Old Hume Highway

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The Old Hume Highway may be described as any part of an earlier route of the Hume Highway, which traverses Victoria and New South Wales between the cities of Melbourne and Sydney in Australia. In some places, the highway has been deviated several times since the first rough track was made between Sydney and Melbourne in November 1842.

1 History
2 Major Deviations
3 Major sections, which have now been bypassed
- 3.1 New South Wales
- 3.2 Victoria
4 See also
5 References

[edit] History

Since then, the route of what is now the Hume Highway has been the main road link between the two biggest cities in Australia - Sydney and Melbourne. Since February 1960 a freeway standard of road has been developed along this route. Where the alignment of the original road is reasonably flat and straight it has been duplicated and retained for traffic in one direction. In some locations the original road has been replaced by a dual carriageway road beside the original road. In other locations the new road deviates from the original by many kilometres.

From Table Top (North of Albury), in New South Wales to the Western Ring Road in Melbourne (Near Craigieburn), in Victoria and to note: In Victoria, 100% of the entire length of the Hume Highway has been upgraded to freeway-grade stardard and is called the Hume Freeway. In New South Wales, 97% of the highway has been upgraded to freeway-grade stardard by December 2009 (currently Nov 2007; 92%), with the 460 km section from Sydney to 22 km south of Tarcutta being freeway-grade stardard - Except for a length of 11 km at Coolac where a dual carriageway deviation is under construction, the Sheahan Bridge (1.3 km across, construction contract awarded - Yet to commence construction) the Murrumbidgee River at Gundagai, duplication of the bridge, also is under construction, and a length of 8 km from the Sturt Highway interchange to 3 km south of Tarcutta.

Between North Coolac and Table Top (North of Albury) are lengths of single carriageways. The remaining single carriageway lengths are currently going under a dual carriageway construction facelift, and will be duplicated by December 2009 (Except for 20 km bypassing Tarcutta, Holbrook, Woomargama which will be bypassed and duplicated by 2012) [1] [2] [3].

The section of the Hume Highway from Sydney heading towards the Southern Highlands (and the connection to Canberra) is of exceptionally high standard, as it follows a new route built between 1973 and 1998 to full freeway-grade standard.

Many of the superseded sections of the Hume Highway are of historical interest as they provide insights into the small historical towns which have since been bypassed. In the past when the highway passed through these towns, many were thriving centres. One section of the Old Hume Highway travels through Yass in southern New South Wales. This section of road is now known as the Yass Valley Way.

Source:^[1]

[edit] Major Deviations

The section of the Hume Highway between the Cross Roads, at Prestons on Sydney's southwestern fringe, and the Medway Rivulet near Berrima, was completely superseded in the period 1973-1992 by a new route built as a freeway.

Most of the highway route between Breadalbane, west of Goulburn, and Derringullen Creek, west of Yass, was replaced during 1994. This included a bypassing of the Cullerin Range. The previous route of the highway over the Cullerin Range was in itself a deviation built in 1920, using sections of railway formation abandoned several years earlier when the Main Southern Railway was deviated at the time it was duplicated. The deviations were an attempt to ease the gradients against heavily-laden Sydney-bound steam trains.

The Breadalbane-Derringullen Creek deviation is in most places quite close to the previous highway, most of which remains for local use. This section also included the abandoning of the route over the Mundoonen Range which, when it was rebuilt in the 1960s, was designed to be duplicated.

Between Conroys Gap and Coolac, most of the earlier alignment was replaced in 1983 and 1996 by realignment associated with dual carriageway construction, although sections such as that south of Connors Creek were rebuilt in 1979 with the earthworks being done for a second carriageway, which was subsequently built in 1994.

The current 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.

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 Bowna and terminates at Guinea St Albury (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). At either end of the original route is the strange sight of the road disappearing into the waters of Lake Hume.

[edit] Major sections, which have now been bypassed

[edit] New South Wales

Towrang bridge of 1839, at Derrick VC rest stop 10km north of Goulburn.

Camden Valley Way , 28 km stretch between the Cross Roads, south of Liverpool and Camden

Old Hume Highway, 70 km stretch between Camden and Aylmerton (part of ) and between Aylmerton and the Medway Rivulet, near Berrima

Old Hume Highway, 10 km stretch through Goulburn

Cullerin Road, 23 km stretch between Breadalbane and the foot of the Mundoonen Range, including through Gunning

Yass Valley Way, 17 km stretch through Yass and intersecting with the Barton Highway

The section of road bypassed by the Tumblong deviation, between Tumblong and Hillas Creeks

[edit] Victoria

Hume Highway & Melbourne Road
4 km stretch through Wodonga

Wangaratta Road , Old Hume Highway, Winton - Glenrowan Road, Benalla - Winton Road & Baddaginnie - Benalla Road
60 km stretch between Bowser and Baddaginne. This stretch runs through Wangaratta, Glenrowan & Benalla