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At its Sydney end, the Hume Highway begins at [[Parramatta Road]], in [[Summer Hill, New South Wales|Summer Hill]]. This route is numbered as [[Image:Australian State Route 31.svg|20px]]. The first 35 km of the highway was known as ''Liverpool Road'' until August 1928, when it was renamed as part of the Hume or Great Southern Highway, as part of the creation of the NSW highway system.
At its Sydney end, the Hume Highway begins at [[Parramatta Road]], in [[Summer Hill, New South Wales|Summer Hill]]. This route is numbered as [[Image:Australian State Route 31.svg|20px]]. The first 35 km of the highway was known as ''Liverpool Road'' until August 1928, when it was renamed as part of the Hume or Great Southern Highway, as part of the creation of the NSW highway system. Sections of the highway through Sydney's suburbs continue to be also known by its former names of Liverpool Road, Sydney Road and Copeland Street (through Liverpool).

The main Hume Highway effectively commences at the junction of the [[M5 South Western Motorway]] and the [[Westlink M7]] at [[Casula, New South Wales|Casula]]. Heading northbound, the M5 provides access to [[Sydney Airport]] and the CBD; while the M7 provides access to [[Newcastle, New South Wales|Newcastle]] and [[Brisbane]] bypassing the Sydney CBD. Both of these routes are tolled.


Of the 880 km length of the Hume Highway, the majority of the corridor is dual carriageway or freeway standard in NSW, with mostly two lanes in either direction. The remaining upgrades required are:
Of the 880 km length of the Hume Highway, the majority of the corridor is dual carriageway or freeway standard in NSW, with mostly two lanes in either direction. The remaining upgrades required are:


Coolac bypass ($179m) - Construction underway since May 2007, to be completed in December 2009.
* Coolac bypass ($179m) - Construction underway since May 2007, to be completed in December 2009.
* Duplication of the Sheahan bridge in Gundagai ($78m) - Under construction, to be completed December 2009.

* Duplicating 67 km of the "single carriageway sections" between the Olympic Highway Junction at Table Top and the Sturt Highway Junction, 6km north of Tarcutta ($800m) - Due to be opened by December 2009.
Duplication of the Sheahan bridge in Gundagai ($78m) - Under construction, to be completed December 2009.
* Bypasses of Tarcutta, Holbrook and Woomargama, totalling 20 kilometres ($700m) - Proposed routes are yet to be determined and on-going planning.

Duplicating 67 km of the "single carriageway sections" between the Olympic Highway Junction at Table Top and the Sturt Highway Junction, 6km north of Tarcutta ($800m) - Due to
be opened by December 2009.

Bypasses of Tarcutta, Holbrook and Woomargama, totalling 20 kilometres ($700m) -
Proposed routes are yet to be determined and on-going planning.


The highway in [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] is called a freeway, but much of the route is of similar design to the non-freeway sections in New South Wales, having dual carriageways with 2 lanes in each direction with no traffic lights but with at-grade intersections.
The highway in [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] is called a freeway, but much of the route is of similar design to the non-freeway sections in New South Wales, having dual carriageways with 2 lanes in each direction with no traffic lights but with at-grade intersections.
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Construction of a pedestrian bridge between [[Claymore, New South Wales|Claymore]] and [[Woodbine, New South Wales|Woodbine]] is also underway. Those suburbs have been developed since the freeway was built, and there have been issues with pedestrians crossing the freeway.<ref>[http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/constructionmaintenance/downloads/sydney/cuf5pedestrianbridge.pdf Community Update February 2009 - RTA]</ref> During roadworks for the widening of the road, a reduced speed limit of 80&nbsp;km/h is applied to the designated roadwork areas, in conjunction with reduced lane widths.<ref>[http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/trafficreports/sydney/sydney_sw_south.html Sydney South-West / South]</ref>
Construction of a pedestrian bridge between [[Claymore, New South Wales|Claymore]] and [[Woodbine, New South Wales|Woodbine]] is also underway. Those suburbs have been developed since the freeway was built, and there have been issues with pedestrians crossing the freeway.<ref>[http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/constructionmaintenance/downloads/sydney/cuf5pedestrianbridge.pdf Community Update February 2009 - RTA]</ref> During roadworks for the widening of the road, a reduced speed limit of 80&nbsp;km/h is applied to the designated roadwork areas, in conjunction with reduced lane widths.<ref>[http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/trafficreports/sydney/sydney_sw_south.html Sydney South-West / South]</ref>

[[Image:Hume Hwy (NSW) Distances Updated.gif|thumb|right|Distances to destinations along the highway from Sydney.]]

[[Image:Hume Fwy (VIC) Distances.gif|thumb|right|Approximate road distances (in kilometres) along the Hume Freeway southwards from the Victorian border]]


===Albury bypass===
===Albury bypass===

A bypass of Albury was opened in January [[2007]], having been first proposed in 1964 and following a history of announcements and changes of plans through the 1990s, when Albury residents failed to agree on whether an 'internal' or 'external' bypass route was more appropriate. The 'internal bypass' argument won the day and approval granted in 2004, and construction began in January 2005. The route is parallel to and on the eastern side of the Sydney-Melbourne railway, beginning at the previous highway overpass of the railway 10 kilometres north of Albury. After crossing the Murray River, the bypass route crosses the railway to rejoin the previous highway at the southern end of the Lincoln Causeway. The Albury bypass includes a freeway standard connection to the Murray Valley Highway at Bandiana, east of Wodonga.
A bypass of Albury was opened in January [[2007]], having been first proposed in 1964 and following a history of announcements and changes of plans through the 1990s, when Albury residents failed to agree on whether an 'internal' or 'external' bypass route was more appropriate. The 'internal bypass' argument won the day and approval granted in 2004, and construction began in January 2005. The route is parallel to and on the eastern side of the Sydney-Melbourne railway, beginning at the previous highway overpass of the railway 10 kilometres north of Albury. After crossing the Murray River, the bypass route crosses the railway to rejoin the previous highway at the southern end of the Lincoln Causeway. The Albury bypass includes a freeway standard connection to the Murray Valley Highway at Bandiana, east of Wodonga.


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===Views===
===Views===
Heading north from Melbourne, the road passes through the hills of the lower [[Great Dividing Range]], some of which is covered with box eucalypt forest but of which much is cleared for farmland, before levelling out through flat, mostly cleared farming country through to Wodonga and the Victoria-New South Wales border. Victoria's landscape differs to that of the typical 'true Australian [[Outback]]', a dry summer can leave the ground parched and give travellers from greener foreign lands some idea of the actual outback that lies to the north and west. All of the rural section of the highway in Victoria (280&nbsp;km) is dual carriageway, and all towns have been bypassed. There are many opportunities along the route to exit the freeway and sample the local produce in the towns and cities along the way, or head east, up into the Australian Alps. [[Mount Buffalo National Park|Mount Buffalo]] can be seen in the distance to the east as the highway comes down off the Warby Range near Glenrowan, and a museum commemorating [[Ned Kelly]] is located nearby.
Heading north from Melbourne, the road passes through the hills of the lower [[Great Dividing Range]], some of which is covered with box eucalypt forest but of which much is cleared for farmland, before levelling out through flat, mostly cleared farming country through to Wodonga and the Victoria-New South Wales border. Victoria's landscape differs to that of the typical 'true Australian [[Outback]]', a dry summer can leave the ground parched and give travellers from greener foreign lands some idea of the actual outback that lies to the north and west. All of the rural section of the highway in Victoria (280&nbsp;km) is dual carriageway, and all towns have been bypassed. There are many opportunities along the route to exit the freeway and sample the local produce in the towns and cities along the way, or head east, up into the Australian Alps. [[Mount Buffalo National Park|Mount Buffalo]] can be seen in the distance to the east as the highway comes down off the Warby Range near Glenrowan, and a museum commemorating [[Ned Kelly]] is located nearby.

[[Image:Hume Hwy (NSW) Distances Updated.gif|thumb|right|Distances to destinations along the highway from Sydney.]]

