Road Photos & Information: New South Wales
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Pacific Highway, New England Highway, John Renshaw Drive, Southern Freeway, Mount Ousley Road & Princes Highway (National Route 1) (Decommissioned) - Historic photos: Ballina to Maclean |
Statistics:
- Length: 1149 km (Ballina to Maclean: 83 km)
- Northern section: 668 km
- Southern section: 481 km
- Northern Terminus:
- Northern section: Gold Coast Highway (SR2) and Tugun Bypass (M1) at Tweed Heads West
- Southern section: Princes Highway (Metroad 1) at Waterfall
- Southern Terminus:
- Northern section: John Renshaw Drive (NH1) and New England Highway (NH15) at Beresfield
- Southern section: Princes Highway (A1) at New South Wales / Victoria border
- Miscellaneous: Continues as Princes Highway (A1) in Victoria
- Suburbs, Towns & Localities Along The Route:
- Northern section: Uralba, Wardell, Broadwater, Woodburn, Trustrums Hill, The Gap, Mororo, Chatsworth, Harwood and Maclean
Route Numbering:
- Former:
- Road Authority Internal Classification: SH10 (Tweed Heads West to Hexham) 1
- Decommissioned: 2013
General Information:
National Route 1 forms part of the main coastal route between Victoria and Queensland. The route features a mix of rural highway, arterial and freeway design standards. The route forms part of what is collectively known as Highway 1. It is Australia's coastal highway joining all mainland's state capitals and coastal towns circumnavigating the entire Australian continent. It is also the longest numbered highway in the world, covering more than 14 500 km.
In New South Wales, National Route 1 was truncated by National Highway 1 between Beresfield and Wahroonga, by Metroad 1 between Wahroonga and Waterfall and by M1 at Tweed Heads West.
Northern Section:
The northern section of National Route 1 took in a small section of New England Highway and the rest was made up by the Pacific Highway. The route varies from dual carriageway arterial and highway standard, to motorway standard and the rest is generally undivided rural highway conditions. The Pacific Highway is very well trafficked, and as a result notorious for a large amount of road trauma within the state. These crashes have resulted in more than 50% of the route being divided since the late 1980s.
The Pacific Highway section of NR1 runs between Brunswick Heads and Hexham, and also between Wahroonga and the Gore Hill Freeway at Artarmon. The northern section between Brunswick Heads and Hexham is a mix of dual carriageway, rural highway and urban arterial roadway. The southern section between Wahroonga and Artarmon is urban arterial standard and passes through one of Sydney's more affluent areas.
The highway traces its origins back to an early settler, George Peat, who owned the land between the Hawkesbury River and Mooney Mooney Creek. To provide access to his property, Peat began a ferry service across the Hawkesbury River in 1844 and surveyed, then constructed a road between Hornsby and Kariong in 1854. After his death in 1870, the ferry service was abandoned and the road fell into disrepair, finally closing to all traffic in 1899, following the completion of the Sydney-Newcastle railway.
Demand for a route between Sydney and Newcastle dates back to the early 20th century. When the only access was via the sea or via a long route through the town of Wiseman's Ferry. In the 1920s, the then Main Roads Board undertook a series of surveys to form an easier and more reliable route north from Sydney. In 1928 construction began on upgrading the old road and converting it to a modern standard, plus creating a new route north, utilising some of the abandoned Peat's Ferry Rd, while improving the horizontal and vertical alignments. In May 1930 the ferry service across the Hawkesbury River was re-established to service the new road until such times that a bridge became necessary. June 1930 marked the completion of the concrete surfacing.
During the time of the Hornsby to Gosford contruction, improvements were made to roads between Gosford to Newcastle as part of the link. On May 17 in 1929, the route was named as the Great Northern Highway. The work from Hornsby to Gosford cost almost £1 million, however it was money well spent, reducing the trip from Sydney to Newcastle from 9 hours to 4 ½ hours.
