Barton Highway

New South Wales
–Australian Capital Territory
Exit to Yass Valley Way from Barton Highway
Barton Highway is located in New South Wales
North end
North end
South end
South end
Coordinates
General information
TypeHighway
Length52 km (32 mi)[1]
GazettedAugust 1928 (as Main Road 56)[2]
February 1935 (as State Highway 15)[3]
Route number(s)
  • A25 (2013–present)
    (within NSW)
  • A25 (2013–present)
    (within ACT)
Former
route number
  • National Highway 25
    (1974–2013, within NSW)
  • National Highway 25
    (1974–2013, within ACT)
  • National Route 25
    (1956–1974)
  • ACT Tourist Route 4 (Nicholls–Lyneham)
Major junctions
North end Hume Highway
Yass, New South Wales
 
South end Federal Highway
Northbourne Avenue
Lyneham, Australian Capital Territory
Location(s)
Major settlementsMurrumbateman, Hall
Highway system

Barton Highway[4] is a highway in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. It connects Canberra to Hume Highway at Yass, and it is part of the route from Melbourne to Canberra. It is named in honour of Sir Edmund Barton, the first Prime Minister of Australia.

Route

Intersection of the Federal and Barton Highways and Northbourne Avenue

Barton Highway commences at the interchange with Hume Highway northeast of Yass and heads in a southerly direction as a four-lane, dual-carriageway freeway, before narrowing to a two-lane, single-carriageway highway south of the interchange with Yass Valley Way where it meets its old alignment, and continues south through undulating hills to the village of Murrumbateman, before crossing the border into the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) just outside the village of Hall, before eventually terminating at the intersection with Federal Highway and Northbourne Avenue at Lyneham.

The Gundaroo Drive/Barton Highway round-about is surrounded by a number of trees to the south of the intersection. The pine tree plantation was originally planted in the shape of a map of Australia.

History

The passing of the Main Roads Act of 1924[5] through the Parliament of New South Wales 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). Main Road No. 56 was declared along this road on 8 August 1928, from Yass via Murrumbateman to Lyneham (and continuing northwards via Cowra to Forbes, Parkes, Dubbo, Gilgandra and Coonamble eventually to Walgett, and southwards via Canberra eventually to the intersection with Queanbeyan-Braidwood Road, today Kings Highway, at Queanbeyan);[2] with the passing of the Main Roads (Amendment) Act of 1929[6] to provide for additional declarations of State Highways and Trunk Roads, this was amended to Trunk Road 56 on 8 April 1929. The original purpose of the Yass-Canberra Road was to connect surrounding towns to farming locations in the Yass Valley, and later with the newly-established national capital.[7]

The Department of Main Roads, which had succeeded the MRB in 1932, declared State Highway 15 on 19 February 1935, from the intersection with Hume Highway near Yass via Murrumbateman to the border of the Federal Capital Territory (today Australian Capital Territory) at Hall, subsuming the existing portion Trunk Road 56 from Yass to Hall;[3] the southern end of Trunk Road 56 was truncated to meet Hume Highway west of Yass, as a result.[3] State Highway 15 was officially named as Barton Highway on 28 July 1954,[8] and fully sealed by 1960.

The first realignment occurred during the late 1970s, when the southern terminus of the highway was relocated north, to the north of the Yowani Country Club.[9] In 1980 the village of Hall was bypassed; and during the early 1990s a dual carriageway was completed on the ACT section of the highway, between Hall and Kaleen. A further section of dual carriageways was completed in December 2002, between Gungahlin Drive and the southern terminus with the Federal Highway.[7]

Between April 1993 and May 1995, as part of the Hume Highway bypass of Yass, a 9-kilometre (5.6 mi) dual carriageway deviation of Barton Highway was constructed to connect Barton Highway with the new alignment of Hume Highway, north of Yass. The new route crosses the Yass River on twin bridges to the east of Cooma Cottage before terminating at a trumpet interchange with Hume Highway, about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) northeast of Yass.[9] The highway's former alignment, near the historic Cooma Cottage, east of the Yass River, was renamed Kirkton Road and Dog Trap Road.

The passing of the Roads Act of 1993[10] through the Parliament of New South Wales updated road classifications and the way they could be declared within New South Wales. Under this act, Barton Highway today retains its declaration as Highway 15, from the intersection with Hume Highway near Yass to the border of the Australian Capital Territory at Hall.[11]

Barton Highway was signed National Route 25 across its entire length in 1956. The Whitlam government introduced the federal National Roads Act 1974,[12] where roads declared as a National Highway were still the responsibility of the states for road construction and maintenance, but were fully compensated by the Federal government for money spent on approved projects.[12]: S7  As an important interstate link between the capitals of the Australian Capital Territory and Victoria, Barton Highway was declared a National Highway in 1974, and was consequently re-allocated National Highway 25. With both states' conversion to the newer alphanumeric system in 2013, its route number was updated to route A25.[13]

Murrumbateman bypass and staged duplication

The Barton Highway passes through farmlands and the NSW town of Murrumbateman. In October 2001 the Australian Government announced that they would bypass the town to the east. A$20 million was set aside in the 2006 federal budget for planning and duplication costs associated with the bypass.[14] The same year, the National Roads and Motorists' Association had named the Barton Highway as the worst highway on the Auslink National Network in New South Wales; accounting for three road fatalities annually.[15][16] While 42 kilometres (26 mi) of the 52-kilometre (32 mi) highway are located in New South Wales (NSW), only 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) of the NSW section are dual carriageway.[7]

Various NSW[17] and Federal[18] governments have committed funding towards improvements to the Barton Highway, including a bypass east of Murrumbateman and a staged duplication to create 33 kilometres (21 mi) of dual carriageways.[19] Stage one of construction work has commenced and is scheduled to be completed by 2023.

