The Warburton Highway is a 34 kilometre west–east semi-rural

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...

starting on the eastern fringes of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

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 ...

at the

Maroondah Highway Maroondah Highway (also known as Whitehorse Road from Deepdene, Victoria, Deepdene to Mitcham, Victoria, Mitcham) is a major east–west thoroughfare in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, and a highway connecting the north-eastern fringes of Mel ...

just after Lilydale, connecting Melbourne to the

Yarra Valley The Yarra Valley is the region surrounding the Yarra River in Victoria, Australia. The river originates approximately east of the Melbourne central business district and flows towards it and out into Port Phillip Bay. The name Yarra Valley ...

wine region and its towns, as well as Melbourne's closest mountain peak to receive regular snowfall,

Mount Donna Buang Mount Donna Buang is a mountain in the southern reaches of the Victorian Alps of the Great Dividing Range, located in the Australian state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. Approximately from Melbourne with an elevation of , Mount Donna Buan ...

. The entire road falls within the

Shire of Yarra Ranges The Shire of Yarra Ranges, also known as Yarra Ranges Council, is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the outer eastern and northeastern suburbs of Melbourne extending into the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges. It has an ...

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

and is wholly managed by

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 ...

. It is a

single carriageway A single carriageway (British English) or Undivided highway (American English) is a road with one, two or more lanes arranged within a one carriageway with no central reservation to separate opposing flows of traffic. A single-track road has a s ...

for its entire length, being completely sealed since 1941, with one lane in each direction and occasional

overtaking lane A passing lane (North American English) or overtaking lane (English outside of North America) is a lane on a multi-lane highway or motorway closest to the median of the road (the central reservation). In some countries, lanes are described as bei ...

s being provided. Speed limits range from 50 to 60 km/h through townships and 70–80 km/h elsewhere. Because of the lack of the standard 100 km/h rural speed limit and high traffic volumes,

Victoria Police Victoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. It was formed in 1853 and currently operates under the ''Victoria Police Act 2013''. , Victo ...

maintain a high level of patrol and vigilance. The highway continues east of Warburton as Woods Point Road (C511) With the introduction of traffic lights in Seville, as well as the reduction of speed limits and addition of a greater number of speed zones, the Warburton Highway is becoming over congested during peak times. Evidence of this can be seen during any weekday afternoon. Outbound traffic approaching a pedestrian crossing in Seville often queues up to 1.1 km. Motor vehicle accidents are predominant in and around the Alsopps Road intersection in Launching Place due to fuel residue from a nearby petrol station. As many as 7 incidents in the last 6 months have had locals approaching their local MP to voice their concern.

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

). The Warburton Highway was declared a State Highway in the 1959–60 financial year, from Lilydale via

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

Woori Yallock Woori Yallock is a town in Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's central business district, located within the Shire of Yarra Ranges local government area. Woori Yallock recorded a population of 2,964 at the . The Post Office opened on 1 J ...

and Yarra Junction to Warburton (for a total of 21 miles); before this declaration, this road was referred to as (Main) Warburton Road. The Warburton Highway was signed as State Route 174 between Lilydale and Warburton in 1986; with Victoria's conversion to the newer alphanumeric system in the late 1990s, this was replaced by route B380.

Major intersections and towns

The entire highway is in the

local government area.

References

External links

Visit Warburton
(Warburton Valley Community Economic Development Association)
Warburton Highway
(Yarra Valley Tourism Association)
Warburton Info
(Warburton Visitor Information)
Warburton Highway (dedicated website)
(Information about townships from Lilydale to East Warburton) {{Road infrastructure in Victoria Highways in Australia Highways and freeways in Melbourne Yarra Valley

History

Major intersections and towns

See also

References

External links