History:
Pacific Highway:
- 1933: Drainage works completed in the Harwood area at Oak Flat. 2
- 1934: Work commenced on the construction of a bridge over the North Arm of the Clarence River at Mororo. The bridge featured a vertical lift span, two steel truss spans with the total length of the bridge being 640 feet. 3
- 1935: Construction of a bow-string arch bridge on the Pacific Highway at Shark Creek near Maclean completed. It was the first in Australia (now bypassed by the main road but still retained). 6 The total length of the bridge is 151 feet, comprising two short approach spans and a bow-string girder span of 113 feet - the latter being the first of its kind to be built in Australia. 4
- 1936: Completion of a bridge over Serpentine Channel near Harwood. The structure is 140 feet long and consists of three spans. 5
- 1939: By this time, two thirds of the Pacific Highway was bitumen paved. 6
- 1955: Widening and realignment of Pacific Highway between Woodburn and Mororo. Duplication of the vehicular ferry over Clarence River at Harwood. 7
- 1956: A deviation a half-mile long constructed on the northern approach to Shark Creek Bridge at Maclean to improve poor alignment. 8
- 1958: The bitumen surfacing of the Pacific Highway (576 miles in length) was completed. 9
- 1963: Construction begins on bridges over the Richmond River at Wardell and over the Clarence River at Harwood, both eliminiating the need for vehicular ferries. Completion of a 12-span reinforced concrete bridge, 340 feet long, south of Woodburn. It replaced a narrow timber structure with a sub-standard radius curve on the northern approach. Work began on a six-span steel and reinforced concrete bridge, 363 feet long, over Duck Creek on the then new route of the Highway built between Wardell and Ballina. 10
- 1964: Completion of the six-span steel and reinforced concrete bridge, 363 feet long, over Duck Creek near Ballina on what became a part of a major deviation of the Highway between Wardell and Burn's Point. Work commenced on Harwood Bridge over the Clarence River. A 34-span steel and concrete bridge 2,918 feet long, it eliminated the last ferry from the route of the Pacific Highway between Sydney and Brisbane and from the State Highway System of New South Wales. 11
- 1965: The final seal was applied to the Wardell Deviation located between Wardell and Ballina. This deviation eliminated a ferry from the route of the Highway. It also eliminated a ferry from the Wardell-Coonellabah Main Road. 12
- 20 August 1966: Opening of the Harwood Bridge over the Clarence River. It eliminated the last remaining ferry operating on the Pacific Highway. It was also the last ferry on State Highways. It replaced a ferry service that had been operating since 1885. The Harwood Bridge was then the third longest road bridge in NSW. 6
- 1967: Construction of the southern and northern approaches to the new bridge over the Clarence River at Harwood, was completed. Completion of channelisation works at the junctions with Maclean Rd, Maclean, Yamba Rd interchange at Maclean, the access road to Harwood and Harwood Mill. 13
- 1968: Work started on the extension of the bridge over Upper Warrell Creek. The bridge was extended southerly by four 39 feet spans and northerly by two 39 feet spans with steel girders and a reinforced concrete deck. 14
- 1976: Reconstruction of junction of Pacific Highway with Coraki-Woodburn Road at Woodburn was completed. 15
This page features historic photos of the Pacific Hwy between Ballina and Maclean
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North Arm of Clarence River:
Steel lift bridge over North Arm of Clarence River, Harwood, 1935.
Image © Department of Main Roads
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Mororo Bridge:
Steel and concrete bridge with vertical lift opening span over Clarence River at Mororo, 1936.
Image © Department of Main Roads
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Serpentine Channel:
Reinforced concrete bridge, 140 feet long, over Serpentine Channel at Harwood, 1937.
Image © Department of Main Roads |
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Tuckmobil Canal:
Reinforce concrete bridge over Tuckmobil Canal near Woodburn, 1963.
Image © Department of Main Roads |
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Wardell Bridge:
Steel and concrete bridge over the Richmond River at Wardell on the then new route of the Pacific Hwy between Wardell and Bruxner Hwy near Ballina, 1964.
Image © Department of Main Roads
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Clarence River:
Construction of a bridge over the Clarence River at Harwood. It elminated the last ferry from the Pacific Hwy, 1965.
Image © Department of Main Roads
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Clarence River:
The bridge over Clarence River at Harwood, near completion, 1966.
Image © Department of Main Roads
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1 Roads and Traffic Authority, Schedule of Classified Roads and State & Regional Roads, 31 January 2011
2 Department of Main Roads, Annual Report, 1932-33
3 Department of Main Roads, Annual Report, 1933-34
4 Department of Main Roads, Annual Report, 1934-35
5 Department of Main Roads, Annual Report, 1936-37
6 RTA Thematic History, 2nd Edition, 2006
7 Department of Main Roads, Annual Report, 1954-55
8 Department of Main Roads, Annual Report, 1955-56
9 Department of Main Roads, Annual Report, 1957-58
10 Department of Main Roads, Annual Report, 1962-63
11 Department of Main Roads, Annual Report, 1944-45
12 Department of Main Roads, Annual Report, 1964-65
13 Department of Main Roads, Annual Report, 1966-67
14 Department of Main Roads, Annual Report, 1967-68
15 Department of Main Roads, Annual Report, 1976-77
Last updated: 13-Jul-2017 22:37
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