Murray Valley Highway

New South Wales
–Victoria
Murray Valley Highway at Nathalia
General information
TypeHighway
Length663 km (412 mi)[1]
GazettedSeptember 1932[2]
Route number(s)
  • B400 (1997–present)
    (Robinvale–Corryong)
  • Concurrencies:
  • B12 (1997–present)
    (through Piangil)
  • A39 (2013–present)
    (Strathmerton–Yarroweyah)
  • B75 (1997–present)
    (through Echuca)
  • M31 (2013–present)
    (Barnawatha North–Wodonga)
Former
route number		 National Route 16 (1955–1997/2013) (VIC/NSW)
Entire route
Major junctions
Northwest end Sturt Highway
Euston, New South Wales
 
Southeast endAlpine Way
VIC/NSW border
Location(s)
Major settlementsRobinvale, Swan Hill, Kerang, Echuca, Yarrawonga, Rutherglen, Wodonga, Tallangatta[3]
Highway system

Murray Valley Highway is a 663-kilometre (412 mi)[1] state highway located in Victoria and New South Wales, Australia.[4] The popular tourist route mostly follows the southern bank of the Murray River and effectively acts as the northernmost highway in Victoria. For all but the western end's last three kilometres, the highway is allocated route B400.

Route

The western terminus of the Murray Valley Highway at Euston, New South Wales.
The eastern terminus of the Murray Valley Highway at the Bringenbrong Bridge near Corryong, Victoria.

The western end of Murray Valley Highway commences at the intersection with Sturt Highway just outside Euston, New South Wales and heads south to cross the Murray River over the Robinvale-Euston bridge at Robinvale and into Victoria; the western end of route B400 starts here. The highway continues in a south-easterly direction, tracking close to the southern bank of the Murray River for the majority of its length until it reaches Wodonga, before heading in an easterly direction until it eventually reaches the foothills of the Great Dividing Range at Corryong. The road beyond crosses the border east into New South Wales as Alpine Way, to eventually reach Khancoban and Jindabyne.

Most of the highway is fairly straight and flat, much of it through irrigated farmland. It becomes hillier and more winding east of Wodonga, with a moderately steep mountain pass near Shelley, midway between Tallangatta and Corryong.

The major towns along the route are Robinvale, Swan Hill, Kerang, Cohuna, Echuca, Nathalia, Strathmerton, Cobram, Yarrawonga, Rutherglen, Wodonga, Tallangatta and Corryong.

History

Murray (River) Valley Road was built in the late 1920s and early 1930s by the Country Roads Board of Victoria as part of a program of rural roads to facilitate development of the more remote parts of the state and provide connections between communities in addition to the roads and railways radiating out from Melbourne. Parts of the Murray River Valley Road included a stretch of newly-constructed road between Mildura and the South Australian border, opened in 1927.[5][6]

The passing of the Highways and Vehicles Act of 1924[7] through the Parliament of Victoria provided for the declaration of State Highways, roads two-thirds financed by the State government through the Country Roads Board (later VicRoads) in Victoria. Murray Valley Highway was declared a State Highway in September 1932,[2] cobbled from a collection of existing and newly-constructed roads running along the southern bank of the Murray River from Corryong through Walwa, Wodonga, Cobram, Echuca, Swan Hill and Bannerton to the intersection with Calder Highway in Hattah, and again from Mildura to the state border with South Australian[8] (for a total of 513 miles), and Renmark beyond.

Sturt Highway was rerouted to reach Renmark through Victoria instead of via Wentworth in 1939,[9] subsuming the alignment of the Murray Valley Highway between Mildura and the state border with South Australia; it was subsequently truncated to terminate at Calder Highway in Hattah. Robinvale Road, a 2-mile road connecting the "irrigation settlement of Robinvale" to the highway, was declared a Main Road when it was surfaced for the first time in 1952,[10] and later declared a State Highway as Robinvale Highway in June 1983, between Robinvale and Lake Powell.[11][12]

The alignment was further altered at both ends in 1990:

