Highway 1 (Australia)

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Highway 1
National Route 1 National Highway 1 National Highway M1 National Highway A1
State Route M1 State Route A1 State Route B1
Map of Australia's Highway 1
Map of Highway 1, which is a ring road around Australia. A separate section in Tasmania connects Hobart to Burnie.
General information
Type Highway
Length 14,500 km (9,010 mi)
History Highway 1 was established in 1955
Highway system
Highways in Australia
National Highway • Freeways in Australia

Australia's Highway 1 is a network of highways that circumnavigate the Australian continent, joining all mainland state capitals. At a total length of approximately 14,500 km (9,000 mi) it is the longest national highway in the world, longer than the Trans-Siberian Highway (over 11,000 km or 6,800 mi) and the Trans-Canada Highway (8,030 km or 4,990 mi). Every day more than a million people travel on a part of it.[1]

History

Highway 1 was created as part of the National Route Numbering system, adopted in 1955.[2] The route was compiled from an existing network of state and local roads and tracks.[2] Highway 1 was and still is the only route to reach across all Australian states.[citation needed] Many of the other national routes are tributaries of Highway 1.

Under the original Highway 1 scheme, certain major traffic routes that ran parallel to the main route were designated National Route Alternative 1. Most of these route designations have been replaced by either a state route designation, or an alpha-numeric route designation, depending on which state the section is in. An example of the Alternative 1 designation remaining is on the old Princes Highway route from Dandenong to South Melbourne in Victoria.

Route markers

The entirety of Highway 1 was originally marked with a National Route 1 shield (black number on a white shield). In 1974, the segments of the route that were declared part of the National Highway network were updated to use the National Highway shield (gold number on a green shield).[3]

Since that time, all states and territories except for Western Australia have adopted (or are in the process of adopting) alphanumeric route numbers. As a consequence, much of Highway 1 is now marked with a M1, A1 or B1 route marker (depending on the route's quality and importance). A notable exception is in Tasmania, which was the first state to adopt alphanumeric route numbers but Highway 1 is still marked with a National Highway 1 shield.

In South Australia, sections of Highway 1 which were once part of the National Highway are marked as A1 or M1 but retain the National Highway "shield".

Track

Princes Highway, which is part of the Highway 1 network, at Moruya, New South Wales

From Sydney, it heads southwards to Melbourne and then on to Adelaide via Princes Highway. From then on to Perth via Port Wakefield Road and the Eyre Highway, Coolgardie-Esperance Highway, South Coast Highway, South Western Highway. It then heads to Darwin via Brand Highway, North West Coastal Highway, Great Northern Highway, Victoria Highway, and Stuart Highway.

From Darwin, Highway 1 follows the Stuart Highway to Daly Waters, and thereafter the Carpentaria Highway to Borroloola. The Savannah Way is the largely unsignposted route for Highway 1 between the QLD/NT Border, east of Borroloola, and Normanton, Queensland.

From there, it follows the Gulf Developmental Road and Kennedy Highway to Cairns and southwards via Bruce Highway to Brisbane and then back to Sydney by Pacific Highway.

In Tasmania it starts at the Brooker Highway in Hobart and heads towards Launceston via the Midland Highway. At Launceston it becomes the Bass Highway to Burnie. Highway 1 ends at Burnie; the Bass Highway continues to Marrawah on the west coast as Highway A2.

Large sections of Highway 1 are shared with the Australian National Highway, though the two are not synonymous. For instance, the Princes Highway from Sydney to Melbourne is part of Highway 1, but is not part of the National Highway, which follows the Hume Highway and Freeway.

Route Markers

State Segment Route Marker
New South Wales QLD border-Ewingsdale M1
Ewingsdale-Newcastle A1
Newcastle-Wahroonga M1
Wahroonga-Artarmon A1
Artarmon-Mascot M1
Mascot-Waterfall A1
Waterfall-Yallah M1
Yallah-VIC border A1
Victoria NSW border to Traralgon A1
Traralgon to Geelong M1
Geelong to SA border A1
South Australia VIC Border-Murray Bridge B1
Murray Bridge to Glen Osmond National Highway M1
Glen Osmond to Waterloo Corner A1
Waterloo Corner to WA border National Highway A1
Western Australia SA Border to Norseman National Highway 1
Norseman to Port Headland National Route 1
Port Headland to NT Border National Highway 1
Northern Territory WA Border to Katherine National Highway 1
Darwin to Carpentaria Highway National Highway 1
Stuart Highway to QLD Border National Route 1
Queensland NT Border to Cairns National Route 1
Cairns to Cooroy A1
Cooroy to NSW Border M1
Tasmania Entire Route National Highway 1

Road conditions

With such a vast and incomparable length, road conditions vary greatly;[4] from multi-lane freeways in populous urban and rural areas, to sealed two-laners in remote areas, such as the Nullarbor Plain, to single lane roads, such as in northern Queensland.

Some stretches are very isolated, such as the Eyre Highway, which crosses the Nullarbor Plain, and the Great Northern Highway, which runs close to the north-western coastline. Isolated roadhouses serving the small amount of passing traffic are often the only signs of human activity for hundreds of kilometres.

Highway 1 has been described as a "death trap",[4] particularly two-lane sections in northern Queensland, due to driver fatigue.[4] The vast distances between destinations and limited rest areas, especially those suitable to trucks, contribute to the problem.[4]

Sights

Highway 1 covers practically every major inhabited part of Australia. Large capital cities, busy holiday resorts, dramatic coastlines, forests ranging from tropical to temperate gum forests, giant karri stands, scrubland, deserts, and huge tropical swamps are some of the variety of landscapes that can be found along en route.

Stretches of Highway 1 are very popular with interstate and overseas tourists. A drive around Highway 1 with a major detour to Uluru and back again practically covers most of Australia. The number 1 shield became part of the bush landscape to many travellers, truckers, and country people.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Journeys" (PDF). Tourism Australia. December 2010. Retrieved 6 February 2013. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Taylor, David (2012). The Highway One travel companion. Volume 1, Melbourne to Tweed Heads. Salisbury, Queensland: Boolarong Press. p. 9. ISBN 9780987218902. 
  3. ↑ Distance book (12 ed.). Main Roads Western Australia. 2012. pp. 4–5. ISBN 0 7309 7657 2. Retrieved 8 October 2012. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Doyle, John (31 December 2012). "Australia's Highway 1" (MP3). Radio National Breakfast. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 13 January 2013. 

Further reading

  • Catherine Lawson; David Bristow (2012). High Way One: The Ultimate Australian Road Trip. Australian Geographic. ISBN 9781742453439. 
  • Farwell, George; McArdle, Brian (1966), Around Australia on Highway One, Thomas Nelson (Australia) 
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