Melba Highway

Victoria
General information
TypeHighway
Length64.9 km (40 mi)[1]
Route number(s) B300 (1998–present)
Entire route (via Yarra Glen bypass)
Former
route number
  • B300 (1998–2010)
    (via Yarra Glen)
  • State Route 153 (1986–1998)
    Entire route (via Yarra Glen)
Major junctions
North end Goulburn Valley Highway
Yea, Victoria
 
  • Healesville-Kinglake Road
  • Melba Highway
South end Maroondah Highway
Coldstream, Victoria
Location(s)
Major settlementsGlenburn, Dixons Creek, Yarra Glen, Yering
Highway system

Melba Highway connects the outer eastern suburb of Coldstream, near Lilydale, and the town of Yea, in Victoria's Upper Goulburn on the Goulburn Valley Highway. The road is named after Dame Nellie Melba, a famed Australian opera singer of the early 20th century, whose former country estate lies at the southern end of the highway, at the junction of the Melba and Maroondah highways in Coldstream.

Route

Melba Highway starts at the intersection of High Street (Goulburn Valley Highway) and Station Street in Yea and heads south as a dual-lane, single-carriageway road, passing through forest and open agricultural land, descending down a steep grade between Glenburn and Dixons Creek to the bottom of the Great Dividing Range, through a road junction that links the highway with the nearby towns of Kinglake and Toolangi, a former home of Australian author C. J. Dennis. It continues south and then west along the bypass around Yarra Glen, then continues south, passing through the alluvial plains of the Yarra River and the rich Yarra Valley vineyards, before eventually ending at the intersection with Maroondah Highway in Coldstream.

Speed Limits

  • Coldstream – Yarra Glen 80 km/h
  • Yarra Glen 50 km/h
  • Yarra Glen – Glenburn via Yarra Glen Bypass 100 km/h
  • Glenburn 80 km/h
  • Glenburn – Yea 100 km/h
  • Yea 60 km/h

History

The passing of the Country Roads Act of 1958[2] (itself an evolution from the original Highways and Vehicles Act of 1924[3]) provided for the declaration of State Highways, roads two-thirds financed by the State government through the Country Roads Board (later VicRoads). The road was declared a State Highway in June 1983; before this declaration, the roads were referred to as Yarra Glen-Yea Road and Yarra Glen Road.[4][5]

Melba Highway was signed as State Route 153 between Yea and Coldstream in 1986;[6] with Victoria's conversion to the newer alphanumeric system in the late 1990s this was replaced with route B300.

The passing of the Road Management Act 2004[7] granted the responsibility of overall management and development of Victoria's major arterial roads to VicRoads: in 2004, VicRoads re-declared Melba Highway (Arterial #6300) between Yea and Coldstream.[8]

The Yarra Glen bypass which opened in May 2010 diverts trucks and other through vehicles. Works also saw the Bell Street/Melba Highway roundabout created along with a new level crossing through the roundabout for the Yarra Valley Railway.[9]

Major Intersections and Towns

LGALocation[1][8]km[1]miDestinationsNotes
MurrindindiYea0.00.0 Goulburn Valley Highway (B340) – Seymour, AlexandraNorthern terminus of highway; route B300 continues east along Goulburn Valley Highway towards Mansfield
Castella40.024.9 Healesville–Kinglake Road (C724 east) – HealesvilleConcurrency with route C724
40.124.9 Healesville–Kinglake Road (C724 west) – Kinglake
Yarra RangesYarra Glen54.333.7 Melba Highway (C731) – Yarra Glen, ElthamFormer alignment before Yarra Glen bypass built
55.634.5 Healesville–Yarra Glen Road (C726 east) – HealesvilleConcurrency with route C726
57.635.8 Bell Street (C726 west) – Yarra Glen, Eltham
Coldstream64.940.3 Maroondah Highway (B360) – Healesville, AlexandraSouthern terminus of highway; route B300 continues south along Maroondah Highway towards Lilydale
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Google (17 November 2021). "Melba Highway" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  2. ↑ State of Victoria, An Act to consolidate the Law relating to Country Roads 30 September 1958
  3. ↑ State of Victoria, An Act to make further provision with respect to Highways and Country Roads Motor Cars and Traction Engines and for other purposes 30 December 1924
  4. ↑ "Road Construction Authority of Victoria. Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 1984". Road Construction Authority of Victoria. Melbourne: Victorian Government Library Service. 21 December 1984. p. 54.
  5. ↑ "Victorian Government Gazette". State Library of Victoria. 30 June 1983. p. 1972. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  6. ↑ "Road Construction Authority of Victoria. Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 1986". Road Construction Authority of Victoria. Melbourne: Victorian Government Library Service. 24 November 1986. p. 42.
  7. ↑ State Government of Victoria. "Road Management Act 2004" (PDF). Government of Victoria. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 October 2021. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  8. 1 2 VicRoads. "VicRoads – Register of Public Roads (Part A) 2015" (PDF). Government of Victoria. p. 1036. Archived from the original on 1 May 2020. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  9. ↑ Yarra Glen Bypass, VicRoads. Retrieved on 15 March 2011.
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