Wimmera Highway

Last updated

Wimmera Highway

South Australia
Rupanyup Main Street.JPG
Wimmera Highway passing through Rupanyup
Australia Victoria location map.svg
Red pog.svg
East end
Red pog.svg
West end
Coordinates
General information
TypeHighway
Length346.1 km (215 mi) [1]
Gazetted March 1915 (as Main Road) [2]
1959/60 (as State Highway) [3]
Route number(s)
  • AUS Alphanumeric Route B240.svg B240 (2003–present)
    (Marong–VIC/SA border)
  • AUS Alphanumeric Route C240.svg C240 (1998–present)
    (VIC/SA border–Naracoorte)
Former
route number
  • AUS Alphanumeric Route C240.svg C240 (1998–2003)
    (Marong–VIC/SA border)
  • Australian state route 130.svg State Route 130 (1986–1998)
    (St Arnaud–Naracoorte)
Major junctions
East endAUS Alphanumeric Route A790.svg Calder Alternative Highway
Marong, Victoria
 
West endLucindale Road
Naracoorte, South Australia
Location(s)
Region Limestone Coast, [4] Grampians, Loddon Mallee [5]
Major settlements Newbridge, St Arnaud, Rupanyup, Murtoa, Horsham, Natimuk, Edenhope, Apsley
Highway system

Wimmera Highway is a 345 kilometre rural highway that runs predominately through the Wimmera region of western Victoria, after which the highway is named. It links the towns of Marong, Victoria, just to the west of the major regional centre of Bendigo in Victoria, and Naracoorte, in the south-eastern corner of South Australia. [6]

Contents

Route

Wimmera Highway commences at the intersection with Calder Alternative Highway in Marong and heads in a westerly direction as a two-lane, single carriageway rural highway to Newbridge, where it crosses the Loddon River, and continues westwards until it meets Sunraysia Highway in St Arnaud. It continues west through Rupanyup until it reaches Henty Highway in Dooen, where it forms a concurrency with it and heads southwest into the regional city of Horsham, where it meets Western Highway. It continues in a south-westerly direction on its own alignment through Edenhope, before it crosses the interstate border into South Australia and eventually terminates at the intersection with Riddoch Highway in Naracoorte.

History

The passing of the Country Roads Act of 1912 [7] 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. Horsham-Natimuk(-Edenhope) Road from Horsham to the southern end of Karnak, Edenhope-Goroke Road from the southern end of Karnak to Edenhope (and continuing north to Goroke), and Hamilton-Edenhope-Aspley Road from Edenhope through Aspley to the South Australian border (and continuing east to Harrow), were declared Main Roads on 17 March 1915; [2] and Rupanyup–Murtoa Road between Rupanyup to Murtoa was declared a Main Road on 28 May 1915. [8]

The passing of the Developmental Roads Act of 1918 [9] through the Parliament of Victoria allowed the Country Road Board to declare Developmental Roads, serving to develop any area of land by providing access to a railway station for primary producers. Marnoo–St Arnaud Road between Marnoo and St Arnaud was declared a Developmental Road on 3 March 1924. [10]

The passing of the Highways and Vehicles Act of 1924 [11] provided for the declaration of State Highways, roads two-thirds financed by the State government through the Country Roads Board. Wimmera Highway was declared a State Highway in the 1959/60 financial year, [3] from St Arnaud via Rupanyup, Horsham and Edenhope to the South Australian border (for a total of 146 miles), subsuming the original declarations of Rupanyup–Murtoa Road, Horsham-Natimuk-Edenhope Road, Edenhope-Goroke Road (between Karnak and Edenhope) and Hamilton-Edenhope-Aspley Road (between Edenhope and the SA border) as Main Roads, and Marnoo–St Arnaud Road as a Developmental Road; before this declaration, these roads were also referred to as Horsham–Murtoa Road and Navarre Road. [3] The highway was extended a further 90km east (along the former Bendigo–St Arnaud Road [12] ) to Marong, just outside Bendigo, in the late 1990s.

A new bridge over Loddon River in Newbridge (on the then-Bendigo-St Arnaud Road) was opened in 1996, replacing an older, flood-prone structure that could no longer be maintained in a cost-effective manner, at a cost of $1.4 million. [12]

Wimmera Highway was signed as State Route 130 between Naracoorte and St Arnaud in 1986; with Victoria's conversion to the newer alphanumeric system in the late 1990s, this was replaced by route C240 between Naracoorte and Marong. Subsequent road upgrades allowed the Victorian section to be reallocated route B240 in 2003.[ citation needed ]

The passing of the Road Management Act 2004 [13] granted the responsibility of overall management and development of Victoria's major arterial roads to VicRoads: in 2004, VicRoads re-declared the road as Wimmera Highway (Arterial #6110), beginning at the South Australian border and ending at Calder Alternative Highway in Marong. [6]

