The Bass Highway is an 87 kilometre highway in

Victoria, Australia Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in Au ...

, branching off the

South Gippsland Highway The South Gippsland Highway is a partially divided highway in Victoria, Australia which connects the city of Melbourne with the South Gippsland region of Victoria, ending in the town of Sale. The highway begins at Lonsdale Street (Princes High ...

at the township of

Lang Lang Lang Lang (; born 14 June 1982) is a Chinese pianist who has performed with leading orchestras in China, North America, Europe, and elsewhere. Active since the 1990s, he was the first Chinese pianist to be engaged by the Berlin Philharmonic, ...

and running south, along the eastern shore of

Western Port Western Port, (Boonwurrung: ''Warn Marin'') commonly but unofficially known as Western Port Bay, is a large tidal bay in southern Victoria, Australia, opening into Bass Strait. It is the second largest bay in the state. Geographically, it is do ...

, to Anderson (and the turn-off to

Phillip Island Phillip Island (Boonwurrung: ''Corriong'', ''Worne'' or ''Millowl'') is an Australian island about south-southeast of Melbourne, Victoria. The island is named after Governor Arthur Phillip, the first Governor of New South Wales, by explorer ...

). The Bass Highway continues easterly to

Kilcunda Kilcunda is a seaside town located south east of Melbourne between Phillip Island and Wonthaggi near Dalyston via the South Gippsland Highway on the Bass Highway, in the Bass Coast Shire of Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. Known originally as ...

Wonthaggi Wonthaggi is a seaside town located south east of Melbourne via the South Gippsland and Bass Highways, in the Bass Coast Shire of Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. Known originally for its coal mining, it is now the largest town in South Gippsl ...

and Inverloch, then turns north-easterly to rejoin the South Gippsland Highway at

Leongatha Leongatha is a town in the foothills of the Strzelecki Ranges, South Gippsland Shire, Victoria, Australia, located south-east of Melbourne. At the , Leongatha had a population of 5,869. Canadian dairy company Saputo which trades in Australia ...

. It was named due to its proximity to the

Bass Strait Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The strait provides the most direct waterwa ...

History

The passing of the ''Highways and Vehicles Act of 1924'' through the

Parliament of Victoria The Parliament of Victoria is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Victoria that follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system. It consists of the King, represented by the Governor of Victoria, the Legislative Assembly and ...

provided for the declaration of State Highways, roads two-thirds financed by the State government through the

Country Roads Board The Country Roads Board was a government authority responsible for the construction and maintenance of main roads in the state of Victoria, Australia between 1913 and 1983. History The Country Roads Board (CRB) was formed to take over responsi ...

(later

VicRoads VicRoads is a government joint venture in the state of Victoria, Australia. In the state, it is responsible for driver licensing and vehicle registration. It is owned and operated through a joint venture between the Victorian government and a c ...

). The Bass Highway was declared a State Highway in the 1947/48 financial year, from the

near

Nyora Nyora is a town in South Gippsland, Victoria, Australia, approximately south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Shires of Baw Baw, Cardinia and South Gippsland local government areas. Nyora recorded a populat ...

via

Anderson Anderson or Andersson may refer to: Companies * Anderson (Carriage), a company that manufactured automobiles from 1907 to 1910 * Anderson Electric, an early 20th-century electric car * Anderson Greenwood, an industrial manufacturer * Anderson ...

, and

Dalyston Dalyston is a seaside town located south east of Melbourne via the South Gippsland and Bass Highways, in the Bass Coast Shire of Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. Known originally as a train station at Powlett River near Wonthaggi, it is now th ...

(for a total of 30 miles); before this declaration, the roads were referred to as (Main) Coast Road, Anderson-Dalyston Road and Dalyston-Wonthaggi Road. In the 1959/60 financial year, another section from Wonthaggi to Inverloch was added, along the former Inverloch-Wonthaggi Road. With the passing of the '' Transport Act of 1983''State of Victoria, ''An Act to Re-enact with Amendments the Law relating to Transport including the Law with respect to Railways, Roads and Tramways...'' 23 June 1983
/ref> (itself an evolution from the original ''Highways and Vehicles Act of 1924''), it was extended east along the former Inverloch-Leongatha Road to

in December 1990. The Bass Highway was signed as State Route 181 between Lang Lang and Wonthaggi in 1986, later extended with the road to Leongatha in 1990. With Victoria's conversion to the newer alphanumeric system in the late 1990s, this was replaced by route M420 between Lang Lang and Grantville, A420 between Grantville and the Phillip Island turn-off at Anderson, and B460 between Anderson and Leongatha. A duplication project improving the quality of the road upgraded the A420 allocation to M420 in 2013, now running the entire way between Lang Lang and a new link road to Phillip Island in south-western Bass. The passing of the ''Road Management Act 2004'' granted the responsibility of overall management and development of Victoria's major arterial roads to

: in 2004, VicRoads re-declared the road as Bass Highway (Arterial #6710) between

and

Duplication towards Phillip Island

A project to duplicate the Bass Highway from Lang Lang to Anderson (east of Phillip Island) commenced in the late 1990s, addressing the high traffic demand of the route and recent crash history. It was constructed in seven stages, with Stage 7 of the project from Woolmer Road to Phillip Island Road completed in 2013. The benefits of this project include: *reduced travel times to Phillip Island which hosts some of Victoria's favourite tourist and sporting attractions *eliminating the roundabout at Anderson, and providing a direct route between Melbourne and Phillip Island *bypassing a winding section of Phillip Island Road and providing two added lanes along Bass Highway. This will help address the crash history in this area. There have been 13 crashes in a recent five-year period. *an overpass, which will be constructed near Netherwood will provide smoother and safer movements at the connection of the Bass Highway and the new link road, for Phillip Island and Wonthaggi-bound traffic *helping traffic to exit Phillip Island after major events such as the

MotoGP Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held since the start ...

The project was completed in 2013.
Bass Highway Duplication – Lang Lang to Anderson , ''VicRoads''. Retrieved on 8 September 2013.

History

Duplication towards Phillip Island

Major intersections

References

See also