Barton Highway

The Barton Highway is a short highway in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. The Barton Highway connects Canberra to the Hume Highway at Yass, and it is part of the route from Melbourne to Canberra. It is named after Sir Edmund Barton, the first Prime Minister of Australia.

At Yass, it forms a multilevel junction with Hume Highway, which bypasses Yass. The old bypassed Hume Highway section is now named Yass Valley Way. The Barton Highway passes through farmlands and the town of Murrumbateman. With the commuting population between Canberra and Yass on the increase, the highway is planned to be upgraded to dual-carriageway with bypasses. The 2007/08 budget provides $20 million to plan the upgrade to dual-carriageways on the Barton Highway. Duplication construction is expected to commence by the 2009/2010 Budget and be completed by 2012. Coming up to the 2007 Election, $264 million has been promised by the Coalition Government, while Labor commits to $20 million, just for overtaking lanes. It is proposed that the whole Barton Highway will be a 33 kilometre freeway by 2016.

In 2007, the Barton Highway was noted as the worst highway on the Auslink network in New South Wales.

Read more about Barton Highway:  Major Intersections and Towns

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