Major intersections

StateLGA / DistrictLocationkm[1]miDestinationsNotes
New South WalesYass ValleyYass00.0 Hume Highway (M31) – Gundagai, Melbourne, Goulburn, SydneyNorthern terminus of highway and route A25 at trumpet interchange
Manton4.62.9Yass Valley Way – YassDumbbell interchange
Murrumbateman18.311.4Murrumbateman Road – Gundaroo, Bungendore
Wallaroo35.822.2Nanima Road – Nanima
State border40.124.9New South Wales – Australian Capital Territory state border
Australian Capital TerritoryHallHall40.225.0Victoria Street – HallFormer Barton Highway alignment
41.826.0Wallaroo Road – Wallaroo
41.926.0Gladstone Street – Hall
43.126.8Victoria Street – HallFormer Barton Highway alignment
GungahlinKinlyside–Nicholls boundary43.427.0Kuringa Drive (southwest) – Fraser, Belconnen
Clarrie Hermes Drive (northeast) – Ngunnawal
Gungahlin–Belconnen boundaryNicholls–Crace–Giralang tripoint46.128.6William Slim Drive (southwest) – Belconnen
Gundaroo Drive (northeast) – Gungahlin, Gundaroo		Roundabout
Crace–Mitchell–Kaleen tripoint49.830.9Gungahlin Drive – Mitchell, Belconnen, WodenParclo interchange
Mitchell–Kaleen–Lyneham tripoint50.631.4Ellenborough Street – Kaleen, Lyneham
Lyneham51.431.9Randwick Road – Lyneham
North CanberraLyneham–Downer border52.032.3 Federal Highway (A23 northeast) – Goulburn
Northbourne Avenue (A23 south) – Civic, Capital Hill, Queanbeyan		Southern terminus of highway and route A25
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
  •       Route transition

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Google (13 August 2022). "Barton Highway" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  2. 1 2 "Main Roads Act, 1924-1927". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 110. 17 August 1928. pp. 3814–20. Archived from the original on 3 August 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. 1 2 3 "Main Roads Act, 1924-1931". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 53. National Library of Australia. 8 March 1935. p. 1038. Archived from the original on 26 August 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  4. ↑ National Route 25, Ozroads: the Australian Roads Website. Retrieved 11 May 2008.
  5. ↑ State of New South Wales, An Act to provide for the better construction, maintenance, and financing of main roads; to provide for developmental roads; to constitute a Main Roads Board Archived 11 August 2022 at the Wayback Machine 10 November 1924
  6. ↑ State of New South Wales, An Act to amend the Main Roads Act, 1924-1927; to confer certain further powers upon the Main Roads Board; to amend the Local Government Act, 1919, and certain other Acts; to validate certain payments and other matters; and for purposes connected therewith. Archived 12 August 2022 at the Wayback Machine 8 April 1929
  7. 1 2 3 "Barton Highway". OzRoads. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  8. ↑ "Main Roads Act, 1924-1954". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 129. National Library of Australia. 20 August 1954. p. 2545. Archived from the original on 26 August 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  9. 1 2 "Barton Highway: Former alignments". OzRoads. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  10. ↑ 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. Archived 11 August 2022 at the Wayback Machine 10 November 1924
  11. ↑ Transport for NSW (August 2022). "Schedule of Classified Roads and Unclassified Regional Roads" (PDF). Government of New South Wales. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 August 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  12. 1 2 National Roads Act 1974 (Cth)
  13. ↑ "Road number and name changes in NSW" (PDF). Roads & Maritime Services. Government of New South Wales. 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 March 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  14. ↑ "Labor commits $20m to improving Barton Highway". ABC News. Australia. 21 November 2007. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  15. ↑ Hodgkinson, Katrina (17 June 2008). "Barton Highway Funding". Hansard. Parliament of New South Wales. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  16. ↑ Hodgkinson, Katrina (15 May 2008). "Murrumbateman Bypass". Hansard. Parliament of New South Wales. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  17. ↑ "Barton Highway duplication: Preferred road corridor boundaries report" (PDF). Manidis Roberts Pty Ltd (PDF). Roads & Maritime Services, Government of New South Wales. November 2011. ISBN 978-1-922040-05-3. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  18. ↑ Albanese, Anthony (22 October 2012). "Barton Highway: Federal Labor delivers more safety upgrades" (Press release). Australian Government.
  19. ↑ Taylor, Angus (3 September 2014). "Barton Highway duplication plan". Yass Tribune. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
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