Highway 1 (Australia)
Highway 1 | |
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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 | |
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Australia's Highway 1 is a network of highways that circumnavigate the country, 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, surpassing 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]
Contents
1 History
1.1 Route markers
2 Track
2.1 Route markers
2.1.1 The Savannah Way section
3 Road conditions
4 Sights
5 Record
6 See also
7 References
8 External links
9 Further reading
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 is the only route to reach across all Australian states and territories, with the exception of the Australian Capital Territory. 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 Most of these route designations have been replaced by either a state route designation, or an alpha-numeric route designation, depending on which state the section is in.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 via the Eastern Distributor, Southern Cross Drive, General Holmes Drive, The Grand Parade, President Avenue, Princes Highway (NSW), Princes Motorway, Princes Highway (VIC), Princes Freeway (east), Monash Freeway, and CityLink.
It then proceeds to Adelaide via the West Gate Freeway, Princes Freeway (west), Geelong Ring Road, and Princes Highway (SA).
From there it runs to Perth via Port Wakefield Road, Augusta Highway, Eyre Highway, Coolgardie-Esperance Highway, South Coast Highway and 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 the Bruce Highway to Brisbane.
It then returns to Sydney via the Pacific Motorway (QLD/NSW), Pacific Highway (NSW), Pacific Motorway (NSW), Pacific Highway (Sydney), Gore Hill Freeway, Warringah Freeway, Sydney Harbour Tunnel, and the Cahill Expressway.
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 | Road(s) | See also |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | QLD border to West Ballina |  M1 | Pacific Motorway (QLD/NSW) | Highway 1 (New South Wales) |
| West Ballina to Newcastle |  A1 | Pacific Highway (NSW) | ||
| Newcastle to Wahroonga | M1 | Pacific Motorway (NSW) | ||
| Wahroonga to Artarmon | A1 | Pacific Highway (NSW) | ||
| Artarmon to Mascot | M1 |
| ||
| Mascot to Waterfall | A1 |
| ||
| Waterfall to Yallah | M1 | Princes Motorway | ||
| Yallah to VIC border | A1 | Princes Highway (NSW) | ||
| Victoria | NSW border to Traralgon |  A1 | Princes Highway (VIC) | Highway 1 (Victoria) |
| Traralgon to Winchelsea |  M1 |
| ||
| Winchelsea to SA border | A1 | Princes Highway (VIC) | ||
| South Australia | VIC border to Tailem Bend |  B1 | Princes Highway (SA) | Highway 1 (South Australia) |
| Tailem Bend to Murray Bridge |  National Highway A1 | Princes Highway (SA) | ||
| Murray Bridge to Glen Osmond |  National Highway M1 | South Eastern Freeway | ||
| Glen Osmond to Waterloo Corner | A1 |
| ||
| Waterloo Corner to WA border | National Highway A1 |
| ||
| Western Australia | SA border to Norseman |  National Highway 1 | Eyre Highway | Highway 1 (Western Australia) |
| Norseman to Port Hedland |  National Route 1 |
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| Port Hedland to NT border | National Highway 1 |
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| Northern Territory | WA border to Katherine | National Highway 1 | Victoria Highway | Highway 1 (Northern Territory) |
| Katherine to Daly Waters | National Highway 1 | Stuart Highway | ||
| Daly Waters to QLD border | National Route 1 |
| ||
| Queensland | NT border to Cairns | National Route 1 |
| Highway 1 (Queensland) |
| Cairns to Kybong | A1 | Bruce Highway | ||
| Kybong to NSW border | M1 |
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| Tasmania | Entire Route | National Highway 1 |
| Highway 1 (Tasmania) |
The Savannah Way section
The 715 km (444 mi) section from the eastern end of the Carpentaria Highway at Borroloola in the Northern Territory to the western end of the Gulf Developmental Road near Normanton in Queensland is part of the Savannah Way but has no highway name/s. Wollogorang Road runs from Borroloola to the NT/QLD border, and Westmoreland Road runs from there to Doomadgee. From there Doomadgee Road runs to Burketown, and Nardoo Burketown Road then runs to the Leichhardt River. Burketown Normanton Road runs from the river to the Burke Developmental Road near Normanton. National Highway 1 follows this south for 1.8 km (1.1 mi) to the Gulf Developmental Road.
Road conditions
With such a vast 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 the 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.
Record
On 18 June 2017 team Highway 1 to Hell set a new record for a complete lap of Australia.[5] While there have been previous attempts (notably Motor Magazine's 2004 record of 6 days, 8 hours and 52 minutes[6]) which skipped inland direct to Mt Isa, the Highway 1 to Hell team travelled the route of Highway 1 skipping Tasmania's stretch of road[7] (equaling 14280km) in 5 days, 13 hours and 43 minutes.[8]
See also
- Highway 1 (New South Wales)
- Highway 1 (Northern Territory)
- Highway 1 (Queensland)
- Highway 1 (South Australia)
- Highway 1 (Tasmania)
- Highway 1 (Victoria)
- Highway 1 (Western Australia)
- Highways in Australia
- List of A1 roads
- List of highways numbered 1
References
^ "Journeys" (PDF). Tourism Australia. December 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 February 2011. Retrieved 6 February 2013..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ ab Taylor, David (2012). The Highway One travel companion. Volume 1, Melbourne to Tweed Heads. Salisbury, Queensland: Boolarong Press. p. 9. ISBN 9780987218902.
^ Distance book (12 ed.). Main Roads Western Australia. 2012. pp. 4–5. ISBN 0 7309 7657 2. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
^ abcd Doyle, John (31 December 2012). "Australia's Highway 1" (MP3). Radio National Breakfast. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
^ Caradvice.com.au- Around Australia speed record broken
^ Motormag.com.au- Around Australia in 6 days
^ facebook.com- Highway 1 to Hell Route
^ Caradvice.com.au- Around Australia speed record broken
External links
Male, Andrew. "National Highway One". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 4 October 2007. Retrieved 2 October 2007.
Further reading
Route map:
KML file (edit • help) |
 | Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Highway 1 (Australia). |
.mw-parser-output .refbegin{font-size:90%;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents>ul{list-style-type:none;margin-left:0}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents>ul>li,.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents>dl>dd{margin-left:0;padding-left:3.2em;text-indent:-3.2em;list-style:none}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-100{font-size:100%}
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)
