Illawarra Highway is a short state highway in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia. It connects

Wollongong Wollongong ( ), colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near wate ...

to the Southern Highlands and links

Princes Highway Princes Highway is a major road in Australia, extending from Sydney via Melbourne to Adelaide through the states of New South Wales, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and South Australia. It has a length of (along Highway 1) or via the former ...

and

Hume Highway Hume Highway, inclusive of the sections now known as Hume Freeway and Hume Motorway, is one of Australia's major inter-city national highways, running for between Melbourne in the southwest and Sydney in the northeast. Upgrading of the route ...

. It is named after the geographical area it crosses, the

Illawarra The Illawarra is a coastal region in the Australian state of New South Wales, nestled between the mountains and the sea. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast region. It encompasses the two cities of Wollongo ...

region.

Route

Typical scenery is beautiful as it crosses the

Macquarie Valley (Shellharbour) The Macquarie Valley, also known as Albion Park, Rural West or Western Valley, is an area located in the Shellharbour local government area in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The valley includes the towns of Albion Park Rai ...

and the spectacular

Macquarie Pass Macquarie Pass is an eight-kilometre-long section of the Illawarra Highway passing through Macquarie Pass National Park. It was opened in 1898, though had been used by the Wodi Wodi tribe. Macquarie Pass links the Southern Highland town of Rob ...

, with many hairpin bends and steep gradients, unsuitable for large and articulated vehicles. Trucks are instead advised to use the Mount Ousley Road (route B88), also known as Picton Road. The pass has one of the southernmost stands of Australia's sub tropical rainforest. The main towns en route are

Albion Park Albion Park is a suburb situated in the Macquarie Valley in the City of Shellharbour, which is in turn one of the three local government areas that comprise the Wollongong Metropolitan Area, New South Wales, Australia. Although it is surround ...

in the

Shellharbour Shellharbour (also known as Shellharbour Village) is a suburb located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. It also gives its name to the local government area, City of Shellharbour, and its central business district, Shellhar ...

area and

Robertson Robertson may refer to: People * Robertson (surname) (includes a list of people with this name) * Robertson (given name) * Clan Robertson, a Scottish clan * Robertson, stage name of Belgian magician Étienne-Gaspard Robert (1763–1837) Places ...

and

Moss Vale Moss Vale is a town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in the Wingecarribee Shire. It is located on the Illawarra Highway, which connects to Wollongong and the Illawarra coast via Macquarie Pass. Moss Vale has several he ...

on the Southern Highlands. Spectacular National Parks surrounds them. Both Robertson and Moss Vale are quaint country towns with 19th-century buildings still intact, While Albion Park is an inland town of Shellharbour

History

The passing of the ''Main Roads Act of 1924'' through the

Parliament of New South Wales The Parliament of New South Wales is a bicameral legislature in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), consisting of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (lower house) and the New South Wales Legislative Council (upper house). Eac ...

provided for the declaration of Main Roads, roads partially funded by the State government through the Main Roads Board (later the Department of Main Roads, and eventually

Transport for NSW Transport for NSW, sometimes abbreviated to TfNSW, and pronounced as Transport for New South Wales, is an agency of the New South Wales Government established on 1 November 2011, and is the leading transport and roads agency in New South Wales, ...

). Main Road No. 260 was declared from the intersection with

at the Cross Roads (today Hoddles Cross Roads) west of Sutton Forest to Moss Vale (and continuing north via Bowral to the intersection with Hume Highway at

Mittagong Mittagong () is a town located in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in Wingecarribee Shire. The town acts as the gateway to the Southern Highlands when coming from Sydney. Mittagong is situated at an elevation of . The town ...

), and Main Road No. 262 was declared from Moss Vale via Robertson and Macquarie Pass to the intersection with

, on the same day, 8 August 1928. The Department of Main Roads, which had succeeded the New South Wales MRB in 1932, declared Trunk Road 88 on 28 March 1951, from Cross Roads via Moss Vale and Robertson to the intersection with Princes Highway 1 mile north of

Albion Park railway station Albion Park railway station is a heritage-listed railway station located on the South Coast railway line on the Princes Highway in , New South Wales, Australia. The station was designed by New South Wales Government Railways and built during 1 ...

; the southern end of Main Road 260 was truncated to meet Trunk Road 88 at Moss Vale, and Main Road 262 was reduced to a 2.5km stretch between Albion Park and Albion Park railway station. This was replaced with the declaration of State Highway 25 along the same route on 4 July 1962, subsuming Trunk Road 88. State Highway 22 was named Illawarra Highway on 22 February 1967. The passing of the ''Roads Act of 1993'' through the

updated road classifications and the way they could be declared within New South Wales. Under this act, Illawarra Highway today retains its declaration as Highway 25, from Hoddles Cross Roads to Albion Park. The route was allocated National Route 48 in 1974. With the conversion to the newer alphanumeric system in 2013, this was replaced with route A48.

Major intersections

References

{{Illawarra region topics Highways in New South Wales Wollongong

Route

History

Major intersections

See also

References