[[Image:Hume Fwy (VIC) Distances.gif|thumb|right|Approximate road distances (in kilometres) along the Hume Freeway southwards from the Victorian border]]


Travelling north, after crossing the [[Murray River]], the south bank of which is the Victoria-New South Wales border, the highway continues to passes through the Albury-Wodonga bypass a major regional centre in NSW, that has been bypassed since March [[2007]] in [[Albury, New South Wales|Albury]]. 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 Guinea St (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), and terminates at Bowna. At either end of the original route is the strange sight of the road disappearing into the waters of Lake Hume.
Travelling north, after crossing the [[Murray River]], the south bank of which is the Victoria-New South Wales border, the highway continues to passes through the Albury-Wodonga bypass a major regional centre in NSW, that has been bypassed since March [[2007]] in [[Albury, New South Wales|Albury]]. 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 Guinea St (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), and terminates at Bowna. At either end of the original route is the strange sight of the road disappearing into the waters of Lake Hume.
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===Speed limits===
===Speed limits===
Like most roads in Australia, the Hume Highway is speed-limited, although it was as recent as 1977 that speed limits were introduced on the section between the [[Federal Highway]] interchange and Albury.
Like most roads in Australia, the Hume Highway is speed-limited, although it was as recent as 1977 that speed limits were introduced on the section between the [[Federal Highway]] interchange and Albury. The majority of the highway from Sydney to Melbourne is 100 or 110km/h, with the speed reduced to 50km/h through the remaining unbypassed towns.

Speed limits on the Hume Highway are as follows:

'''New South Wales'''
''Arterial standard (with traffic signals)''
* Parramatta Road Summer Hill-Centenary Drive South Strathfield: 60&nbsp;km/h
* Centenary Drive - Brunker Road Greenacre: 70&nbsp;km/h
* Brunker Road - Hector Street Bass Hill: 60&nbsp;km/h
* Hector St - Woodville Road: 70&nbsp;km/h
* Woodville Road - M5 tollway Casula: 70&nbsp;km/h
* M5 - Camden Valley Way Prestons: 70&nbsp;km/h
* Camden Valley Way - freeway on-ramp at Glenfield: 80&nbsp;km/h
''Freeway or Highway standard (no traffic signals)''
* Glenfield - Coolac dual carriageways: 110&nbsp;km/h
* Coolac: Variable speed limit due to roadworks (''Coolac bypass opens in December [[2009]] and will be 110&nbsp;km/h [http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/constructionmaintenance/majorconstructionprojectsregional/southwest/coolac/index.html] [http://www.abigroup.com.au/art-template-project.asp?CID=76&AID=599]'')
* Coolac - Sheahan Bridge dual carriageway: 110&nbsp;km/h
* Sheahan Bridge and approaches: 100&nbsp;km/h (''when the Sheahan Bridge duplication opens in December [[2009]], the speed limit will be 110&nbsp;km/h [http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/constructionmaintenance/majorconstructionprojectsregional/southwest/sheahanbridgeduplication.html]'')
* Sheahan Bridge - Sturt Hwy interchange dual carriageways: 110&nbsp;km/h
* Sturt Hwy interchange - Olympic Highway interchange:
** Dual carriageway sections: 110&nbsp;km/h [http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/constructionmaintenance/majorconstructionprojectsregional/southwest/hume_duplication/index.html]
** Rural single carriageway (2-3 lanes) sections: Variable speed limit due to roadworks (''an extra 67 kilometres of these, will be turned into dual carriageway by December [[2009]] and will be 110&nbsp;km/h [http://esvc000479.bne102u.server-web.com/] [http://www.design91.com.au/Pages/NHAhome.html]'')
** The towns of Tarcutta, Holbrook, Woomargama and Mullengandra 50&nbsp;km/h (Tarcutta, Holbrook and Woomargama bypass construction to commence in [[2010]] and will not be bypassed until construction finishes in [[2012]], then it will be 110&nbsp;km/h) [http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/constructionmaintenance/majorconstructionprojectsregional/southwest/hume_duplication/index.html].
** Olympic Highway interchange to New South Wales / Victoria border (Albury Bypass): 110&nbsp;km/h [http://esvc000696.wic024u.server-web.com/].

'''Victoria'''
''Freeway or Highway standard (no traffic signals)''
* New South Wales / Victoria border - Beveridge: 110&nbsp;km/h
* Beveridge - Western Ring Road: 100&nbsp;km/h
''Arterial standard (with traffic signals)''
* Hume Highway ''as [[Sydney Road, Melbourne|Sydney Road]]'' from Craigieburn - Melbourne:
** Craigieburn - Campbellfield: 80&nbsp;km/h
** Campbellfield - Melbourne: 60&nbsp;km/h

Speed limits above that refer to metropolitan areas refer to the old alignment of the Hume Highway.


===Fixed speed cameras locations===
===Fixed speed cameras locations===

Revision as of 06:05, 11 June 2009

Hume Freeway Hume Highway
Map
General information
TypeError: |type= not defined (help)
Length880 km (547 mi)
Opened1817
Route number(s)Campbelltown - NSW/Vic. Border:

NSW/Vic. Border - Campbellfield:

Formerly
  Narellan Road
Appin Road
Illawarra Highway
Federal Highway
Barton Highway
Lachlan Valley Way
Burley Griffin Way
Snowy Mountains Highway
Sturt Highway
Olympic Highway
Riverina Highway
Murray Valley Highway
Midland Highway
Goulburn Valley Freeway
Northern Highway
Sydney Road

for full list see Exits & Interchanges
Location(s)
viaGoulburn, Yass, Tarcutta, Albury, Wodonga, Wangaratta, Benalla, Seymour, Craigieburn

The Hume Highway / Hume Freeway is one of Australia's most important and notable interstate highways which runs for 880 km inland between Sydney and Melbourne. 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 as well as serving Albury, Wodonga and Canberra.

The main alternative route is the Princes Highway which goes via the coast rather than inland.

History

The coast of New South Wales from the Queensland border to the Victorian border is separated from the inland by an escarpment, forming the eastern edge of the Great Dividing Range. There are few easy routes up this escarpment. To climb from the coast to the tablelands the Hume Highway uses the Bargo Ramp, a geological feature which provides one of the few easy crossings of the escarpment.

In the first twenty years of European settlement at Sydney (established 1788), exploration southwest of Sydney was slow. This area was heavily wooded at the time, especially the "Bargo brush", which was regarded as almost impenetrable. In 1798 explorers (Wilson, Price, Hacking, and Collins) reached the Moss Vale and Marulan districts, but this was not followed up. Any settlement would have to await the construction of an adequate access track, which would have been beyond the colony's resources at the time, and would have served little purpose as a source of supplies for Sydney, due to the time taken to reach Sydney. In 1804, Charles Throsby penetrated through the Bargo brush to the country on the tablelands near Moss Vale and Sutton Forest. On another expedition in 1818, he reached Lake Bathurst and the "Goulburn Plains".[1] Many of the early explorers would most likely have used aboriginal guides, but they do not appear to have given them credit.

After Charles Throsby's 1818 journey towards present day Goulburn, followed by Hamilton Hume and William Hovell's overland journey from Appin (near Campbelltown) to Port Phillip and return in 1824, development of the Southern Tablelands for agriculture was rapid. The present route of the Hume Highway is much the same as that used by the pioneers.

The route taken by the Hume Highway to climb from the coast to the Southern Tablelands and thence across the Great Divide is situated between the parallel river gorge systems of the Wollondilly and Shoalhaven Rivers. This country consists generally of a gently sloping plateau which is deeply dissected by the Nepean River and its tributaries. The route of the Highway, by using four high level bridges to cross these gorges, avoids the Razorback Range, and has minimal earthworks. The climb from the western side of the Nepean River at Menangle up to Mittagong is fairly sustained, a fact that is hard to appreciate at high speed on the modern freeway. The highway climbs non-stop over a distance of 16 km from the Pheasant's Nest bridge over the Nepean River to Yerrinbool, before dropping slightly before the final climb to reach the tablelands at Aylmerton.

Early road construction

Towrang bridge of 1839

Governor Lachlan Macquarie ordered the construction of a road, which became known as the Great South Road (the basis of the northern end of the Hume Highway) in 1819 from Picton to the Goulburn Plains and he travelled to Goulburn in 1820, but it is unlikely that even a primitive road was finished at that time.

The Great South Road was rebuilt and completely re-routed between Yanderra and Goulburn by Surveyor-General Thomas Mitchell in 1833. The Main Roads Management Act of June 1858 declared the Great Southern Road, from near Sydney through Goulburn and Gundagai to Albury, as one of the three main roads in the colony. However, its southern reaches were described as only a 'scarcely formed bullock track' as late as 1858. The road was improved in the mid 1860s with some sections near Gundagai "metalled" and all creeks bridged between Adelong Creek (approximately 10 kilometres south of Gundagai) and Albury.[2]

Mitchell's route, except for the bypasses at Mittagong, Berrima and Marulan (dual carriageways were completed in 1986) is still largely followed by the current highway.[citation needed] Mitchell intended to straighten the route north of Yanderra, but was not granted funding, although his proposed route through Pheasants Nest has similarities to the freeway route opened in 1980.[3] Mitchell's work on the Great South Road is best preserved at Towrang Creek (10 kilometres north of Goulburn), where his stone arch culvert still stands, although it was superseded in 1965 by a concrete box culvert which in turn was superseded by the current route of the highway when it was duplicated in 1972.