  • its western end, running from Lake Powell via Bannerton to Hattah, was re-aligned to run through Robinvale along Robinvale Highway instead, subsuming it to terminate just outside Euston, New South Wales in May 1990; the former alignment is now known as Hattah-Robinvale Road (signed route C252 in 1998).[13]
  • its eastern end, running through Thologolong, Walwa and Towong, was re-aligned to run along the more-direct, present-day route to Corryong (at the time named Tallangatta-Corryong Road) in June 1990; the former alignment is now known as Murray River Road (signed route C546 in 1998).[14]

The passing of the Road Management Act 2004[15] granted the responsibility of overall management and development of Victoria's major arterial roads to VicRoads: in 2004, VicRoads re-declared the road as Murray Valley Highway (Arterial #6570), beginning at the New South Wales border at Robinvale and ending at the New South Wales border in Towong Upper.[16]

The passing of the Main Roads (Amendment) Act of 1929[17] (which amended the original Main Roads Act of 1924[18]) through the Parliament of New South Wales on 8 April 1929 provided for the declaration of State Highways, Trunk Roads and Main Roads, partially funded by the State government through the Main Roads Board (later the Department of Main Roads, and eventually Transport for NSW) in New South Wales. Main Road 583 was declared on 17 June 1959, from the intersection with State Highway 14 (Sturt Highway) at Euston to the state border with Victoria north of Robinvale;[19] this declaration as a Main Road did not change when the road on the Victorian side of the bridge was declared a State Highway (as Robinvale Highway in 1983 and then Murray Valley Highway in 1990), despite adopting its name as Murray Valley Highway from the Victorian side of the road to remain contiguous. The road today, as Main Road 583, still retains this declaration.[20]

Murray Valley Highway was signed National Route 16 across its entire length in 1955. With Victoria's conversion to the newer alphanumeric system in the late 1990s, its former route number was replaced by route B400 for the highway within Victoria; the New South Wales section was left signed as National Route 16 until switching to their alphanumeric system in 2013, after which it was left unallocated.[21]

Upgrades

Major roadworks have recently taken place around Echuca and Moama and are continuing. The project is being built in four stages:

  • Stage 1: Upgrade of the Murray Valley Highway and Warren Street intersection, completed in mid-2018
  • Stage 2: Warren Street upgrade, completed November 2019
  • Stage 3: Construction of new bridges over the Campaspe and Murray Rivers, major works started in March 2020
  • Stage 4: Intersection upgrades to the Cobb Highway, Meninya Street and Perricoota Road intersection (to be delivered by Transport for NSW), works started in March 2020.

The project is due for completion in mid-2022.[22]

