Glenelg Highway is a rural highway in south-eastern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, linking

Mount Gambier Mount Gambier is the second most populated city in South Australia, with an estimated urban population of 33,233 . The city is located on the slopes of Mount Gambier, a volcano in the south east of the state, about south-east of the capital Ad ...

with

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

. Most of the highway is located within the Western part of the state of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, though a short, 15 km stretch from the South Australia/Victoria state border near Ardno to Glenburnie (6 km east of central Mount Gambier) is located in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. Some maps identify the South Australian stretch as Casterton Road. Major towns along its route include Casterton,

Coleraine Coleraine ( ; from ga, Cúil Rathain , 'nook of the ferns'Flanaghan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 194. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a town and civil parish near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, Northern I ...

and

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

History

The passing of the ''Highways and Vehicles Act of 1924''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
/ref> 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 Glenelg Highway was declared a State Highway in the 1947/48 financial year, from

via

Skipton Skipton (also known as Skipton-in-Craven) is a market town and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the East Division of Staincliffe Wapentake in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is on the River Air ...

, and

to Casterton (for a total of 149 miles); before this declaration, the roads were referred to as Hamilton-Coleraine-Casterton Road and Ballarat-Hamilton Road. The alignment of the highway through Ballarat was changed in June 1983: previously terminating at the intersection of Albert and Hertford Streets in Sebastopol, it was extended north 3 km along Albert Street, Skipton Street, and Doveton Street South to terminate at Sturt Street (Western Highway) in central Ballarat, only to be truncated back to its original terminus in Sebastopol in May 1990; the former alignment was subsumed into the Midland Highway, re-aligned to this route at the same time. A new bridge over

Hopkins River The Hopkins River, a perennial river of the Glenelg Hopkins catchment, is located in the Western District of Victoria, Australia. Course and features The Hopkins River rises below Telegraph Hill near , and flows generally south, joined by twe ...

in Wickcliffe was opened in 1996, replacing an older, flood-prone structure and the last on the highway with a timber deck, at a cost of $145,000, with bridge approaches costing $700,000. The Glenelg Highway was signed as State Route 112 between Glenburnie and Ballarat in 1986; with Victoria's conversion to the newer alphanumeric system in the late 1990s, this was replaced by route B160. 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 Glenelg Highway (Arterial #6670), beginning at the South Australian border and ending at Midland Highway in Sebastopol, Ballarat.

Major Intersections and Towns

References

{{Road infrastructure in Victoria Highways in Australia Highways in Victoria (Australia)

History

Major Intersections and Towns

See also

References