In 1914 the NSW section of the highway was declared a main road. Until it was named the Hume Highway in 1928 it was known as the "Great South Road" in NSW and "Sydney Road" in Victoria. It was named after Hamilton Hume, who with William Hovell were the first Europeans to traverse an overland route between Sydney and Port Phillip, in what later became Victoria.

Route

Map of Hume Highway route from Sydney to Melbourne.
KEY

  Hume Highway/Freeway
  Other freeways/motorways
  Other major highways

At its Sydney end, the Hume Highway begins at Parramatta Road, in Summer Hill. This route is numbered as . The first 35 km of the highway was known as Liverpool Road until August 1928, when it was renamed as part of the Hume or Great Southern Highway, as part of the creation of the NSW highway system. Sections of the highway through Sydney's suburbs continue to be also known by its former names of Liverpool Road, Sydney Road and Copeland Street (through Liverpool).

The main Hume Highway effectively commences at the junction of the M5 South Western Motorway and the Westlink M7 at Casula. Heading northbound, the M5 provides access to Sydney Airport and the CBD; while the M7 provides access to Newcastle and Brisbane bypassing the Sydney CBD. Both of these routes are tolled.

Of the 880 km length of the Hume Highway, the majority of the corridor is dual carriageway or freeway standard in NSW, with mostly two lanes in either direction. The remaining upgrades required are:

  • Coolac bypass ($179m) - Construction underway since May 2007, to be completed in December 2009.
  • Duplication of the Sheahan bridge in Gundagai ($78m) - Under construction, to be completed December 2009.
  • Duplicating 67 km of the "single carriageway sections" between the Olympic Highway Junction at Table Top and the Sturt Highway Junction, 6km north of Tarcutta ($800m) - Due to be opened by December 2009.
  • Bypasses of Tarcutta, Holbrook and Woomargama, totalling 20 kilometres ($700m) - Proposed routes are yet to be determined and on-going planning.

The highway in Victoria is called a freeway, but much of the route is of similar design to the non-freeway sections in New South Wales, having dual carriageways with 2 lanes in each direction with no traffic lights but with at-grade intersections.

The principal towns which the Hume Highway passes through or bypasses are (from north to south) Campbelltown, Mittagong, Goulburn, Yass, Gundagai, Holbrook and Albury in New South Wales; and Wodonga, Wangaratta, Benalla, Euroa, Seymour and Craigieburn in Victoria.

At its Melbourne end the original alignment of the Melbourne-Sydney route began (up until the 1992 completion of Stage 1 of the Western Ring Road) at the intersection of Elizabeth St, Flemington Road and Royal Parade. The first section of the former route was Royal Parade, which becomes Sydney Road at Brunswick Road and then becomes the Hume Highway itself at Campbellfield. This route is numbered as , and is now officially called Sydney Road (Hume Highway).

However as the Hume Freeway approaches Melbourne at the suburb of Craigieburn, 27 km north of the city centre, since 2005, the Craigieburn Bypass diverts the Hume Freeway (and the M31 designation) to the east of the original highway, to terminate at the Western Ring Road/Metropolitan Ring Road .

This diversion allows traffic from the Melbourne freeway network in suburban Melbourne to travel on a freeway standard road for the entire distance of 330 kilometres to the Olympic Highway (10 kilometres north of Albury), and from the Sydney Orbital Motorway to just north of Tarcutta for about 368 kilometres (Coolac bypass and duplication of Sheahan Bridge is under construction, opening in December 2009).

Duplication

In NSW the Hume Highway is dual carriageway from the Sydney Orbital Motorway to the Sturt Highway junction (about halfway between Sydney and Melbourne), except for the 2 km long Sheahan Bridge across the Murrumbidgee River at Gundagai (duplication currently under construction). Duplication of the Hume Highway between the Sturt Highway interchange and the Olympic Highway is under construction. The Australian Government, which funds maintenance and construction of the Hume Highway, aims to duplicate the some sections of single carriageway by the end of 2009, except for three bypasses of Tarcutta, Holbrook, and Woomargama.

F5 widening

The freeway portion of the Hume Highway between the Sir Roden Cutler interchange[4] (where the freeway joins to the M5 Motorway and M7 Motorways) and the southern end of the Berrima bypass is officially designated the F5 freeway.

A section of the F5 freeway approximately 4 km long between the Roden Cutler interchange and the Brooks Road interchange was widened to four lanes in the southbound direction to accommodate the merging of traffic from the M5, M7 and Hume Highway. The northbound side of the highway was subsequently widened to four lanes, being completed in August 2008.[5]

The section between Brooks Road and Narellan Road has suffered from extreme congestion in peak times since 2001. By 2007, the situation had worsened such that it is usually congested from early morning to late evening every day.[6] In part, this was attributed to the massive Canberra sized housing subdivision in the Camden/Narellan area. Because this section is only two lanes in each direction, it was not uncommon for the traffic to do only 10 km/h even though the speed limit was 110 km/h. A video called "Gridlock on the F5" was produced[7] and there was a successful joint campaign between the local paper, the Macarthur Chronicle and Campbelltown City Council's Mayor, Aaron Rule for the F5, south of Brooks Road to Campbelltown Road to be 8 lanes, and 6 lanes from Campbelltown Road to Narellan Road.

The widening work commenced in January 2009 and is expected to be completed in late 2011, being undertaken in 3 stages. The first stage, widening to 4 lanes each way between Brooks Road and St Andrews Road St Andrews is expected to be completed in 2010, The second stage, widening to 4 lanes each way between St Andrews Road and Raby Road is scheduled to commence in mid 2009 and be completed in mid 2011. The final stage, widening to 3 lanes each way between Raby Road and Narellan Road, is scheduled to commence in late 2010 (following completion of the first stage) and be completed in late 2011.[5]

Construction of a pedestrian bridge between Claymore and Woodbine is also underway. Those suburbs have been developed since the freeway was built, and there have been issues with pedestrians crossing the freeway.[8] During roadworks for the widening of the road, a reduced speed limit of 80 km/h is applied to the designated roadwork areas, in conjunction with reduced lane widths.[9]

Distances to destinations along the highway from Sydney.
Approximate road distances (in kilometres) along the Hume Freeway southwards from the Victorian border

Albury bypass

A bypass of Albury was opened in January 2007, having been first proposed in 1964 and following a history of announcements and changes of plans through the 1990s, when Albury residents failed to agree on whether an 'internal' or 'external' bypass route was more appropriate. The 'internal bypass' argument won the day and approval granted in 2004, and construction began in January 2005. The route is parallel to and on the eastern side of the Sydney-Melbourne railway, beginning at the previous highway overpass of the railway 10 kilometres north of Albury. After crossing the Murray River, the bypass route crosses the railway to rejoin the previous highway at the southern end of the Lincoln Causeway. The Albury bypass includes a freeway standard connection to the Murray Valley Highway at Bandiana, east of Wodonga.

Victorian hume freeway upgrade projects

Following completion of the Craigieburn Bypass, the next upgrade project on the Victorian section of the Hume Highway was the construction of the Donnybrook Road interchange, immediately to the north of the Craigieburn Bypass. The upgrade, costing $32 million, removed the at-grade intersection with Donnybrook Road (C723) at Kalkallo and replaced it with an overpass and entry/exit ramps in both directions. Works commenced in December 2007 and completion occurred in March 2009, 3 months ahead of schedule.[10]

VicRoads is also undertaking planning studies for the upgrading of the Hume Freeway to freeway standard between Kalkallo and Beveridge by removing direct access from adjoining properties and eliminating local road intersections. The planning study is intended to amend council planning schemes to reserve space for the upgrade but there is no funding or timetable for the upgrade[11] This section has the highest accident rate of the Hume Freeway in Victoria.[12]

Traffic lights

Today, there is only one set of traffic lights along the whole current route from Melbourne to Sydney. It is located in the town of Holbrook, and is a set of pedestrian lights.

Views

Heading north from Melbourne, the road passes through the hills of the lower Great Dividing Range, some of which is covered with box eucalypt forest but of which much is cleared for farmland, before levelling out through flat, mostly cleared farming country through to Wodonga and the Victoria-New South Wales border. Victoria's landscape differs to that of the typical 'true Australian Outback', a dry summer can leave the ground parched and give travellers from greener foreign lands some idea of the actual outback that lies to the north and west. All of the rural section of the highway in Victoria (280 km) is dual carriageway, and all towns have been bypassed. There are many opportunities along the route to exit the freeway and sample the local produce in the towns and cities along the way, or head east, up into the Australian Alps. Mount Buffalo can be seen in the distance to the east as the highway comes down off the Warby Range near Glenrowan, and a museum commemorating Ned Kelly is located nearby.

Travelling north, after crossing the Murray River, the south bank of which is the Victoria-New South Wales border, the highway continues to passes through the Albury-Wodonga bypass a major regional centre in NSW, that has been bypassed since March 2007 in Albury. 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 Guinea St (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), and terminates at Bowna. At either end of the original route is the strange sight of the road disappearing into the waters of Lake Hume.

From Albury, the road continues generally north-east towards Holbrook, further north through hills near Gundagai; Then flat bits of land near Yass, before heading due east past Gunning and Goulburn to near Marulan, where it again turns northeast. Most of the New South Wales countryside from Albury to Marulan has been developed for wool production, with Yass and Goulburn in particular noted for their fine wool.

Speed limits

Like most roads in Australia, the Hume Highway is speed-limited, although it was as recent as 1977 that speed limits were introduced on the section between the Federal Highway interchange and Albury. The majority of the highway from Sydney to Melbourne is 100 or 110km/h, with the speed reduced to 50km/h through the remaining unbypassed towns.

Fixed speed cameras locations

Point to Point speed camera on the Hume Highway in Victoria

In Sydney: next to Ashfield Primary School, near Culdees Road Burwood, Willee St Enfield, Brennan St Yagoona, and Knight St Lansvale. Rural areas: between Gobarralong and Coggans Roads, 5 km north of Coolac, where 350 km of dual carriageway suddenly ends at the bottom of a long incline and the Highway reverts to a poorly-aligned route with limited visibility, and between Dellateroy Creek and Conja Settlement Rd, 5 km north of Tarcutta, again where dual carriageway ends and the Highway reverts to a single carriageway. When the Coolac bypass opens the Speed camera will no longer be operational, due to a "new alignment" of road. In January 2008, fixed speed-cameras were installed in the median strip along the Craigieburn Bypass and northward to Seymour, in Victoria, at roughly 15–20 km intervals.

