Nepean Highway
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Nepean Highway / Point Nepean Road |
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| Melbourne-Mornington: | |
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| Mornington-Point Nepean: | |
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| Length | 91 kilometres |
| General direction: | North-South |
| From: | South Melbourne, Melbourne |
| To: | Point Nepean, Melbourne |
| Suburbs along highway: | St. Kilda, Moorabbin, Mordialloc, Carrum, Frankston, Mornington, Dromana, Sorrento |
The Nepean Highway runs south from Melbourne city in Victoria, Australia to Portsea, along the eastern shores of Port Phillip Bay. It passess through the suburbs of St Kilda, Brighton, Moorabbin, Cheltenham, Mordialloc, and Frankston, and the towns of Mornington, Dromana, Rosebud and Sorrento before ending at the gates to the Point Nepean park at Portsea. It has been assigned metropolitan route number 3 through the suburbs, but is designated B110 at the town of Mornington.
The highway begins as the end of Swanston Street at the corner of Flinders Street, in the Melbourne CBD, and crosses the Princes Bridge where it changes names to become St Kilda Road. Passing the Victorian Arts Centre and the Shrine of Remembrance before reaching St Kilda Junction. Shortly after, another name change to Brighton Road, and then again, finally being sign posted as the Nepean Highway at Elsternwick.
From here, the speed limit increases to 80 km/h and the road widens to become an eight-lane divided carriageway. It reduces to six lanes at Moorabbin and then to the 60 km/h four-lane single carriageway after the notorious roundabouts at Mordialloc. The highway then travels virtually along the foreshore of Port Phillip Bay, to Frankston, and then up Olivers Hill, from which there are good views across Frankston and the bay.
Just after passing through Mount Martha, the highway joins with the Mornington Peninsula Freeway, before turning toward the town of Dromana. Here the highway changes name again, to become Point Nepean Road – which was the former name of the entire highway in the early years of settlement. From here, Arthurs Seat is easily accessible, which gives spectacular views across the bay, and on a clear day, the skyscrapers of Melbourne are visible.
Route B110 leaves the highway at Sorrento to cross the bay to Queenscliff, via the ferry where it continues to Geelong, via Bellarine Highway, but the highway continues as a two lane road down to the seaside resort of Portsea. The end of the highway is the very non-descript painted turning circle, before the gates of the former Commonwealth quarantine and defence station of Point Nepean.
