Road Photos & Information: Victoria
M1 A1   Princes Highway, West Gate Freeway, CityLink, Monash Freeway & Princes Freeway (M1 / A1)

Statistics:

Route Numbering:

General Information:

M1 / A1 is a major route that crosses roughly from east to west in Victoria. The standard varies from single carriageway rural highway to full freeway standard.

Multiplexes along the route include:

Princes Highway (West):

Starting out as a series of dirt tracks in the 1850s, Princes Highway West was the first major inland link between Geelong and the Western District. 3 The Princes Highway (west) is a key route through south-western Victoria providing a link from Geelong to the South Australian border and beyond to Adelaide.

Princes Highway (East):

The eastern section of the Princes Highway connects Traralgon to the Gippsland area and also Victoria's northeast. It's mostly undivided rural highway, generally one lane each way with occasional overtaking lanes. Several of the towns serviced by the route are very popular tourist destinations.

Princes Freeway:

The Princes Freeway is in 2 sections. The western section connects with the West Gate Freeway and extends to the Geelong area. The eastern section connects with the Monash Freeway and joins up with the Princes Highway (East) at Traralgon. There is also a small section of Princes Freeway, otherwise known as Orbost Bypass, at Orbost. It's not dual carriageway however. 1

West Gate Freeway:

The West Gate Freeway connects the Princes Freeway (West), with CityLink southern link. Forming a section of the West Gate Freeway is the West Gate Bridge. The West Gate Bridge is the second-longest bridge in Australia. It is a cable-stayed bridge and has a span of 2582.6 metres. The West Gate Bridge collapsed on 15 October 1970, resulting in the deaths of 35 people. The bridge was rebuilt and completed in 1978. 4

CityLink:

CityLink is in divided into 2 parts, the western section (Metropolitan Route 43) and the southern section (M1). The CityLink southern section features 2 tunnels, the Burnley and Domain Tunnels. The Burnley tunnel is approximately 3.5 kilometres in length. 5

Monash Freeway:

The Monash Freeway runs from Melbourne's inner eastern suburbs and ends at Berwick, where it joins with the Prince Freeway. The route was previously known as the South Eastern Freeway. 6 It was also known as the South Eastern Arterial. 7

History:

Click inside the green borders on the map below to view a section of the route:

1 Viseth Uch
2 Vicroads Road Management Plan, 30 October 2004
3 VicRoads, Princes Highway West Duplication: Waurn Ponds to Winchelsea Desktop and Standard assessment
4 Victoria's Virtual Library, Victorian Biography Resource Centre, West Gate Bridge
5 CityLink, About the CityLink Roadway
6 Parliament of Victoria, Vichansard, Scoresby Freeway Funding, 23 May 2001
7 Parliament of Victoria, Vichansard, Transport: Monash Freeway upgrade, Gardiners Creek, 20 June 2001
8 Victorian Heritage Database, Genoa River Bridge
9 State Library of Victoria: Princes Highway West Geelong Road
10 Office of the Minister For Transport, Media Release, New Geelong Road Lanes Open For Australia Day Weekend, 24 January 2002
11 ABC News, The West Gate Bridge collapsed 50 years ago. Can similar tragedies be prevented?, 15 October 2020
12 Picture Victoria, 2001 West Gate Bridge Memorial Plaque
13 Heritage Victoria, Victorian Hertiage Database, Williamstown Steam Ferry Landing, Wharf Western Shore
14 Disaster At West Gate, The Disaster
15 Office of the Minister For Transport, Media Release, $175 Million Hallam Bypass to be Completed One Year Ahead of Schedule, 1 November 2001
16 CityLink, About the CityLink Roadway
17 Environment Protection Authority, Information Bulletin, CityLink Burnley Tunnel, Publication 738, Decemeber 2000, Page 1
18 Minister for Roads & Ports, Memorial to Commemorate West Gate Bridge Accident, 15 October 2007
19 Office of the Minister For Transport, Media Release, Full Steam Ahead for Pakenham Bypass, 10 February, 2006
20 Office of the Minister For Public Transport, Media Release, Work Begins on New $26.8M Road for Point Cook, 21 July, 2006
21 Office of the Minister For Public Transport, Media Release, Extra Protection for Princes Highway Crossing, 02 September 2008
22 Office of the Minister for Roads & Ports, Media Release, First Completed Section of M1 Open to Traffic, 27 February 2009
23 VicRoads, Geelong Ring Road
24 Office of the Minister for Roads & Ports, Media Release, New Signalling for Drivers As Major M1 Section Opens, 07 December 2009
25 Office of the Minister for Roads & Ports, Media Release, Traralgon East Highway Duplication Works Begin, 12 February 2010
26 VicRoads Princes Highway, Traralgon East
27 Office of the Minister for Roads & Ports, Media Release, Princes Freeway Noise Walls Complete, 29 March 2010

Last updated: 15-Oct-2020 14:40

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