Major intersections

StateLGA [14] Location [1] [6] [15] km [1] miDestinationsNotes
Victoria Greater Bendigo Marong 0.00.0AUS Alphanumeric Route A790.svg Calder Alternative Highway (A790)  Bendigo, Ravenswood Eastern terminus of highway and route B240
Loddon Newbridge 20.012.4AUS Alphanumeric Route C282.svg Bridgewater–Maldon Road (C282 north)  Bridgewater Concurrency with route C282
21.013.0AUS Alphanumeric Route C282.svg Bridgewater–Maldon Road (C282 south)  Maldon
Wimmera River 21.713.5Bridge name unknown
Loddon Llanelly26.016.2AUS Alphanumeric Route C274.svg Bridgewater–Dunolly Road (C274 north)  Bridgewater Concurrency with route C274
Tarnagulla 30.118.7AUS Alphanumeric Route C274.svg Bridgewater–Dunolly Road (C274 south)  Dunolly
31.819.8 Robinvale railway line
Moliagul 46.328.8AUS Alphanumeric Route C278.svg Dunolly–Moliagul Road (C278)  Dunolly
Logan 67.541.9AUS Alphanumeric Route C273.svg Logan–Wedderburn Road (C273)  Wedderburn
Avoca River 69.443.1Bridge name unknown
Northern Grampians St Arnaud 89.555.6AUS Alphanumeric Route B220.svg Sunraysia Highway (B220 south)  Donald, Ouyen Concurrency with route B220
90.356.1AUS Alphanumeric Route B220.svg Sunraysia Highway (B220 north)  Avoca, Ballarat
90.756.4 Mildura railway line
95.759.5AUS Alphanumeric Route C241.svg Ararat–St Arnaud Road (C241)  Ararat
Marnoo 129.380.3AUS Alphanumeric Route C238.svg Donald–Stawell Road  Donald, Stawell
Rupanyup 151.994.4AUS Alphanumeric Route B210.svg Stawell–Warracknabeal Road (B210 south)  Stawell Concurrency with route B210
153.395.3AUS Alphanumeric Route B210.svg Stawell–Warracknabeal Road (B210 north)  Warracknabeal
Yarriambiack Murtoa 167.3104.0 Western SG railway line
168.1104.5AUS Alphanumeric Route C237.svg Murtoa–Glenorchy Road (C237 south)  Glenorchy Concurrency with route C237
168.6104.8AUS Alphanumeric Route C237.svg Donald–Murtoa Road (C237 north)  Minyip
Horsham Jung 183.5114.0 Western SG railway line
Dooen 187.9116.8AUS Alphanumeric Route B200.svg Henty Highway (B200 north)  Warracknabeal, Hopetoun Northern terminus of concurrency with route B200
189.9118.0 Western SG railway line
Horsham 197.8122.9AUS Alphanumeric Route A8.svg Western Highway (A8 west)  Nhill, Bordertown Southern terminus of concurrency with route B200
Northern terminus of concurrency with routes A8/A200
198.4123.3AUS Alphanumeric Route A8.svgAUS Alphanumeric Route A200.svg Western Highway (A8/200 south)  Stawell, Ballarat,
to AUS Alphanumeric Route A200.svg Henty Highway (A200 south)  Branxholme, Portland
Southern terminus of concurrency with routes A8/A200
Vectis208.3129.4AUS Alphanumeric Route C214.svg Horsham–Noradjuha Road (C214)  Toolondo
Wimmera River 218.6135.8Bridge name unknown
Horsham Natimuk 220.4137.0AUS Alphanumeric Route C219.svg Natimuk–Hamilton Road (C219)  Toolondo, Balmoral
223.8139.1AUS Alphanumeric Route C213.svg Natimuk–Frances Road (C213)  Goroke
West Wimmera Miga Lake 253.3157.4AUS Alphanumeric Route C206.svg Nhill–Harrow Road (C206)  Nhill, Harrow
Edenhope 289.5179.9AUS Alphanumeric Route C208.svg Kaniva–Edenhope Road (C208 north)  Kaniva Concurrency with route C208
291.4181.1AUS Alphanumeric Route C208.svg Coleraine–Edenhope Road (C208 south)  Harrow, Casterton
297.2184.7AUS Alphanumeric Route C212.svg Edenhope–Penola Road (C212)  Langkoop
Aspley313.4194.7AUS Alphanumeric Route C211.svg Casterton–Naracoorte Road (C211)  Langkoop, Casterton
323.3200.9AUS Alphanumeric Route B240.svg Wimmera Highway (B240)Western terminus of route B240
State borderVictoria – South Australia state border
South Australia Naracoorte Lucindale Hynam AUS Alphanumeric Route C240.svg Wimmera Highway (C240)Eastern terminus of route C240
334.8208.0Frances Road  Frances
Naracoorte 346.1215.1AUS Alphanumeric Route A66.svg Riddoch Highway (A66 north, south)  Mount Gambier, Keith
Lucindale Road (west)  Lucindale, Robe Western terminus of highway and route C240 at roundabout
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Wimmera Highway" (Map). Google Maps . Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Victorian Government Gazette". State Library of Victoria. 24 March 1915. pp. 1099–1100, 1102. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 "Country Roads Board Victoria. Forty-Seventh Annual Report: for the year ended 30 June 1960". Country Roads Board of Victoria. Melbourne: Victorian Government Library Service. 21 November 1960. pp. 7–8.
  4. "Location SA Map viewer with regional layers". Government of South Australia . Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  5. "Victoria's Regions". Regional Development Victoria. Victoria State Government. 11 August 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  6. 1 2 3 VicRoads. "VicRoads – Register of Public Roads 2024" (PDF). Government of Victoria. p. 902. Archived from the original on 19 June 2024. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  7. An Act relating to Country Roads State of Victoria, 23 December 1912
  8. "Victorian Government Gazette". State Library of Victoria. 9 June 1915. p. 2028. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  9. An Act to make provision for Developmental Roads and to amend the Country Roads Acts State of Victoria, 4 April 1918
  10. "Victorian Government Gazette". State Library of Victoria. 2 April 1924. p. 1515. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
  11. 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
  12. 1 2 "VicRoads Annual Report 1995-96". VicRoads . Melbourne: Victorian Government Library Service. 18 October 1996. p. 16.
  13. 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.
  14. "Location SA Map viewer with LGA layers". Government of South Australia . Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  15. "Location SA Map viewer with suburb layers". Government of South Australia . Retrieved 16 June 2022.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Wimmera Highway at Wikimedia Commons