Princes Freeway
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| Princes Freeway | |
 |
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| Length | ?? kilometres |
| General direction: | West-East |
| Western section: | |
| From: | Corio, Geelong |
| To: | Altona North, Melbourne |
| Eastern section: | |
| From: | Nar Nar Goon, Victoria |
| To: | Traralgon, Victoria |
| Towns along freeway: | Little River, Werribee, Warragul, Trafalgar, Moe, Morwell |
The Princes Freeway links Melbourne to Geelong on the west and Morwell on the east. It continues beyond these extremities as the Princes Highway towards Adelaide to the west and Sydney to the east. The freeway bears the designation M1.
The western section (also known as Princes Freeway West or Geelong Road) starts from Altona at the Westgate interchange and the eastern section (also known as Princes Freeway East) starts from Berwick' the eastern section is currently incomplete as traffic must still travel through the towns of Officer and Pakenham (although a bypass of these towns is currently under construction: see below), and Yarragon and Trafalgar, where the road reverts to the Princes Highway. The western and eastern sections are connected together through the Melbourne suburbs by the West Gate Freeway, CityLink and the Monash Freeway. These five sections of road together constitute the route M1 which is part of National Highway 1.
The Princes Freeway subsumes and bypasses most sections of the older Princes Highway. Former bypassed sections of the Princes Highway are generally signed with a National Route Alt 1 shield (within eastern Melbourne) or designated sequentially from C101 to C107.
The western section linking Geelong and Melbourne is an important commuter and freight route between the two cities; the eastern section links Melbourne with the Latrobe Valley. The entire freeway is one of the busiest sections of rural highway in Victoria, used by large numbers of freight and commercial vehicles and provides access to tourist attractions in central and east Gippsland. It supports Victoria's rural industries and tourism.
[edit] Pakenham bypass
The Federal and State Governments have announced construction of the Pakenham bypass, running from Beaconsfield to Nar Nar Goon. The 20km freeway will bypass the townships of Pakenham and Officer and provide an important link between Gippsland and Melbourne. The $242 million project is expected to be completed in late 2007.
Towns linked by the Princes Freeway include:
