O'Connell Road is a
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 ...
rural road linking
Oberon
Oberon () is a king of the fairies in medieval and Renaissance literature. He is best known as a character in William Shakespeare's play ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', in which he is King of the Fairies and spouse of Titania, Queen of the Fair ...
to the regional highway hub of
Bathurst, where several roads including
Great Western Highway
Great Western Highway (also known as Broadway from to , Parramatta Road from Chippendale to , and Church Street through Parramatta) is a state highway in New South Wales, Australia. From east to west, the highway links Sydney with Bathurst, ...
,
Mid-Western Highway
Mid-Western Highway, sometimes Mid Western Highway, is a state highway located in the central western and northern Riverina regions of New South Wales, Australia. The highway services rural communities and links the Great Western, Mitchell, ...
,
Mitchell Highway
Mitchell Highway is an outback state highway located in the Central West Queensland, central and South West Queensland, south western regions of Queensland and the North West Slopes, northern and Central West, New South Wales, central western ...
and
Bathurst-Ilford Road
Bathurst-Ilford Road (known as Sofala Road south of the Turon River and Ilford-Sofala Road north of the Turon River) is a New South Wales country road linking Ilford, New South Wales, Ilford to the regional hub of Bathurst, New South Wales, Bath ...
join.
Route
It is fully sealed over its entire length and of high enough standard to accommodate B-double trucks.
In conjunction with
Goulburn-Oberon Road
Goulburn-Oberon Road is a New South Wales country road linking Goulburn near Hume Highway to Oberon. This name is not widely known to most drivers, as the entire allocation is still best known as by the names of its constituent parts: Taralga R ...
from
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 ...
to Oberon, this scenic route provides a leisurely and surprisingly direct route between Bathurst and
Goulburn
Goulburn ( ) is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of the Australian state of New South Wales, approximately south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters pate ...
. It is designated part of Tourist Route 1.
The only town on O'Connell Road between Bathurst and Oberon is
O'Connell O'Connell may refer to:
People
*O'Connell (name), people with O'Connell as a last name or given name
Schools
* Bishop Denis J. O'Connell High School, a high school in Arlington, Virginia
Places
* Mount O'Connell National Park in Queensland ...
.
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. 256 was declared along this road on 8 August 1928, from the intersection with
Great Western Highway
Great Western Highway (also known as Broadway from to , Parramatta Road from Chippendale to , and Church Street through Parramatta) is a state highway in New South Wales, Australia. From east to west, the highway links Sydney with Bathurst, ...
near Bathurst to Oberon (and continuing southwards via Taralga to the intersection with
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 ...
at
Goulburn
Goulburn ( ) is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of the Australian state of New South Wales, approximately south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters pate ...
).
The passing of the ''Roads Act of 1993''
State of New South Wales, ''An Act to make provision with respect to the roads of New South Wales; to repeal the State Roads Act 1986, the Crown and Other Roads Act 1990 and certain other enactments; and for other purposes.''
10 November 1924 updated road classifications and the way they could be declared within New South Wales. Under this act, O'Connell Road today is declared part of Main Road 253, from Bathurst to Oberon (and continuing eastwards via the Jenolan Caves and Hampton to the intersection with Great Western Highway
Great Western Highway (also known as Broadway from to , Parramatta Road from Chippendale to , and Church Street through Parramatta) is a state highway in New South Wales, Australia. From east to west, the highway links Sydney with Bathurst, ...
at Hartley.
Major intersections
See also
* Highways in Australia
Highways in Australia are generally high capacity roads managed by state and territory government agencies, though Australia's federal government contributes funding for important links between capital cities and major regional centres. Prio ...
* List of highways in New South Wales
The present highway network in New South Wales, Australia was established in August 1928 when the Country Roads Board (the predecessor of the Department of Main Roads, Roads & Traffic Authority and Roads & Maritime Services) superseded the 19 ...
* Fish River
References
{{Road infrastructure in New South Wales
Highways in Australia
Oberon Council