Freeway Section Exits & Intersections

Hume Freeway
South Western Freeway
Northbound exits / intersections High Speed Intersection Distance from
South Western Motorway
(km)
Distance from
Western Ring Road
(km)
Southbound exits / intersections High Speed Intersection
End South Western Freeway
continues as South Western Motorway
to Bankstown / Sydney
Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport
0 796 Start South Western Freeway
from South Western Motorway
Newcastle, Brisbane
WestLink
Camden, Liverpool
Camden Valley Way
no exit -- 792 Ingleburn
Brooks Road
St Andrews, Casula
Campbelltown Road
5 -- no exit
no exit -- 787 St Andrews, Campbelltown
Campbelltown Road
End Hume Freeway
continues as South Western Freeway
14 782 Campbelltown, Penrith
Appin Road
Narellan Road
Penrith, Campbelltown
Narellan Road
Appin Road
Start Hume Freeway
from South Western Freeway
MAIN SOUTHERN RAIL LINE 19 777 MAIN SOUTHERN RAIL LINE
Picton, Wilton
Picton Road
29 759 Wilton, Picton
Picton Road
no exit -- 753 Yanderra
Avon Dam Road
MAIN SOUTHERN RAIL LINE 45 751 MAIN SOUTHERN RAIL LINE
Yanderra, Picton
Remembrance Drive / Old Hume Highway
no exit
MAIN SOUTHERN RAIL LINE 46 750 MAIN SOUTHERN RAIL LINE
MAIN SOUTHERN RAIL LINE 48 748 MAIN SOUTHERN RAIL LINE
Colo Vale, Yerrinbool
Church Avenue / Old Hume Highway
58 738 Yerrinbool, Colo Vale
Old Hume Highway / Church Avenue
no exit -- 736 Aylmerton, Bowral
Old Hume Highway
PICTON-MITTAGONG RAIL LINE 61 735 PICTON-MITTAGONG RAIL LINE
Richlands, Mittagong
Wombeyan Caves Road via Old Hume Highway
75 -- no exit
no exit -- 716 Berrima, Medway
Medway Road
Berrima
Mereworth Road / Old Hume Highway
82 -- no exit
Sutton Forest
Golden Valley Road High Speed Intersection
83 713 Sutton Forest
Golden Valley Road High Speed Intersection
Sutton Forest
Bunnigalore Road High Speed Intersection
85 711 Sutton Forest
Bunnigalore Road High Speed Intersection
Canyonleigh, Moss Vale
Canyonleigh Road / Illawarra Highway
87 709 Moss Vale, Canyonleigh
Illawarra Highway / Canyonleigh Road
Exeter
Sallys Corner Road
90 706 Exeter
Sallys Corner Road
Local Road
Hanging Rock Road High Speed Intersection
92 704 Local Road
Hanging Rock Road High Speed Intersection
Local Road
Hanging Rock Road High Speed Intersection
98 698 Local Road
Hanging Rock Road High Speed Intersection
Wingello
Murrimba Road High Speed Intersection
101 695 Wingello
Murrimba Road High Speed Intersection
Canyonleigh
Inverary Road High Speed Intersection
102 694 Canyonleigh
Inverary Road High Speed Intersection
Paddys River
Wollumbi Road High Speed Intersection
107 689 Paddys River
Wollumbi Road High Speed Intersection
Tallong
Marulan-Tallong Road High Speed Intersection
114 682 Tallong
Marulan-Tallong Road High Speed Intersection
no exit 116 680 Marulan
Brayton Road
MAIN SOUTHERN RAIL LINE MAIN SOUTHERN RAIL LINE
Marulan
George Street
119 677 Marulan
George Street
Marulan South, Bungonia
South Marulan Road / Jerrara Road High Speed Intersection
122 674 Marulan South, Bungonia
South Marulan Road / Jerrara Road High Speed Intersection
No Through Road
Winfarthing Road High Speed Intersection
127 669 No Through Road
Winfarthing Road High Speed Intersection
Brayton
Carrick Road High Speed Intersection
134 662 Brayton
Carrick Road High Speed Intersection
Towrang
Towrang Road High Speed Intersection
135 661 Towrang
Towrang Road High Speed Intersection
Local Road
Boxers Creek Road High Speed Intersection
136 660 Local Road
Boxers Creek Road High Speed Intersection
Goulburn
Sydney Road
138 658 Goulburn
Sydney Road
MAIN SOUTHERN RAIL LINE 146 650 MAIN SOUTHERN RAIL LINE
Goulburn
Hume Street
148 648 Goulburn
Hume Street
MAIN SOUTHERN RAIL LINE 150 646 MAIN SOUTHERN RAIL LINE
Yarra
Old South Road High Speed Intersection
152 644 Yarra
Old South Road High Speed Intersection
No Through Road
Coles Road High Speed Intersection
154 642 No Through Road
Coles Road High Speed Intersection
Gurrandah
Parkesbourne Road High Speed Intersection
155 641 Gurrandah
Parkesbourne Road High Speed Intersection
Local Road
Barkers Lane High Speed Intersection
156 -- no intersection
no exit -- 639 Canberra
Federal Highway
To via Canberra
Wollogorang Road High Speed Intersection
162 634 To
Wollogorang Road High Speed Intersection
Breadalbane
Cullerin Road High Speed Intersection
163 633 Breadalbane
Cullerin Road High Speed Intersection
Breadalbane, Collector
Collector Road High Speed Intersection
167 629 Collector, Breadalbane
Collector Road High Speed Intersection
Cullerin, Lerida
Lerida North Road / Lerida South Road High Speed Intersection
175 621 Lerida, Cullerin
Lerida South Road / Lerida North Road High Speed Intersection
no exit -- 605 Collector, Gunning
Gunning-Collector Road
Gunning, Gunadroo
Gundaroo Road
193 -- no exit
Oolong
Oolong Road High Speed Intersection
204 592 Oolong
Oolong Road High Speed Intersection
Lade Vale
Hillgrove Road High Speed Intersection
208 588 Lade Vale
Hillgrove Road High Speed Intersection
Jerrawa, Lade Vale
Jerrawa Road / Lade Vale Road High Speed Intersection
212 584 Lade Vale, Jerrawa
Lade Vale Road / Jerrawa Road High Speed Intersection
no intersection -- 582 No Through Road
Rock Lodge Road High Speed Intersection
Jerrawa
Sheldrick Road High Speed Intersection
219 577 Jerrawa
Sheldrick Road High Speed Intersection
No Through Road
Reardons Road High Speed Intersection
223 573 No Through Road
Reardons Road High Speed Intersection
Yass
Yass Valley Way High Speed Intersection
224 572 Yass
Yass Valley Way High Speed Intersection
Murrumbateman, Canberra
Barton Highway
229 567 Murrumbateman, Canberra
Barton Highway
MAIN SOUTHERN RAIL LINE 232 564 MAIN SOUTHERN RAIL LINE
MAIN SOUTHERN RAIL LINE 235 561 MAIN SOUTHERN RAIL LINE
Yass
Yass Valley Way
Yass
Yass Valley Way
Cowra
Lachlan Valley Way High Speed Intersection
237 559 Cowra
Lachlan Valley Way High Speed Intersection
Murrumburrah
Cootamundra Road High Speed Intersection
240 556 Murrumburrah
Cootamundra Road High Speed Intersection
No Through Road
Graces Flat Road High Speed Intersection
247 549 No Through Road
Graces Flat Road High Speed Intersection
No Through Road
Paynes Road High Speed Intersection
261 535 No Through Road
Paynes Road High Speed Intersection
Burrinjuck
Burrinjuck Road High Speed Intersection
262 534 Burrinjuck
Burrinjuck Road High Speed Intersection
Binalong, Bookham
Illalong Road High Speed Intersection
267 529 Bookham, Binalong
Illalong Road High Speed Intersection
Local Road
Whitefields Road High Speed Intersection
270 526 Local Road
Whitefields Road High Speed Intersection
No Through Road
Robinsons Road High Speed Intersection
257 525 No Through Road
Robinsons Road High Speed Intersection
No Through Road
Bogolara Road High Speed Intersection
274 522 No Through Road
Bogolara Road High Speed Intersection
Berremangra
Berremangra Road High Speed Intersection
277 519 Berremangra
Berremangra Road High Speed Intersection
No Through Road
Benangaroo Road High Speed Intersection
278 518 No Through Road
Benangaroo Road High Speed Intersection
McMahons Reef
Westbourne Road High Speed Intersection
280 516 McMahons Reef
Westbourne Road High Speed Intersection
No Through Road
Cobler Road High Speed Intersection
282 514 No Through Road
Cobler Road High Speed Intersection
Jugiong
Old Hume Highway High Speed Intersection
288 508 Jugiong
Old Hume Highway High Speed Intersection
Murrumburrah, Jugiong
Jugiong Road High Speed Intersection
291 505 Jugiong, Murrumburrah
Jugiong Road High Speed Intersection
No Through Road
Kitticarrara Road High Speed Intersection
293 503 No Through Road
Kitticarrara Road High Speed Intersection
Jugiong
Old Hume Highway High Speed Intersection
294 502 Jugiong
Old Hume Highway High Speed Intersection
Local Road
Cooninee Creek Road High Speed Intersection
296 500 Local Road
Cooininee Creek Road High Speed Intersection
Local Roads
Spring Dam Road / Cooninee Road High Speed Intersection
300 496 Local Roads
Cooninee Road / Spring Dam Road High Speed Intersection
Local Road
Calderwood Road High Speed Intersection
305 491 Local Road
Calderwood Road High Speed Intersection
COOLAC BYPASS UNDER CONSTRUCTION -- -- COOLAC BYPASS UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Gundagai
West Street High Speed Intersection
326 470 Gundagai
West Street High Speed Intersection
Gundagai
Sheridan Street
328 468 Gundagai
Sheridan Street
330 466 Gundagai
Middle Street
Gundagai
Cross Street
Gundagai
Mount Street
Local Road
Jessops Lagoon Road High Speed Intersection
331 465 Local Road
Jessops Lagoon Road High Speed Intersection
Local Road
Snowball Road High Speed Intersection
332 464 Local Road
Snowball Road High Speed Intersection
Tumblong
Grahamstown Road High Speed Intersection
342 454 Tumblong
Grahamstown Road High Speed Intersection
Mundario, Tumblong
Mundario Road High Speed Intersection
345 451 Tumblong, Mundario
Mundario Road High Speed Intersection
Tumut, Cooma
Snowy Mountains Highway
358 438 Tumut, Cooma
Snowy Mountains Highway
Mundario
Old Monaro Highway High Speed Intersection
362 434 Mundario
Old Monaro Highway High Speed Intersection
Wagga Wagga, Narrandera, Mildura, Adelaide
Sturt Highway
367 429 Wagga Wagga, Narrandera, Mildura, Adelaide
Sturt Highway
Start Hume Freeway
from Hume Highway
-- -- End Hume Freeway
continues as Hume Highway
via Tarcutta / Holbrook
End Hume Freeway
continues as Hume Highway
via Olympic Highway / Holbrook / Tarcutta
-- -- Start Hume Freeway
from Hume Highway
no exit -- 297 Ettamogah
Old Hume Highway
Springdale Heights, Thurgoona
Thurgoona Drive
501 295 Thurgoona
Thurgoona Drive
North Albury, Wirlinga
Dallinger Road
503 -- no exit
Albury, Hume Dam
Riverina Highway
505 291 Hume Dam, Albury
Riverina Highway
Albury
Bridge Street
507 289 Albury
Bridge Street
MURRAY RIVER 509 287 MURRAY RIVER
VICTORIA / NEW SOUTH WALES BORDER VICTORIA / NEW SOUTH WALES BORDER
End ,
Start
End ,
Start
Tallangatta
Bandiana Link
511 285 Tallangatta
Bandiana Link
NORTH EAST RAIL LINE NORTH EAST RAIL LINE
Albury, Wodonga
Old Hume Highway /
High Street
512 284 Wodonga, Albury
High Street /
Old Hume Highway
no exit -- 282 Wodonga
Melrose Drive / Moloney Drive
Wodonga
Melbourne Road
516 280 no exit
NORTH EAST RAIL LINE NORTH EAST RAIL LINE
Local Roads
Old Barnawartha Road / McKoy Street High Speed Intersection
520 276 Local Roads
McKoy Street / Old Barnawartha Road High Speed Intersection
Yarrawonga, Echuca
Murray Valley Highway
532 264 Yarrawonga, Echuca
Murray Valley Highway
Barnawartha, Upper Indigo
Indigo Creek Road
538 258 Upper Indigo, Barnawartha
Indigo Creek Road
Chiltern, Beechworth
Chiltern-Howlong Road /
Beechworth-Chiltern Road
547 249 Beechworth, Chiltern
Chiltern-Howlong Road /
Beechworth-Chiltern Road
Chiltern, Byawatha
Wenkes Road / Old Cemetery Road High Speed Intersection
550 246 Byawatha, Chiltern
Old Cemetery Road / Wenkes Road High Speed Intersection
Springhurst, Rutherglen
Rutherglen-Springhurst Road
559 237 Springhurst, Rutherglen
Rutherglen-Springhurst Road
Boorhaman, Byawatha
McMahons Road / Naylors Road High Speed Intersection
562 234 Byawatha, Boorhaman
Naylors Road / McMahons Road High Speed Intersection
Boralma, Local Road
Boralma-Rutherglen Road /
Carraragarmungee Estate Road
High Speed Intersection
564 232 Local Road, Boralma
Carraragarmungee Estate Road /
Boralma-Rutherglen Road High Speed Intersection
Bowser, Wangaratta
Wangaratta Road
573 223 Bowser, Wangaratta
Wangaratta Road
Wangaratta, Mount Hotham
Great Alpine Road
578 218 Mount Hotham, Wangaratta
Great Alpine Road
Wangaratta, Greta
Greta Road
586 210 Greta, Wangaratta
Greta Road
Wangaratta
Wangaratta Road
588 -- no exit
Glenrowan, Myrtleford
Glenrowan-Myrtleford Road
590 -- no exit
BP SERVICE CENTRE 592 204 BP SERVICE CENTRE
no exit -- 202 Moyhu, Glenrowan
Glenrowan-Moyhu Road
Glenrowan, Winton
Winton-Glenrowan Road
596 -- no exit
Winton North, Glenrowan West
Eleven Mile Creek Road High Speed Intersection
599 197 Glenrowan West, Winton North
Eleven Mile Creek Road High Speed Intersection
Winton North, To
Bower Road High Speed Intersection
603 193 To , Winton North
Bower Road High Speed Intersection
Benalla, Winton
Benalla-Winton Road
608 188 Winton, Benalla
Benalla-Winton Road
Shepparton, Mansfield
Midland Highway
619 177 Mansfield, Shepparton
Midland Highway
Benalla, Warrenbayne
Benalla-Warrenbayne Road High Speed Intersection
623 173 Warrenbayne, Benalla
Benalla-Warrenbayne Road High Speed Intersection
Baddaginnie, Warrenbayne
Warrenbayne Road High Speed Intersection
628 168 Warrenbayne, Baddaginnie
Warrenbayne Road High Speed Intersection
Local Road
Depot Road High Speed Intersection
629 167 Local Road
Depot Road High Speed Intersection
Boho
Boho Church Road High Speed Intersection
633 163 Boho
Boho Church Road High Speed Intersection
no intersection -- 158 Boho
Creamery Road High Speed Intersection
Violet Town, Harrys Creek
Murchison-Violet Town Road /
Harrys Creek Road
641 155 Harrys Creek, Violet Town
Harrys Creek Road /
Murchison-Violet Town Road
Local Road
Quarry Road High Speed Intersection
647 149 Local Road
Quarry Road High Speed Intersection
Local Roads
Balmattum Siding Road / Sheans Gully Road High Speed Intersection
653 143 Local Roads
Sheans Gully Road / Balmattum Siding Road High Speed Intersection
Balmattum, Sheans Creek
Balmattum Siding Road / Sheans Creek Road High Speed Intersection
654 142 Sheans Creek, Balmattum
Sheans Gully Road / Balmattum Creek Road High Speed Intersection
Euroa, To via Merton
Euroa Main Road
661 137 Euroa, To via Merton
Euroa Main Road
Euroa, To via Numurkah
Euroa Main Road
666 130 Euroa, To via Numurkah
Euroa Main Road
Local Road
Creightons Creek Road High Speed Intersection
668 128 Local Road
Creightons Creek Road High Speed Intersection
Local Road
Creighton Siding Road High Speed Intersection
669 127 Local Road
Creighton Siding Road High Speed Intersection
Longwood, Local Road
Avenel-Longwood Road / Meades Lane High Speed Intersection
673 123 Local Road, Longwood
Meades Lane / Avenel-Longwood Road High Speed Intersection
Longwood, Ruffy
Depot Road High Speed Intersection
676 120 Ruffy, Longwood
Depot Road High Speed Intersection
Caltex SERVICE CENTRE
Local Roads
Oak Valley Road / Oxenburys Road High Speed Intersection
680 116 Local Roads
Oak Valley Road / Oxenburys Road High Speed Intersection
Locksley
Alexandersons Road High Speed Intersection
686 110 Locksley
Alexandersons Road High Speed Intersection
Avenel, Tarcombe
Avenel-Nagambie Road /
Tarcombe Road High Speed Intersection
698 98 Tarcombe, Avenel
Tarcombe Road /
Avenel-Nagambie Road
High Speed Intersection
Avenel, Whiteheads Creek
Lambing Gully Road High Speed Intersection
701 95 Whiteheads Creek, Avenel
Lambing Gully Road High Speed Intersection
NORTH EAST RAIL LINE 709 87 NORTH EAST RAIL LINE
Brisbane, Seymour
Goulburn Valley Freeway /
Goulburn Valley Highway
713 85 Seymour, Brisbane
Goulburn Valley Highway /
Goulburn Valley Freeway
Puckapunyal, Seymour
Seymour-Tooborac Road
719 77 Seymour, Puckapunyal
Seymour-Tooborac Road
Mobil SERVICE CENTRE 722 74 Mobil SERVICE CENTRE
no exit -- 71 Tallarook
Upper Goulburn Road
NORTH EAST RAIL LINE 727 69 NORTH EAST RAIL LINE
Tallarook
Upper Goulburn Road
no exit
Local Road
Sharps and Taylors Road High Speed Intersection
729 67 Local Road
Sharps and Taylors Road High Speed Intersection
Local Roads
Dockerys Road / Ennis Road High Speed Intersection
731 65 Local Roads
Dockerys Road / Ennis Road High Speed Intersection
no exit -- 59 Local Road, Broadford
Marchbanks Road /
Broadford-Kilmore Road
Broadford, Yea
Strath Creek Road
739 -- no exit
Kilmore East, Waterford Park
Broadford-Wandong Road
748 48 Waterford Park, Kilmore East
Broadford-Wandong Road
NORTH EAST RAIL LINE 756 40 NORTH EAST RAIL LINE
Wandong, Kilmore
Epping-Kilmore Road
757 39 Kilmore, Wandong
Epping-Kilmore Road
no exit 765 31 Whittlesea, Wallan
Wallan-Whittlesea Road
Wallan, Echuca
Northern Highway
770 -- no exit
BP SERVICE CENTRE 771 25 BP SERVICE CENTRE
Beveridge
Lithgow Street
772 24 Beveridge
Old Hume Highway
Local Road
Whiteside Street High Speed Intersection
773 -- no intersection
No Through Road
Donovans Lane High Speed Intersection
774 22 No Through Road
Donovans Lane High Speed Intersection
No Through Road
Gunns Gully Road High Speed Intersection
776 20 No Through Road
Gunns Gully Road High Speed Intersection
Kalkallo
Cameron Street High Speed Intersection
777.8 18.2 Kalkallo
Cameron Street High Speed Intersection
no intersection -- 18 Kalkallo
Yaldwin Street High Speed Intersection
Kalkallo
Malcolm Street High Speed Intersection
779 17 Kalkallo
Malcolm Street High Speed Intersection
no intersection -- 16.5 Kalkallo
Patterson Street High Speed Intersection
Mickleham, Donnybrook
Donnybrook Road
780 16 Donnybrook, Mickleham
Donnybrook Road
no exit -- 12 Craigieburn, Melbourne
Sydney Road
Craigieburn
Sydney Road via Amaroo Road
785 -- no exit
NORTH EAST RAIL LINE 786 10 NORTH EAST RAIL LINE
Craigieburn, Wollert
Craigieburn Road East
787 -- no exit
Roxburgh Park, Epping
Cooper Street
792 4 Epping, Roxburgh Park
Cooper Street
796 0 Greensborough
Metropolitan Ring Road
Start Hume Freeway
from Western Ring Road
End Hume Freeway
continues as Western Ring Road
to Melbourne
Avalon Airport / Melbourne Airport