Major intersections and towns

StateLGALocation[1][16]km[1]miDestinationsNotes
New South WalesBalranaldEuston0.00.0 Sturt Highway (A20) – Renmark, Mildura, Balranald, HayWestern terminus of Murray Valley Highway at T-intersection
River Murray31.9Robinvale–Euston Bridge
State border42.5New South Wales – Victoria state border
VictoriaSwan HillRobinvale Murray Valley HighwayWestern terminus of route B400
63.7 Robinvale–Sea Lake Road (C251) – Manangatang, Sea Lake
Tol Tol2516 Hattah–Robinvale Road (C252) – HattahT-intersection
Piangil9358 Tooleybuc Road (Mallee Highway) (B12 east) – Tooleybuc, Balranald, SydneyConcurrency with route B12
9559 Mallee Highway (B12 west) – Ouyen, Adelaide
Nyah11068Speewah Road – Koraleigh
Swan Hill13584Piangil railway line
13785 Sea Lake–Swan Hill Road (C246 west) – Sea Lake, Hopetoun
McCallum Street (east) – Moulamein, Deniliquin		Roundabout
Castle Donnington14288 Donald–Swan Hill Road (C261) – Wycheproof, Donald
14691Piangil railway line
GannawarraKerang190120
194121 Kerang–Quambatook Road (C262) – Quambatook, to Boort–Kerang Road (C266) – Boort
Loddon River195121Patchell Bridge[23]
GannawarraKerang196122 Kerang–Koondrook Road (C264) – Koondrook, to Kerang–Murrabit Road (C263) – Murrabit
199124 Loddon Valley Highway (B260) – Bendigo, Melbourne
200120Piangil railway line
Cohuna227141 Cohuna–Koondrook Road (C265) – Koondrook, Barham
228142 Cohuna–Leitchville Road (C267) – Leitchville
Leitchville243151 Kerang–Leitchville Road (C257) – Leitchville, Pyramid Hill
CampaspeEchuca289180 Warren Street (C349) – Echuca, Moama
291181 Northern Highway (B75 south) – Rochester, Bendigo, MelbourneRoundabout: western terminus of concurrency with route B75
Campaspe River291.5181.1Bridge over the river (bridge name unknown)
CampaspeEchuca292181 Northern Highway (B75 north) – Echuca, Moama, DeniliquinEastern terminus of concurrency with route B75
292.5181.8Echuca railway line
293182 Echuca–Kyabram Road (C351) – Kyabram
Tongala312194 Kyabram–Tongala Road (C352) – Tongala, Kyabram
Wyuna321199 John Allen Road (C359) – Kyabram
325202 Echuca–Mooroopna Road (C355) – Shepparton
Goulburn River329204Bridge over the river (bridge name unknown)
MoiraNathalia344214 Barmah–Shepparton Road (C358) – Shepparton, Barmah
347216 Katamatite–Nathalia Road (C361) – Numurkah, Katamatite
Broken Creek349217Bridge over the river (bridge name unknown)
MoiraStrathmerton382237 Goulburn Valley Highway (A39 south) – Numurkah, Shepparton, MelbourneWestern terminus of concurrency with route A39
387240Tocumwal railway line
Yarroweyah396246 Goulburn Valley Highway (A39 north) – Tocumwal, Dubbo, BrisbaneEastern terminus of concurrency with route A39
Cobram Benalla–Tocumwal Road (C371) – Benalla
400250 Cobram South Road (C368) – Katamatite, Benalla
409254 Cobram–Koonoomoo Road (C367 northwest) – Cobram, Koonoomoo, Tocumwal
Broadway Street (Barooga–Cobram Road) (C370 northeast) – Cobram, Barooga
Yarrawonga Main Channel437272Bridge over the channel (bridge name unknown)
MoiraYarrawonga437272 Benalla–Yarrawonga Road (C373 south) – BenallaConcurrency with route C373
438272 Belmore Street (C373 north) – Yarrawonga, Mulwala, Corowa
Esmond457284 Wangaratta–Yarrawonga Road (C374) – Wangaratta
Ovens River459285Parolas Bridge
IndigoRutherglen480300 Federation Way (C375) – Wangaratta, Corowa
484301 Rutherglen–Wahgunyah Road (C376 north) – Wahgunyah, CorowaConcurrency with route C376
485301 Chiltern–Rutherglen Road (C376 south) – Springhurst, Chiltern
Browns Plains499310 Chiltern–Howlong Road (C381) – Chiltern, Howlong
Barnawartha505314 Barnawartha–Howlong Road (C378) – Howlong
Barnawartha North510.5317.2North East SG railway line
511318 Hume Freeway (M31) – Wangaratta, MelbourneTrumpet interchange; western terminus of concurrency with route M31
WodongaWodonga527327 Bandiana Link Road (B400) – Bandiana, to Hume Freeway (M31) – SydneyDiamond interchange; eastern terminus of concurrency with route M31
Lincoln Causeway (C319) – Albury
528328Beechworth Road – Beechworth, Wangaratta
531330 Bandiana Link Road (B400) – Wodonga, Albury
Victoria Cross Parade (C315) – Beechworth, Wangaratta
Bandiana533331 Kiewa Valley Highway (C531) – Mount Beauty, Falls Creek
Kiewa River536333Bridge over the river (bridge name unknown)
WodongaBonegilla541336 Bonegilla Road (C541) – Hume Dam
TowongHuon556345 Kiewa East Road (C533) – Tangambalanga, Dartmouth, Omeo
Tallangatta574357 Omeo Highway (C543) – Omeo, Bairnsdale
Mitta Mitta River579360Bridge over the river (bridge name unknown)
TowongBullio584363 Murray River Road (C546) – Granya
Shelley611380 Shelley–Jingellic Road (C547) – Walwa, Jingellic
