Canterbury Road is a major arterial road through eastern
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
, linking the inner eastern suburbs to the outer eastern fringe at the western foot of the
Dandenong Ranges
The Dandenong Ranges (commonly just the Dandenongs) are a set of low mountain ranges in Victoria, Australia, approximately east of the state capital Melbourne. A minor branch of the Great Dividing Range, the Dandenongs consist mostly of rol ...
.
Route
Canterbury Road starts at the intersection with
Burke
Burke (; ) is a Normans in Ireland, Norman-Irish surname, deriving from the ancient Anglo-Norman and Hiberno-Norman noble dynasty, the House of Burgh. In Ireland, the descendants of William de Burgh (''circa'' 1160–1206) had the surname'' de B ...
and Rathmines Roads in
Camberwell
Camberwell ( ) is an List of areas of London, area of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross.
Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles' Church, Camberwell, St Giles ...
and runs east as a dual-lane, single-carriageway road until its intersection with Stanhope Grove, where it widens to a four-lane, single-carriageway road and continues east, underneath the
Lilydale and
Belgrave railway line
The Belgrave line is a commuter railway line on the Melbourne metropolitan railway network serving the city of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. Operated by Metro Trains Melbourne, the line is coloured dark blue and is one of the four lines t ...
s at
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
, through
Surrey Hills until it reaches the intersection with Middleborough Road at the south-eastern corner of
Box Hill. It widens to a four-lane, dual-carriageway road and continues east until Blackburn Road in
Blackburn
Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the River Ribble, Ribble Valley, east of Preston ...
, where it widens further to a six-lane, dual-carriageway road. It continues east through
Forest Hill and
Heathmont, narrowing back to a four-lane, dual-carriageway road east of Dorset Road in
Bayswater North
Bayswater North is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east from Melbourne's central business district, located within the City of Maroondah local government area. Bayswater North recorded a population of 9,014 at the 2021 census.
Bay ...
and continuing east through
Kilsyth
Kilsyth (; ) is a town and civil parishes in Scotland, civil parish in North Lanarkshire, roughly halfway between Glasgow and Stirling in Scotland. The estimated population is 10,380. The town is famous for the Battle of Kilsyth and the religi ...
, before eventually terminating at the intersection with Mount Dandenong Road in
Montrose.
History
The passing of the ''Country Roads Act of 1958'' (itself an evolution from the original ''Highways and Vehicles Act of 1924'') provided for the declaration of State Highways and Main Roads, roads partially 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 respon ...
(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 an ...
). Canterbury Road was declared a Main Road on 7 September 1960, between
Burke Road
Burke Road is a major north–south thoroughfare in Melbourne, Australia. It runs from Ivanhoe East to Caulfield East and through the major shopping district at Camberwell.
It is aligned with the western boundary of Elgar's Special Survey, ...
in
Camberwell
Camberwell ( ) is an List of areas of London, area of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross.
Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles' Church, Camberwell, St Giles ...
and
Warrigal Road
Warrigal Road is a major inner urban road in southeastern Melbourne, Australia. On weekdays, it is heavily trafficked as it runs through many major suburbs along its route, traversing some of Melbourne's eastern and south-eastern suburbs. These ...
in
Surrey Hills.
Construction of a steel and reinforced concrete rail-over-road overpass bridge replacing the level crossing with the
Lilydale and
Belgrave railway line
The Belgrave line is a commuter railway line on the Melbourne metropolitan railway network serving the city of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. Operated by Metro Trains Melbourne, the line is coloured dark blue and is one of the four lines t ...
s in
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
, was completed by
Victorian Railways
The Victorian Railways (VR), trading from 1974 as VicRail, was the state-owned operator of most rail transport in the Australian state of Victoria from 1859 to 1983. The first railways in Victoria were private companies, but when these companie ...
, with the Board lowering the road surface under it and carrying out improvements to adjacent streets, in the 1969/70 financial year.
Canterbury Road was signed as Metropolitan Route 32 between Camberwell and Montrose in 1965, originally heading further east along Swansea Road to
Lilydale; with Victoria's conversion to the newer alphanumeric system in the late 1990s, the section between Montrose and Lilydale was replaced by route C401 and the route was truncated back to Montrose.
The passing of the ''Road Management Act 2004''
granted the responsibility of overall management and development of Victoria's major arterial roads to VicRoads: in 2004, VicRoads re-declared Canterbury Road (Arterial #5802) from
Burke Road
Burke Road is a major north–south thoroughfare in Melbourne, Australia. It runs from Ivanhoe East to Caulfield East and through the major shopping district at Camberwell.
It is aligned with the western boundary of Elgar's Special Survey, ...
in
Camberwell
Camberwell ( ) is an List of areas of London, area of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross.
Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles' Church, Camberwell, St Giles ...
to Mount Dandenong Road in
Montrose.
Canterbury Road Upgrade
In 2016, the Australian Government committed $20 million to build a third lane outbound along Canterbury Road from Dorset Road to Montrose Road and to upgrade the Montrose roundabout to a signalised intersection. In 2018, the Australian Government committed a further $24.5 million to build a third lane inbound along Canterbury Road from Liverpool Road to Dorset Road.
Major intersections
See also
Notes and references
Streets in Melbourne
Shopping districts and streets in Australia
Transport in the City of Whitehorse
Transport in the City of Boroondara
Transport in the City of Maroondah
{{melbourne-geo-stub