Towns

Almost all towns on the Hume Highway are bypassed. In New South Wales, from Sydney, southwards to Victorian border, the bypassed towns are Ingleburn, Campbelltown, Camden, Picton, Mittagong, Berrima, Marulan, Goulburn, Gunning, Yass, Bowning, Bookham, Jugiong, Coolac, Gundagai and Albury. The three remaining towns on the Hume Highway yet to be bypassed in 2012 will be:

In Victoria; all towns are bypassed; they are in southwards order from the NSW border Wodonga, Chiltern, Wangaratta, Benalla, Euroa, Violet Town, Seymour, Broadford and Craigieburn.

The old route of the Hume Highway runs straight west from the Cross Roads at Prestons, 4 km south of Liverpool to Carnes Hill, where it joins the route of the Cowpasture Road. It then runs southwest to Camden (the section of the former highway from the Cross Roads to Camden is now called Camden Valley Way).

Camden

Camden lies 60 km south west of Sydney on the Nepean River, and the town dates back to 1840. It retains a lot of character with many historic buildings of interest remaining. There is an aviation museum at nearby Narellan. Urban sprawl has made Camden part of the Sydney metropolitan area.

Camden has been bypassed by the Hume Highway twice. The first bypass was opened in 1973, via the Macarthur Bridge, and runs from Narellan to Benkennie (South Camden). This bypass was in turn bypassed in December 1980 when the section of what was then called the South Western Freeway (route F5) from Campbelltown to Yerrinbool was opened. This linked the freeway sections from the Cross Roads to Campbelltown Rd at St Andrews (opened August 1973) and St Andrews-Camden Road (opened December 1974) to its north with the section from Yerrinbool to Aylmerton (opened May 1977) to its south.

From Camden south to Aylmerton the former highway is now named Remembrance Drive. It climbs southwards from Camden through the Razorback Ridge to Picton, then begins to climb through Tahmoor and Bargo to reach the Southern Tablelands and rejoin the present route of the Hume Highway at Aylmerton, 6 km north of Mittagong. The designation Hume Highway and national route 31 were transferred from what are now Camden Valley Way and Remembrance Drive to the freeway route in the mid 1980s and the former highway route from the Cross Roads to Aylmerton is now state route 89.