Cudgewa633393 Cudgewa–Tintaldra Road (C548) – Cudgewa, Tintaldra
Colac Colac643400 Benambra–Corryong Road (C545) – Benambra, Omeo, Mount Hotham, Bairnsdale
Towong656408 Murray River Road (C546) – Towong, Tintaldra
Upper Towong663412 Murray Valley HighwayEastern terminus of highway and route B400
State borderVictoria – New South Wales state border
New South WalesMurray RiverBringenbrong Bridge
Snowy ValleysBringenbrongAlpine Way – Khancoban, Thredbo, JindabyneWestern terminus of Alpine Way
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Murray Valley Highway.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Google (19 October 2021). "Murray Valley Highway" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Country Roads Board Victoria. Twentieth Annual Report: for the year ended 30 June 1933". Country Roads Board of Victoria. Melbourne: Victorian Government Library Service. 10 November 1933. pp. 4, 6.
  3. ↑ "Map of Murray Valley Highway". Bonzle Digital Atlas of Australia. 2016. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  4. ↑ "Murray Valley Highway". ExplorOz. Retrieved 11 May 2008.
  5. ↑ "Country Roads Board Victoria. Fourteenth Annual Report: for the year ended 30 June 1927". Country Roads Board of Victoria. Melbourne: Victorian Government Library Service. 30 April 1928. pp. 29–30.
  6. ↑ "THE MURRAY VALLEY ROAD". Murray Pioneer and Australian River Record. Renmark, SA: National Library of Australia. 18 November 1927. p. 6. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  7. ↑ 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
  8. ↑ "Country Roads Board Victoria. Seventeenth Annual Report: for the year ended 30 June 1930". Country Roads Board of Victoria. Melbourne: Victorian Government Library Service. 19 November 1930. p. 26.
  9. ↑ "Historical Roads of New South Wales" (PDF). NSW Main Roads. Sydney: OpenGov NSW. September 1954. pp. 10–4.
  10. ↑ "Country Roads Board Victoria. Thirty-Ninth Annual Report: for the year ended 30 June 1952". Country Roads Board of Victoria. Melbourne: Victorian Government Library Service. 22 December 1952. p. 17.
  11. ↑ "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.
  12. ↑ "Victorian Government Gazette". State Library of Victoria. 30 June 1983. p. 1971. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  13. ↑ "Victorian Government Gazette". State Library of Victoria. 16 May 1990. pp. 1529–31. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  14. ↑ "Victorian Government Gazette". State Library of Victoria. 20 June 1990. pp. 1865–6, 1873. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  15. ↑ 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.
  16. 1 2 VicRoads. "VicRoads – Register of Public Roads (Part A) 2015" (PDF). Government of Victoria. pp. 977–78. Archived from the original on 1 May 2020. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  17. ↑ State of New South Wales, An Act to amend the Main Roads Act, 1924-1927; to confer certain further powers upon the Main Roads Board; to amend the Local Government Act, 1919, and certain other Acts; to validate certain payments and other matters; and for purposes connected therewith. Archived 12 August 2022 at the Wayback Machine 8 April 1929
  18. ↑ State of New South Wales, An Act to provide for the better construction, maintenance, and financing of main roads; to provide for developmental roads; to constitute a Main Roads Board Archived 11 August 2022 at the Wayback Machine 10 November 1924
  19. ↑ "Main Roads Act, 1924-1958". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 75. National Library of Australia. 3 July 1959. p. 1990. Archived from the original on 19 October 2022. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  20. ↑ Transport for NSW (August 2022). "Schedule of Classified Roads and Unclassified Regional Roads" (PDF). Government of New South Wales. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  21. ↑ "Road number and name changes in NSW" (PDF). Roads & Maritime Services. Government of New South Wales. 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 March 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  22. ↑ Victoria, Major Road Projects (15 February 2021). "Echuca-Moama Bridge Project". roadprojects.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  23. ↑ O'Callaghan, Deborah (18 January 2011). "The Loddon River laps at Patchell Bridge, Kerang, in January 2011". ABC News. Australia. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
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