The Alpine Way is a rural road located in the
Snowy Mountains
The Snowy Mountains, known informally as "The Snowies", is an IBRA subregion in southern New South Wales, Australia, and is the tallest mountain range in mainland Australia, being part of the continent's Great Dividing Range cordillera system ...
region of
New South Wales,
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 ...
. The road connects in the east to the
New South Wales /
Victorian
Victorian or Victorians may refer to:
19th century
* Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign
** Victorian architecture
** Victorian house
** Victorian decorative arts
** Victorian fashion
** Victorian literature ...
border in the west, crossing the
Murray River, near Bringenbrong / Upper . The
route does not carry an
official shield designation.
Route
The eastern terminus of the Alpine Way is at a "T" intersection with Kosciuszko Rd, west of Jindabyne on the eastern side of the Snowy Mountains.
The road winds its way generally west to adjacent the
Thredbo River
The Thredbo River, a perennial river of the Snowy River catchment, is located in the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales, Australia.
Course and features
The Thredbo River rises below South Rams Head, near Mount Leo within the Kosciuszko ...
, before heading south-west past
Thredbo and then climbing & crossing the crest of the
Great Dividing Range
The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills, that runs rough ...
at Dead Horse Gap at an altitude of then a winding descent to & crossing Snowy Creek @ very near the Murray River / Victorian Border.
Thereafter, it continues around the western side of the range heading north along the upper reaches of the Murray River Tributaries, past the
Geehi River & Swampy Plain River Junction to , before eventually crossing the Murray and reaching its western terminus and connecting with the
Murray Valley Highway (B400) on the river's southern bank, within Victoria.
The highway was initially built in the 1950s as part of the access for the
Snowy Mountains Scheme. However, the paving of it was only completed approximately forty years later in the 1990s.
The majority of the road is contained within the
Kosciuszko National Park
The Kosciuszko National Park () is a national park and contains mainland Australia's highest peak, Mount Kosciuszko, for which it is named, and Cabramurra, the highest town in Australia. Its borders contain a mix of rugged mountains and wildern ...
and since 2004 has been maintained by
Roads & Maritime Services.
The road has no major intersections.
Road restrictions
Road restrictions in the region require all
two-wheel drive vehicles carry
snow chain
Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes.
It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...
s between Thredbo and Tom Groggin from the long weekends marking the
King's Official Birthday in June and the
Labour Day in October. It is also quite possible that snow chains may be needed to drive safely along other (more dangerous) parts of Alpine Way.
See also
*
List of highways in New South Wales
*
1997 Thredbo landslide
The Thredbo landslide was a catastrophic landslide that occurred at the village and ski resort of Thredbo, New South Wales, Australia, on 30 July 1997. Two ski lodges were destroyed and 18 people died. Stuart Diver was the only survivor.
Land ...
*
Barry Way
References
External links
Travel the Alpine WaySnowies great drive
{{Snowy River Shire , state=autocollapse
Highways in New South Wales
Snowy Mountains