The Omeo Highway is a 163 kilometre road in eastern

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 ...

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 ...

, connecting north-east Victoria to

Gippsland Gippsland is a rural region that makes up the southeastern part of Victoria, Australia, mostly comprising the coastal plains to the rainward (southern) side of the Victorian Alps (the southernmost section of the Great Dividing Range). It covers ...

over parts of the

Victorian Alps The Victorian Alps, also known locally as the High Country, is a large mountain system in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria. Occupying the majority of eastern Victoria, it is the southwestern half of the Australian Alps (the other h ...

. There are no substantial settlements between Mitta Mitta and

Omeo Omeo ( ) is a town in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia on the Great Alpine Road, east of Mount Hotham, in the Shire of East Gippsland. At the 2016 Australian census, 2016 census, Omeo had a population of 406. The name is derived from a ...

, and therefore fuel is unavailable. There is no mobile phone communication from Mitta Mitta to south of Anglers' rest although there is an emergency roadside phone at the base of Mt Wills. There is some CB repeater coverage including Ch1 (Mitta). Monitor other traffic and log trucks on Ch 40. Police and ambulance services are available at Mitta Mitta and Omeo. Conditions in the mountains can change quickly and be harsh, particularly during winter. Snow is not uncommon in the winter season and may cause the road to be closed for short periods. As probably one of the most impressive scenic routes in Australia, there are excellent views along most of the road, making it very popular with tourists. Due to winding nature of the road along the Omeo Highway, it is a common place for large groups of motorcycles to go riding. The Victorian Government completed the sealing of the road in March 2014 and the official opening of the completed highway took place at "The Walnuts" in May 2014. There are some interesting stories of the highway that can be downloaded.

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 Omeo Highway was declared a State Highway on 11 February 1925 - Victoria's first gazetted State Highway - cobbled from a collection of roads from

Bairnsdale Bairnsdale () ( Ganai: ''Wy-yung'') is a city in East Gippsland, Victoria, Australia in a region traditionally owned by the Tatungalung clan of the Gunaikurnai people. The estimated population of Bairnsdale urban area was 15,411 at Ju ...

through Bruthen,

, and

Tallangatta Tallangatta () is a town in north-eastern Victoria, Australia. The town lies on the banks of the Mitta Arm of Lake Hume, approximately south-east of Albury-Wodonga along the Murray Valley Highway. At the , Tallangatta had a population of 1,17 ...

Wodonga Wodonga (Pallanganmiddang language, Waywurru: ''Wordonga'') is a city on the Victoria (Australia), Victorian side of the border with New South Wales, north-east of Melbourne, Australia. It is located wholly within the boundaries of the City of ...

; before this declaration, the road between Bairnsdale and Tallangatta was referred to as Bairnsdale-Bruthen Road, Bruthen-Omeo Road or simply Omeo Road; the Omeo Highway was later reclassified to terminate in Tallangatta when the

Murray Valley Highway Murray Valley Highway is a state highway located in Victoria and New South Wales, Australia. The popular tourist route mostly follows the southern bank of the Murray River and effectively acts as the northernmost highway in Victoria. For all b ...

(with a section running between Wodonga and Tallangatta) was declared a few years later in 1932. The Omeo Highway was signed as State Route 195 between Tallangatta and Bairnsdale in 1986. The alignment between Omeo and Bairnsdale was subsumed into the

Great Alpine Road } The Great Alpine Road (B500) is a country tourist road in Victoria, Australia, running from Wangaratta in the north to Bairnsdale in the east, and passing through the Victorian Alps. The road was given its current name because it was consid ...

with its declaration in 1998: the present-day Omeo Highway runs a truncated route between Tallangatta and Omeo. With Victoria's conversion to the newer alphanumeric system in the late 1990s, the remainder of the highway was assigned route C543.

Major intersections

References

External links

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

History

Major intersections

See also

References

External links