Statistics:

Length:
1333 km (Ulladulla to Batemans Bay: 52 km)
Termini:
Northern: Northern: Pacific Mwy (M1), Tweed Heads, at the NSW / QLD Border
Southern: Southern: Princes Hwy (A1), Timbillica, at the NSW / VIC Border
Suburbs, Towns & Localities Along Route:
Burrill Lake, Lake Tabourie, Termeil, East Lynne, Benandarah and Batemans Bay

Route Numbering:

Current: A1
Former: 1
Road Authority Internal Classification: 1
HW1 (Victorian border to Yallah and Waterfall to Kogarah)

General Information:

M1 / A1 is the principal coastal route through New South Wales, and forms part of the circumferential route around Australia.

The route varies greatly along its length and includes sections of rural highway, urban arterial road, divided rural highway and also motorway. The route also features several tunnels, located in the inner east, inner south and lower northern suburbs of Sydney and at Yelgun and Tweed Heads, at the northern end of the route in NSW. The route passes through forest, rural, residential, commercial and industrial areas.

Princes Highway:

The Princes Highway was formed from a string of roads linking Sydney to the Illawarra, and then forming a coastal route to Melbourne and into South Australia. The section covered by A1 is in 2 pieces - between Kogarah and Waterfall in Sydney, and then Kiama near Wollongong through to the Victorian Border. The route is a mix of urban arterial road, dual carriageway and also rural highway.

Princes Highway:
7 June 1926: The Princes Highway comes under a federal and state government £ for £ funding scheme, thus recognising the importance of the highway as major route.
August 1920: Official opening of Princes Highway performed at Warragul in Victoria. The formation of the Princes Highway is from existing roads being renamed, after the visit to Australia in 1920 of the Prince of Wales (later to become King Edward VIII, and after abdicating, the Duke of Windsor).
1 July 1928: Princes Highway became a state highway. 2
1936: Construction of deviations between Nowra and Batemans Bay, other deviations in this period include various sites including Tomerong, Stewarts and Luncheon Creeks, Myrtle Gully, Conjola, Ulladulla (East Lynne to Batemans Bay), straightening of highway between Nowra and Batemans Bay, including 22 new concrete bridges in that section.
1939: By the middle of the year, 300 miles (or 50% of the then highway) had been paved with bituminous surface.
1955: Opening of steel girder and concrete bridge over Jerramadra Creek near Batemans Bay.
21 November 1956: Bridge built by the Department of Main Roads over the Clyde River at Bateman's Bay was officially opened for traffic by the Hon. J. B. Renshaw, M.L.A., Minister for Local Government and Minister for Highways. The bridge replaced the only remaining vehicular ferry on the Princes Highway between Sydney and the Victorian border.
31 January 2011: Work began on safety improvements south of Lattas Point Road near Batemans Bay. Work included changes to a southbound overtaking lane, installation of concrete median barrier and a right turning bay. 3
July 2016: Termeil Creek upgrade completed. The upgrade provides a new, straighter 1.6 kilometre stretch of the Princes Highway and also features a new Termeil Creek Bridge that is 5.3 metres wider and 26 metres longer than the previous bridge. 4
October 2018: Work commences on the replacement Batemans Bay Bridge. 5

Click or tap here for photos of the former alignment between Ulladulla and Batemans Bay.

Batemans Bay to Ulladulla

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NEW Cranbrook Road:

Corner of Princes Hwy (A1) and Cranbrook Rd, Batemans Bay, December 2017.

Image © Paul Rands

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NEW Old Princes Highway:

Corner of Princes Hwy (A1) and Old Princes Hwy, Batemans Bay, December 2017.

Image © Paul Rands

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NEW Advance Directional Sign:

AD sign approaching Beach Rd, Batemans Bay, December 2017.

Image © Paul Rands

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NEW Beach Road:

Corner of Princes Hwy (A1) and Beach Rd, Batemans Bay, December 2017.

Image © Paul Rands

Ulladulla to Batemans Bay

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NEW Stony Creek:

Princes Hwy (A1) crossing Stony Ck at Burrill Lake. Stony Ck is the inlet to the lake, December 2017.

Image © Paul Rands

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NEW Intersection Directional Sign:

ID sign at the corner of Princes Hwy (A1), Oyster Catcher Way and Balmoral Rd at Burrill Lake, December 2017.

Image © Paul Rands

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NEW Advance Directional Sign:

AD sign at Burrill Lake, approaching Dolphin Point Rd and Wallaroy Dr, December 2017.

Image © Paul Rands

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NEW Intersection Directional Sign:

ID sign at Burrill Lake, at the roundabout with Dolphin Point Rd and Wallaroy Dr, December 2017.

Image © Paul Rands

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NEW Reassurance Directional Sign:

Distance sign at Burrill Lake, December 2017.

Image © Paul Rands

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NEW Tabourie Lake:

Princes Hwy (A1) crossing Tabourie Lake in the small town of Lake Tabourie, December 2017.

Image © Paul Rands

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NEW Advance Directional Sign:

AD sign approaching Bawley Point Rd and Old Princes Hwy at Termeil, December 2017.

Image © Paul Rands

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NEW Reassurance Directional Sign:

Distance sign at Termeil, December 2017.

Image © Paul Rands

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NEW Entering East Lynne:

Princes Hwy (A1) as it enters the small town of East Lynne, December 2017.

Image © Paul Rands

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NEW Mount Agony Road:

Corner of Princes Hwy (A1) and Mt Agony Rd at East Lynne, December 2017.

Image © Paul Rands

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NEW Durras Drive:

Corner of Princes Hwy (A1) and Durras Dr at Benandarah, December 2017.

Image © Paul Rands

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NEW Cullendulla Drive:

Corner of Princes Hwy (A1) and Cullendulla Dr at Long Beach, December 2017.

Image © Paul Rands

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NEW Entering Batemans Bay:

Princes Hwy (A1) as it enters the Batemans Bay urban area, December 2017.

Image © Paul Rands

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NEW Advance Directional Sign:

AD sign at Batemans Bay approaching Beach Rd, December 2017.

Image © Paul Rands

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NEW Beach Road:

Corner of Princes Hwy (A1) and Beach Rd, Batemans Bay, December 2017.

Image © Paul Rands

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NEW Old Princes Highway:

Corner of Princes Hwy (A1) and Old Princes Hwy, Batemans Bay, December 2017.

Image © Paul Rands

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NEW Princes Highway and Cranbrook Road Junction:

Corner of Princes Hwy (A1) and Cranbrook Rd, Batemans Bay, December 2017.

Image © Paul Rands

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NEW Distance Sign:

Tourism-based reassurance directional sign at Batemans Bay, December 2017.

Image © Paul Rands

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NEW Distance Sign:

Reassurance diretional sign at Batemans Bay, December 2017.

Image © Paul Rands

Click or tap here for the continuation of M1 / A1 between Batemans Bay and Bodalla
Click or tap here for the continuation of M1 between Nowra and Ulladulla
1 NSW Government, Transport for NSW, Schedule of Classified Roads And State and Regional Roads, July 2022.
2 Main Roads Board, Annual Report, Volume 1, Number 1, September 1929.
3 NSW Government, Media Release, $2.5 Million Project to Improve Road Safety South of Batemans Bay, 25 January 2011.
4 NSW Government, Roads & Maritime Services, Princes Highway upgrade program, Progress update, March 2020.
5 NSW Government, Roads & Maritime Services, Batemans Bay Bridge replacement project.