National Highway (Australia) - History of Changes To Australia's National Highway Network

History of Changes To Australia's National Highway Network

Australia's National Highway Network has had a number of changes since it was originally established in 1974. These changes are being listed in this section.

The 1974 Act empowered the Federal Minister for Transport to declare as a national highway, any existing or proposed road in a State, which ( in his opinion ), was the main route between

• two State capitals
• a State capital and Canberra
• a State capital and Darwin
• Brisbane and Cairns
• Hobart and Burnie
• any other road which, in the Minister's opinion, was important enough to be a national highway.

Subsequent replacement legislation in 1977, 1988, and 2005, along with other intervening amendments, contained similar provisions. Notably, important roads to near-metropolitan locations such as Geelong, Bunbury and Wollongong were added in 2005, although not within the original concept of interstate national highways.

• Original Routes included in 1974

• • The original components of the National Highway were officially declared on 20 September 1974, as "links" and terminated at the edge of each capital city. The parts of the routes within the major urban areas were not defined as national highways The Sturt Highway and Newell Highway routes were not included in the original 1974 network.

• Changes to Routes of the National Highway between 1974 and 2004

• • As a condition of Federal funding, the New South Wales government was required to remove existing tolling on the F3 and F6 inter-urban freeways in June 1995, even though the F6 did not become part of a national highway until 2005.

• • The Sydney to Adelaide route via the Hume and Sturt highways, and the Melbourne to Brisbane route via the Newell Highway, were added as links of the National Highway network in November 1992 under the 1988 Act, however the decision to use the route from Goondiwindi to Brisbane via the Gore Highway and Toowoomba, rather than the Cunningham Highway (via Warwick), was not finalized until October 1993. These were the only 2 major routes added to the National Highway network between 1974 and 2005. In addition, the urban ends of intercity routes, and some link roads and ring roads joining national routes, were explicitly added to the national highway network for the first time.

• • As sections of existing highways were upgraded or replaced by nearby parallel routes of a new higher standard, the "national highway" designation was usually moved onto the new part of the route. An incomplete, and apparently out of date, list of changes to the National Highway system prior to 2005, is described here. The principal route between Sydney and Newcastle was shifted from the old Pacific Highway onto the new Sydney-Newcastle freeway in nine separate stages between 1966 and 1999 as the freeway was progressively implemented. Similar changes were made as the Hume Highway was re-developed.

• • This section of the list here includes routes which were described in Appendix 1 of the 2004 Auslink Bill, as being components of the "former National Highway network", which was about to be superseded at that time. The routes included in this list, are those depicted on the 1990's era signage and older maps, such as the sign and map at the top of this article. With the exception of the Newell Highway and Sturt Highway routes, all of these routes had been part of the National Highway since its inception in 1974.

• • The Hume Highway route between Sydney and Melbourne.
  • The Sydney-Newcastle freeway
  • The New England Highway/Cunningham Highway route between Newcastle and Brisbane
  • The Sturt Highway route between Gundagai and Adelaide.
  • The Warrego Highway/Newell Highway/Goulburn Valley Highway route between Brisbane and Melbourne
  • The Barton Highway and the Federal Highway
  • The Western Highway/Dukes Highway/Princes Highway route between Melbourne and Adelaide
  • The Bruce Highway from Brisbane to Cairns
  • The route from Brisbane to Darwin via the Warrego, Landsbourough and Barkly highways
  • The route from Perth to Adelaide via the Great Eastern Highway and the Eyre Highway
  • The route from Perth to Darwin via the Great Northern and Victoria highways
  • The route from Adelaide to Darwin via the Port Augusta Road and the Stuart Highway.
  • The route from Burnie to Hobart via the Bass and Midland highways via Launceston

• Routes included in the National Land Transport Network for the first time under the 2005 legislation:

• • Appendix 1 of the 'Auslink (National Land Transport) Bill' of 2004, listed the routes which were proposed to be included in 'The Auslink National Network'. The listing included here distinguished between the components of the "former National Highway system", and the additional routes to be added to the Auslink National Network after the implementation of the new Act, which occurred in 2005. All of the existing routes of the National Highway prior to 2005 were included in the new network. The routes added with the inception of the 2005 Act (as described in Appendix 1 referenced above, some of the descriptions are somewhat ambiguous but clarified in the ensuing regulations. ) are:

• • the Pacific Highway route between Newcastle and Brisbane
  • the route between Townsville and Mt Isa
  • the route from Sydney (or Eastern Creek) to Dubbo via the M4, Great Western and Mitchell highway
  • the Calder Highway route from Melbourne to Mildura via Bendigo

• • the Southern Freeway and Princes Highway route from Sydney to Wollongong
  • the Princes Freeway from Melbourne to Geelong
  • the Monash Freeway, Princes Freeway and Princes Highway to Taralgon and Sale
  • the route between Perth and Bunbury
  • the route from Launceston to Bell Bay

• • some additional urban connecting routes linking ports and airports and linking the national routes, and forming urban growth corridors, a complete definition of the network as of 2005 is included in the schedule of the 2005 Act

• Changes to the National Land Transport Network made in 2007
  • The route description for the Cumberland Highway ( Pennant Hills Road ), between the junctions with the M2 motorway and the F3 Sydney-Newcastle Freeway, was altered. Almost all of the original Cumberland Highway route from Prestons to Wahroonga, established in the 2005 network, was deleted due to the opening of the M7 motorway.

• Changes to the National Land Transport Network made in 2008
  • The route description of the national route consisting of part of the Princes Freeway and Princes Highway between Melbourne and Waurn Ponds (west of Geelong), was altered.
  • The proposed Townsville Port Access Road was added.
  • The proposed Tiger Brennan Drive extension in suburban Darwin was added.

• Changes to the National Land Transport Network made in 2009
  • The portion of the M4 Western Motorway in Sydney, between Eastern Creek and Strathfield was added.
  • The part of the Princes Freeway, and Princes Highway, west of Melbourne which is included in the National network, was extended from Waurn Ponds to Colac.
  • A section of the Great Eastern Highway and the Great Eastern Highway Bypass in suburban Perth was added.
  • Alteration to the definition of the South Road route in Adelaide and addition of the access road to Adelaide Airport.
  • The Townsville Ring Road was added
  • The Karratha-Dampier Road and part of the North West Coastal Highway was added.
  • The Bunbury Port Access Road and part of the Bunbury Outer Ring Road were added.
  • Part of the Hobart-Burnie route was altered.