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Statistics:

• Length: 1354 km (Bodalla to Cobargo: 55 km)
• Northern Terminus: Queensland Border at Tweed Heads, continues as Pacific Motorway (M1)
• Southern Terminus: Victorian Border at Timbillica, continues as Princes Highway (A1)
• Suburbs, Towns & Localities Along Route: Dalmeny, Narooma, Corunna, Central Tilba, Tilba Tilba, Dignams Creek and Cobargo

Route Numbering:

• Current: A1

• Former:
• Road Authority Internal Classification: HW1 (Victorian border to Yallah and Waterfall to Kogarah) 1

General Information:

The Princes Highway was formed from a string of roads linking Sydney to the Illawarra, and then forming a coastal route to Melbourne and into South Australia. The section covered by A1 is in 2 pieces - between Rockdale and Waterfall in Sydney, and then Yallah near Wollongong through to the Victorian Border. The route is a mix of urban arterial road, dual carriageway and also rural highway.

History:

• 7 June 1926: The Princes Highway comes under a federal and state government £ for £ funding scheme, thus recognizing the importance of the highway as major route.
• 1881: Construction of the Nowra Bridge over the Shoalhaven River
• August 1920: Official opening of Princes Highway performed at Warragul in Victoria. The formation of the Princes Highway is from existing roads being renamed, after the visit to Australia in 1920 of the Prince of Wales (later to become King Edward VIII, and after abdicating, the Duke of Windsor).
• 1 July 1928: Princes Highway became a state highway. 2 
• 1939: By the middle of the year, 300 miles (or 50% of the then highway) had been paved with bitumous surface.
• 1932: Completion of steel truss and bascule lift span bridge over the Wagonga River at Narooma. 3
• 1935: Construction of pre-stressed concrete bridge at Dignams Creek. Construction of bridge over Victoria Creek at Central Tilba. Roads & Maritime Services, Projects, Princes Highway upgrade, Victoria Creek.
• 1939: By the middle of the year, 300 miles (or 50% of the then highway) had been paved with bitumous surface.
• 1957: First post-tensioned concrete bridges built by the DMR were completed on the Princes Highway over Corunna Lake and Nangudga Lake near Narooma. 3
• March 2011: Work started on replacement bridge over Nangudga Lake near Narooma. 4
• 16 December 2011: Completion of replacement bridge over Nangudga Lake. 4
• 16 January 2013: Opening of replacement bridge over Victoria Creek and associated realignment works at Central Tilba. 5

Preview:	Description:
	Advance Directional Sign: AD sign, southbound on Princes Hwy at Tilba Tilba approaching Bermagui Rd, May 2011. Image © Paul Rands
Click here for the Princes Hwy (A1) between Cobargo and Bega Click here for the continuation of the Princes Hwy (A1) between Batemans Bay and Bodalla

1 Roads & Maritime Services, Schedule of Classified Roads and Unclassified Regional Roads, August 2013.
2 Main Roads Board, Annual Report, Volume 1, Number 1, September 1929.
3 Roads & Traffic Authority, Thematic History, 2nd Edition, 2006.
4 Roads & Maritime Services, Projects, Princes Highway upgrade, Nangudga Lake Bridge replacement.
5 Roads & Maritime Services, Projects, Princes Highway upgrade, Victoria Creek.

Last updated: 22-Dec-2019 19:36

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