to Melbourne's outskirts to dual carriageway was completed on 7 August 2013.
The National Highway is a system of roads connecting all mainland states and territories of Australia, and is the major network of highways and motorways connecting Australia's capital cities and major regional centres.
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.
Great Western Highway is a 202-kilometre-long (126 mi) state highway in New South Wales, Australia. From east to west, the highway links Sydney with Bathurst, on the state's Central Tablelands. The highway also has local road names between the Sydney city centre and Parramatta, being: Broadway from Haymarket to Chippendale, Parramatta Road from Chippendale to Parramatta, and Church Street through Parramatta.
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.
Barton Highway is a highway in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. It connects Canberra to Hume Highway at Yass, and it is part of the route from Melbourne to Canberra. It is named in honour of Sir Edmund Barton, the first Prime Minister of Australia.
The Midland Highway is one of Tasmania's major inter-city highways, running for 176 kilometres (109 mi) between Hobart and Launceston. It is part of the AusLink National Network and is a vital link for road freight to transport goods to and from the two cities. It represents a major north–south transportation corridor in Tasmania and has the route 1 designation as part of the National Highway. The highway consists of various traffic lane arrangements, the most common being two lanes – one in each direction, with overtaking options and at-grade intersections. At both the Launceston and Hobart sections of the highway there are small portions of grade-separated dual carriageway.
Olympic Highway is a 317-kilometre (197 mi) rural road in the central western and south-eastern Riverina regions of New South Wales, Australia. It services rural communities, links Hume Highway with Mid-Western Highway, and provides part of an alternate road link between Sydney and Albury via Bathurst and Cowra as well as servicing Wagga Wagga, linking with Sturt Highway.
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.
Tarcutta is a town in south-western New South Wales, Australia. The town is 438 kilometres (272 mi) south-west of Sydney, 3 kilometres (2 mi) east of the Hume Highway, It was proclaimed as a village on 28 October 1890. As of 2016, the town had a population of 446.
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.
Breadalbane is a small village located in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia in Upper Lachlan Shire. It is located on the Lachlan River headwaters and not far from Goulburn. At the 2021 census, Breadalbane had a population of 107.
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.
Bussell Highway is a generally north–south highway in the South West region of Western Australia. The highway links the city of Bunbury with the town of Augusta and is approximately 140 kilometres (87 mi) in length. The highway is signed State Route 10, except in Busselton where the construction of the Busselton Bypass in 2000 resulted in this stretch being changed to Alternate State Route 10 with the Bypass signed State Route 10.
The Main Southern Railway is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs from Sydney to Albury, near the Victorian border. The line passes through the Southern Highlands, Southern Tablelands, South West Slopes and Riverina regions.
The Sydney–Melbourne rail corridor consists of the 953-kilometre (592-mile) long 1435 mm standard-gauge main line between the Australian state capitals of Sydney and Melbourne (Victoria) and the lines immediately connected to it. Freight and passenger services operate along the route, including the NSW TrainLink XPT passenger service.
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.
Remembrance Drive is a rural road that links Camden and Alpine on the fringes of south-western Sydney, New South Wales. The road served as the former alignment of Hume Highway and now forms part of Old Hume Highway.