Southern Highlands

Hume Highway through Southern Highlands

An alternative route to the highway runs from Aylmerton through Mittagong and Bowral to join the Illawarra Highway at Moss Vale and then follows the Illawarra Highway through Sutton Forest to where it joins the Hume Highway at Hoddles Crossroads (named after Surveyor Robert Hoddle who also laid out the Melbourne CBD).

Mittagong lies 110 km south-west of Sydney, just off the Hume Highway at the edge of the Southern Tablelands. It is notable for being the location of Australia's first ironworks. Mittagong's streets are lined with various species of deciduous trees and it has a busy town centre.

Until 1992 when the Mittagong bypass was opened the town was dominated by trucks and in winter it was also busy with skiers' traffic on the way to the Australian Alps. Today the Hume Highway bypasses Mittagong and all the towns of the Southern Tablelands. In the late 1990s, engineers detected subsidence under part of the bypass where it runs along a steep slope near the Nattai River. This was caused by features of the local geology, and mining activity at the adjacent Mount Alexandra coalmine from the 1950s to the 1970s.[13] The problem was remedied by closing one carriageway at a time and building a pair of 'land bridges' across the unstable section of the slope.

Bowral is home to the famous Bradman Museum which not only celebrates the achievements of Bowral's favourite son, Sir Donald Bradman, but also contains a wealth of world sporting information and memorabilia. Bowral is also the setting for "Tulip Time", a Spring celebration where over 100,000 tulips and 25,000 flowers are planted in the town centre.

The population swells during winter when, thousands of visitors book into local hotels and B&Bs to enjoy romantic fires and secluded winter getaways. Spring is also very popular with gardening enthusiasts, who come to view some of the world's most beautiful formal gardens designed by eminent landscape architects such as Paul Sorensen, who designed the gardens of Invergowrie.

Key attractions are the glorious gardens, fine restaurants, many successful vineyards and fresh, local produce of a wide variety. Antique and book stores abound, as do quality fashion retailers and specialty stores.

Moss Vale has several beautiful old and attractive buildings and Leighton Gardens, in the centre of the main street, is a pleasant park. It is best during spring when its flowers are in blossom or in autumn when the leaves of its exotic deciduous trees are changing colour.

Sutton Forest is surrounded by farms, vineyards and is home to elegant country homes and estates. It comprises a church, and inn, a couple of restaurants and one or two specialty shops.

Berrima

Berrima has flourished since it was bypassed in 1989, with tourists finding it an easy day trip from either Sydney or Canberra to enjoy the town square and the Georgian architecture of this historic town.

Twin bridges carrying the Hume Highway over Greenhills Road north of Berrima 34°28′S 150°21′E / 34.467°S 150.350°E / -34.467; 150.350

Marulan

The Marulan bypass was opened in 1986. The southern part of Governor Lachlan Macquarie's road of 1819 ran from Sutton Forest roughly along existing minor roads through what is now Penrose State Forest to Canyonleigh, Brayton, Carrick and Towrang, where it joined the current route to Goulburn. Branching from this route (now part of the Illawarra Highway) just west of Sutton Forest, a road, now known as Old Argyle Road, developed in the 1820s. It ran to Bungonia, via Wingello, Tallong, and the southern outskirts of Marulan, all, except Wingello, being located in Argyle county, along with Goulburn. Counties and their divisions called parishes never became serious units of government in New South Wales, but they are still used in land administration.

In the early 19th century Bungonia was expected to become a major centre, but it subsequently proved unsuitable for intensive agriculture. Much of Old Argyle Road give the impression of dating from the 1820s, although clearly there must have been a fair amount of human and mechanical maintenance over the last 180 years. It is not recommended after significant rain.

When Thomas Mitchell rerouted the Great South Road in the 1830s, he decided to bring these two roads together to meet at old Marulan, with roads proceeding west to Goulburn and south to Bungonia. When the railway reached Marulan in 1868, the town migrated 3 km north to the railway station. Nevertheless, the old cemetery remains at the Bungonia Road intersection. A quarry is about to be developed near the intersection, so an interchange is to be built. It is at this point that the highway climbs the Marulan Ramp, which is part of the divide between the Shoalhaven and Wollondilly River systems.

Towrang

A major stockade for chain-bound convicts and others involved in the construction of the Great South Road was located on the western side of the Highway at Towrang Creek from around 1836 to 1842. The stockade became the principal penal establishment in the southern district and was noted for its harsh discipline. There were usually at least 250 convicts stationed there. They slept on bare boards with a blanket apiece, 10 men to a box or cell. One of the two official floggers was later found murdered[14] The stockade used to be accessible by a stile, but this has been taken down to discourage use of the once daunting intersection of the Highway with Towrang Road. There are the remains of the powder magazine next to the Wollondilly River, three graves on the north bank of Towrang Creek, and the remains of a weir on Towrang Creek built for the stockade. Aboriginal stone tools have also been found on the banks of Towrang Creek, indicating that this was a route well-travelled long before Hamilton Hume came this way in 1824.

There is also a rest area on the eastern side of the highway, where a well-preserved bridge dating from 1839 (possibly designed by the designer of impressive early bridges in New South Wales, David Lennox) and a 1960s concrete box culvert can be viewed.

At and in-between the seagull intersections of the Highway with Towrang and Carrick Roads has been recently upgraded and opened in September 2007 to improve traffic safety by a seagull intersection for careful merging for vehicles and a wider median in-between these seagull intersections, which was funded under AusLink.[15]

Goulburn

Goulburn is the first city along the Hume Highway from Sydney. It is a farming and administration centre, and from this area comes some of the world's finest wool. Goulburn was bypassed in 1992 and the main street (Auburn Street) is quieter, but still busy during Saturday morning shopping. Picturesque Belmore Park is located midway along Auburn Street. Near Belmore Park is located a number of architecturally and historically significant buildings, including the courthouse, the post office and the railway station. Also in central Goulburn are two cathedrals, both of architectural note. Near the railway station on Sloane Street is a number of old houses and hotels.

13 km south of Goulburn along the Hume Highway is the interchange with the Federal Highway which connects to Canberra and the Snowy Mountains. Goulburn also has the very famous "Big Merino" (a type of sheep that is drought tolerant) is at the service station at the southern interchange for more tourism to attract [citation needed].

Gunning

Gunning's 19th century main street was built very wide, for the time of horse and bullock-drawn wagons. This served the town well when the main highway between Sydney and Melbourne carried cars and trucks through the town, which ceased when the bypass was completed in 1994. It is now much quieter, and the town has been able to resume a more rural pace of life and to develop something of an industry in providing bed and breakfast accommodation.

Yass

Yass has an impressive and historic main street, with well-preserved 19th century verandah-post pubs (mostly converted to other uses). It is popular with tourists, some from Canberra and others taking a break from the Hume Highway. Hamilton Hume's farm Cooma Cottage is located east of Yass, close to the intersection of the former routes of the Hume and Barton Highways. He lived there until his death in 1873.

Coolac

An earlier monument to the Dog on the Tuckerbox between Coolac and Gundagai, photographed in 1926

The 11 kilometre section at Coolac is the last two lane section of highway between Sydney and Gundagai. Construction of the bypass is scheduled for completion sometime in 2009. After a delay due to indigenous heritage issues, the construction contract was awarded to Abigroup Contractors Pty Ltd in February 2007.[16][17]

Gundagai

At Snake Gully, adjacent to the highway north of Gundagai is the "Dog on the Tuckerbox". A statue (with souvenir shop next door) was erected five miles (eight kilometres) from Gundagai. Snake Gully serves as a way station for many highway travellers.

The highway bypassed Gundagai in 1977 with the completion of the Sheahan Bridge over the Murrumbidgee River. The Prince Alfred Bridge, on the old route of the highway across the Murrumbidgee floodplain, is of major engineering interest, as it is one of Australia's longest timber trestle bridges, as is the adjacent 1903 railway bridge. The Sheahan Bridge is the second longest bridge in NSW. Gundagai was originally located on the river flats directly beside the Murrumbidgee River, but a disastrous flood in 1852 destroyed the town and drowned 89 people. The town was then relocated to its present position. A new grade-separated interchange opened up at West Street in 2006 [1]. Currently the Shehan Bridge is only 1 lane in each direction since 1977, at that time there was no need to have duplication because there was only 2,000 vehicles crossing per day (vcpd), today it is about 10,000 vcpd. Construction work on duplicating the bridge commenced in January 2008, for a second bridge on the Gundagai side of the Sheahan Bridge. [2] [3]

Tumblong

The 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.

