The present highway network in New South Wales, Australia was established in August 1928 when the Country Roads Board (the predecessor of the Department of Main Roads, Roads & Traffic Authority and Roads & Maritime Services) superseded the 1924 main road classifications and established the basis of the existing New South Wales main road system. (the full list of main roads gazetted appears in the Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales of 17 August 1928). The number of a road for administrative purposes is not the same as the route number it carries e.g. the Great Western Highway is Highway 5 for administrative purposes but is signposted as part of route A32.)
Many major routes in New South Wales, including Sydney motorways and even some routes named as "highways" are not officially gazetted as highways. For a list of all numbered routes in New South Wales, see List of road routes in New South Wales.
While highways in many other countries are typically identified by number, highways in Australia, including New South Wales, are known mostly by names. These names typically come from 19th-century explorers, important politicians or geographic regions.
List of gazetted highways
| Road number[1] | Road name | Route | Date of original gazettal | Distance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HW1 | Princes Highway | Sydney to Victoria border via Wollongong | 1920 | 1,898 km (1,179 mi) | |
| HW2 | Hume Highway (includes Hume Motorway) | Sydney to Victoria border via Goulburn, Gundagai, Albury | 1817 | 840 km (520 mi) | |
| HW3 | Federal Highway | Hume Highway to Australian Capital Territory border | 1931 | 72.7 km (45.2 mi) | |
| HW4 | Snowy Mountains Highway | Princes Highway to Hume Highway via Cooma | 1933 | 287 km (178 mi) | Named as Monaro Highway until 1955[2] |
| HW5 | Great Western Highway | Sydney to Bathurst | 201 km (125 mi) | ||
| HW6 | Mid-Western Highway | Bathurst to Hay | 1928 | 522 km (324 mi) | |
| HW7 | Mitchell Highway | Bathurst to Queensland border via Dubbo | 1,105 km (687 mi) | ||
| HW8 | Barrier Highway | Nyngan to South Australia border | 1,014 km (630 mi) | ||
| HW9 | New England Highway | Pacific Highway to Queensland border via Tamworth | 883 km (549 mi) | ||
| HW10 | Pacific Highway | Sydney to Queensland border via Newcastle and Coffs Harbour | 780 km (480 mi) | ||
| HW11 | Oxley Highway | Pacific Highway to Mitchell Highway via Tamworth | 653 km (406 mi) | ||
| HW12 | Gwydir Highway | Pacific Highway to Castlereagh Highway via Moree | 1928 | 568 km (353 mi) | |
| HW13 | Cumberland Highway | Liverpool to Wahroonga | 1988 | 34 km (21 mi) | |
| HW14 | Sturt Highway | Hume Highway to South Australia border via Wagga Wagga | 8 August 1933[3] | 947 km (588 mi) | |
| HW15 | Barton Highway | Yass to Australian Capital Territory border | 1935 | 52 km (32 mi) | |
| HW16 | Bruxner Highway | Pacific Highway to Newell Highway via Lismore | 1959 | 420 km (260 mi) | |
| HW17 | Newell Highway | Victoria border to Queensland border via Narrandera and Dubbo | March 1938 | 1,058 km (657 mi) | |
| HW18 | Castlereagh Highway | Lithgow to Queensland border via Mudgee | 1974 | 790 km (490 mi) | |
| HW19 | Monaro Highway | Australian Capital Territory border to Victoria border via Cooma | 25 March 1938[4] | 285 km (177 mi)[5] | |
| HW20 | Riverina Highway | Deniliquin to Victoria border | 220 km (140 mi) | ||
| HW21 | Cobb Highway | Wilcannia to Victoria border | 571 km (355 mi) | ||
| HW22 | Silver City Highway | Sturt Highway to Queensland border via Broken Hill | 683 km (424 mi) | ||
| HW23 | Unnamed (Newcastle Inner City Bypass) | Windale to Sandgate | 15.6 km (9.7 mi) | ||
| HW24 | Mount Lindesay Highway | Tenterfield to Queensland border via Woodenbong | Decommissioned 12 February 1982 | ||
| HW25 | Illawarra Highway | Hume Highway to Princes Highway via Moss Vale | 60.7 km (37.7 mi) | ||
| HW26 | Calga to Ourimbah Expressway | Decommissioned after completion of parallel section of Pacific Motorway in 1986 | |||
| HW27 | Golden Highway | New England Highway to Newell Highway via Dunedoo | 313 km (194 mi) | ||
| HW28 | Carnarvon Highway | Moree to Queensland border | 1974 | 698 km (434 mi) | |
| HW29 | Kamilaroi Highway | Bourke to New England Highway | 605 km (376 mi) | ||
| HW30 | Central Coast Highway | Pacific Motorway to Pacific Highway via Gosford | 9 August 2006 | 50 km (31 mi) | |
| HW31 | Gold Coast Highway | Pacific Motorway to Queensland border | 1 May 2009[6] | 39.8 km (24.7 mi) | |
| Decommissioned | |||||
See also
- Highways in Australia for highways in other states and territories
- List of highways in Australia for roads named as highways, but not necessarily classified as highways
- List of road routes in New South Wales for all major routes in New South Wales
References
- ↑ "Schedule of Classified Roads and Unclassified Regional Roads" (PDF). Roads & Maritime Services. January 2014. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 September 2014. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
- ↑ Snowy Mountains Highway Main Roads September 1955 page 4
- ↑ "The Sturt Highway". Main Roads. NSW Department of Main Roads. V (I): 20. November 1933.
- ↑ "Monaro Highway" (PDF). Main Roads. NSW Department of Main Roads. December 1959. pp. 44–49. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
- ↑ Google (11 August 2013). "Monaro Highway" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
- ↑ Daley, Michael (1 May 2009). "Reclassification of roads in association with Pacific Highway - Tugun Bypass in Tweed Shire" (PDF). Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. NSW Government. p. 1947. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 23 September 2013.