Thirty eight km southwest of Gundagai is the interchange with the Sturt Highway, which leads to Wagga Wagga, Mildura and Adelaide.

Tarcutta

National Truck Driver Memorial at Tarcutta

Tarcutta, is one of the three remaining towns yet to be bypassed until 2012. Tarcutta is located almost exactly halfway between Sydney and Melbourne, has been a popular stopover and change-over point for truck drivers making their way between the two cities. There is a memorial to truck drivers who have died on the local stretch of the Hume Highway.

With the improvements to the Hume Highway, which cuts travelling time from Sydney to Melbourne to less than a day, the town's importance to the average motorist has diminished. It was near Tarcutta that the final section of the Hume Highway was sealed in 1940.

Holbrook

Holbrook lies on the Hume Highway between Gundagai and Albury and like Tarcutta and Woomargama, is one of the three remaining towns yet to be bypassed until 2012. It is notorious for its speed traps.[citation needed] Holbrook was called Germanton until anti-German sentiment during World War 1 led to the town and the shire being renamed in honour of the wartime submarine captain, Lt Holbrook who was awarded the Victoria Cross. From 1995, a feature of the town has been a partial reconstruction of HMAS Otway, an Oberon class submarine. This landmark was in recognition of the town's namesake's connections with submarines. In addition, Holbrook can also hold a very famous claim to besides a submarine, that it has the only one set of traffic signals (for pedestrians) on the whole of the Hume Highway from the Melbourne's Western Ring Road to the Sydney Orbital Network. Northern Section Southern Section

Woomargama

Woomargama, is a village between Table Top and Holbrook and is one of the three remaining towns yet to be bypassed until 2012.

Table Top

Table Top is a community in the south east part of the Riverina. It is situated on the Hume Highway, about 16 kilometres north of Albury. It has a population of approximately 4510 people. The widening of the bridge over Tabletop Creek from two to three lanes was completed in October 2006.[18]

Albury-Wodonga

Albury's history is linked with the two famous Australian explorers, Hamilton Hume and William Hovell, as the city's location sprung from their crossing of the Murray River. Albury, commonly associated with its Victorian twin, Wodonga, is one of the few rural Australian cities to experience a boom, mainly from industrialisation in recent times. Albury is by far the largest centre that has been bypassed since March 2007 [4] by the Hume Highway. The population of the Albury-Wodonga region has exceeded 100,000[citation needed].

After decades of debate about the route and the funding obligations of the state and federal governments, construction of a freeway 'internal bypass', running through the city itself, commenced in 2005 and was completed March 2007.[19] In addition to catering for through traffic, the new route will serve local residents as a number of interchanges are to be built and it will provide a second road crossing of the Murray River.

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Wangaratta

Hume Highway near Wangaratta

Wangaratta is, after Wodonga, the largest centre in northeast Victoria (population 17,000). It is at the junction of the Hume and Ovens Highways (the 'Great Alpine Road'). The area around it was visited by Hume and Hovell in 1824 and the town was founded in 1837 when the surrounding area was open for farming.

The attractions around town include Merriwa Park, a sunken garden adjacent to the King River, Airworld at Wangaratta Airport, and old goldfield areas of nearby Beechworth and Chiltern.

Benalla

A passable section of "Sydney Road" in the shire of Benalla, 1914.

Benalla is a large town located just off the Hume Freeway between Melbourne and Wangaratta. Founded in 1848, growth was slow until a goldrush in the 1850s. It had many associations with the Kelly gang and the courthouse was the venue for a number of their trials. It also has a memorial to the Australian war hero Sir Edward 'Weary' Dunlop, an Australian doctor who acted as a leader to allied troops on the Thailand-Burma Railway in World War II.

Euroa

Euroa is famous for a Ned Kelly bank robbery. The town is located on the Seven Creeks and has pretty gardens and a number of attractive 19th century buildings.

Seymour

The Hume Highway bypass of Seymour opened in December 1982. Seymour remains on the Goulburn Valley Highway. The town is in the rich Goulburn Valley which supports the local vineyards. The large Puckapunyal military base is located west of Seymour. Once the centre of the bushranging area of Victoria, it has a museum which displays many period relics of that era. It was until the 1970s a major railway maintenance centre, and part of the railway workshops now houses a railway museum. The museum's collection of rolling stock, including State carriages used by governors and monarchs, is extensive.

Donnybrook

Donnybrook is just 5 kilometres north of Craigieburn. The Federal or Commonwealth Government of Australia under AusLink is providing $13 million for construction of a grade-separated interchange with the Hume Freeway, currently it is an extremely dangerous at-grade interchange at Donnybrook. Completion of the grade-separation interchange is expected to be 2009. [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]

Craigieburn

Craigieburn Bypass

Prior to 2005; the Hume Freeway ended just outside of Craigieburn, this was a major bottleneck in Craigieburn with 12 sets of traffic signals - Just to get into Melbourne or even onto the Melbourne Freeway system. Since 2005; the Craigieburn Bypass links directly to the Western Ring Road/Metropolitan Ring Road to avoid a notorious 17 kilometre bottleneck (including avoiding 12 sets of traffic lights) along the highway route.

Despite some opposition for the bypass by several local governments in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, including the City of Darebin and the City of Moreland, as well as local environmental groups. Their objections were not accepted by the state government [10] and the project went ahead.

In addition, a shared pathway runs along the length of the bypass, which is split into two lanes for pedestrian and cyclist usage. The pathway is around three metres East of the main roadway until Craigieburn Road East, whereupon it switches to the West side until the Amaroo Road bridge. The path crosses roads at three places:

  • Cooper Street (flat approach, traffic lights)
  • O'Herns Road (flat approach, underpass)
  • Craigieburn Road East (steep incline, traffic lights)

The path connects with the existing Metropolitan Ring Road path, from where it is possible to connect to the Merri Creek Trail, Western Ring Road Trail, the City of Whittlesea Public Gardens and Edgars Road.

The Craigieburn Bypass is shown in the 1969 Melbourne Transportation Plan as part of the F2 Freeway corridor, which extended south along Merri Creek, Hoddle St, Barkly St in St. Kilda, south through Elwood and Brighton, then east along South Road, connecting to the Dingley Freeway corridor.

Future upgrade

Proposed safety improvements - Kalkallo to Beveridge, to be funded by Auslink 2 (2009-2014) [11].

See also

References

  1. ^ "Official Year Book of the Commonwealth of Australia 1931". Australian Bureau of Statistics www.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 2006-04-28.
  2. ^ "Hillas Creek Bridge". Heritage and conservation register. Roads and Traffic Authority of New South Wales. 2004. Retrieved 2008-03-16.
  3. ^ Lay, Max (1984). History of Australian Roads. Australian Road Research Board. ISBN 0-86910-164-1.
  4. ^ M5-M7 Interchange - 15/11/2006 - QWN - NSW Parliament
  5. ^ a b F5 Freeway widening - RTA
  6. ^ F5 Funding - 29/05/2007 - NSW Parliament HANSARD
  7. ^ Gridlock on the F5 (video) - Campbelltown City Council
  8. ^ Community Update February 2009 - RTA
  9. ^ Sydney South-West / South
  10. ^ "Donnybrook Road Interchange Project". VicRoads. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
  11. ^ "Hume Highway, Kalkallo to Beveridge - Access restoration planning". VicRoads. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
  12. ^ "Hume Kalkallo Land Use Business and Agriculture" (PDF). VicRoads. Retrieved 2008-06-08.
  13. ^ "Media release: Plan to Bridge the Hume Highway at Mittagong". Department of Transport and Regional Services www.dotars.gov.au. 2001. Retrieved 2006-04-26.
  14. ^ "Travel - Goulburn". Sydney Morning Herald www.smh.com.au. 2004. Retrieved 2006-04-26.
  15. ^ Hume Highway upgrade at Towrang and Carrick Roads Officially Opened
  16. ^ "More delays to highway bypass". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2006-02-14. Retrieved 2007-03-05. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. ^ "Contract awarded to construct Coolac bypass" (Press release). Australian Government. 2007-03-01. Retrieved 2007-03-05. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. ^ Ministerial press release October 2006, no longer on-line
  19. ^ "Albury-Wodonga Hume Freeway Upgrade". AusLink www.auslink.gov.au. 2006. Retrieved 2006-04-28.

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