Length:

498 km (Coolac to Holbrook: 121 km)

Termini:

Northern: Narellan Rd (Metroad 9 and SR69), Campbelltown

Southern: NSW-VIC Border, Albury

Miscellaneous:

Continued as M31 in Victoria

Suburbs, Towns & Localities Along Route:

Coolac, Gundagai, South Gundagai, Tumblong, Mundarlo, Mount Adrah, Tarcutta, Kyeamba and Little Billabong

Current: M31

Former: 31 31

Road Authority Internal Classification: ¹

HW2

General Information:

The Hume Highway is one of Australia's most vital highway links. Providing access between Sydney and Melbourne, Australia's 2 largest cities. The route consisted of 100% dual carriageway road, either rural expressway or motorway standard.

In NSW, the highway in one form or another started life as the Great South Road, linking Sydney with the southern highlands and eventually beyond. The highway was named in 1928 after Hamilton Hume (1797-1873), a famous explorer in the early 19th century who, in 1824, in conjunction with William Hovell first found an overland route between Sydney and the infant colonial outpost of Port Phillip, the original name of Melbourne.

National Highway 31 was the main freight and commuter route between Sydney and Melbourne and has gone through a massive amount of transformation over the past 30 or so years, with many towns being bypassed along its route as well and gradual upgrades to motorway standards. Since the 1960s, the road has either been duplicated, where alignments allow for it, and also large deviations have also been part of the upgrade process.

The route around the Mittagong area averages around 16 000 vehicles every day, in other sections the number drops off a little or closer to Sydney increases. ²

The route forms the Remembrance Driveway which honours war veterans.

1914: Sydney-Melbourne road (Great South Road) is declared a main road.

1928: Sections of Great South Road renamed to Hume Highway.

December 1938: Tumbalong-Tarcutta deviation construction, a major roadworks project which was partly funded under the significant Unemployment Relief Works Program. ³

1939: 95% (557 km) of the Hume Highway paved with a bituminous surface. ⁴

1950s: In 1952, a group of citizens met and formed a committee under Lt-General Sir Frank Berryman to create a national memorial to servicemen by using trees and shrubs as living memorials. The NSW Premier, J J Cahill, officially launched the scheme on 9 December 1953. The Remembrance Driveway project as it was called started on 5 February 1954, when trees were planted at either end of the Driveway at the War Memorial, Canberra, and in Macquarie Place, Sydney, by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh. By June 1959, 10 000 trees had been planted. Since then, planting of trees in avenues or groves has continued. When the M5 Motorway replaced the Hume Highway (and also Camden Valley Way) south of Liverpool, it became the focus for planting trees and shrubs in remembrance. ³

1976: Completion of the 8 km Gundagai deviation and bridge over the Murrumbidgee River. ⁴

March 1977: The 1.1 kilometre Sheahan Bridge over the Murrumbidgee River at Gundagai opened to traffic. ⁵

1983: The highway between Conroys Gap and Coolac, had most of the earlier alignment replaced, also a new Tarcutta deviation completed - 11.5 kilometres in length. This bypassed the bowstring arch across Hillas Creek from the 1930s. The new section of road featured a dual carriageway.³

2009: Hume Highway Duplication, Sturt Highway to Table Top completed. ⁵

May 2009: The duplicated Sheahan Bridge at Gundagai was officially opened by the Federal Minister for Transport. ⁵

2013: National Highway 31 decommissioned.

Click or tap here for construction photos between Coolac and Holrook
Click or tap here for the former alignment between Coolac and Holrook

Coolac to Holbrook

Advance Directional Sign:

AD sign approaching Muttama Rd (which links with the former Hume Hwy) at Coolac, November 2010.

Image © Rob Tilley

Muttama Road:

Hume Hwy (NH31) at Muttama Rd in Coolac, November 2010.

Image © Rob Tilley

Distance Sign:

Reassurance directional sign at Coolac, November 2010.

Image © Rob Tilley

Advance Directional Sign:

AD sign approaching Gobarralong Rd at Coolac, November 2010.

Image © Rob Tilley

Dog On The Tuckerbox Turn Off:

Approaching the intersection to the old Hume Highway alignment (Annie Pyers Drive), which is alongside the current alignment, that features the Dog On The Tuckerbox at Gundagai. November 2010. Click or tap here for a photo of this location by Paul Rands from December 2007.

Image © Rob Tilley

ID Sign:

Intersection directional sign at the junction (Annie Pyers Drive) for the Dog On The Tuckerbox, 8 km north of Gundagai, November 2010. Click or tap here for a photo of this location by Paul Rands from December 2007.

Image © Rob Tilley

Intersection Directional Sign:

ID sign for the southbound carriageway facing traffic from the service centre and Dog On The Tuckerbox (Annie Pyers Drive), 8 km north of Gundagai, November 2010. Click or tap here for a photo of this location by Paul Rands from December 2007.

Image © Rob Tilley

Supplemental AD Sign:

Supplemental advance directional sign for Gundagai exits, December 2007.

Image © Paul Rands

Advance Directional Sign:

Diagrammatic AD sign for Sheahan Drive at Gundagai, December 2007.

Image © Paul Rands

Tourist Drive Sign:

Sign indicating tourist towns available from the Sheridan Dr (TD6) interchange at Gundagai, December 2007.

Image © Paul Rands

Services Sign:

Sign indicating available services in the town of Gundagai, December 2007.

Image © Paul Rands

Advance Directional Sign:

Diagrammatic AD sign for Sheahan Drive at Gundagai, December 2007.

Image © Paul Rands

Advance Directional Sign:

AD sign approaching the Sheahan Drive interchange at Gundagai, December 2007.

Image © Paul Rands

Bypassed Town Sign:

Diagrammatic sign showing the bypassed town of Gundagai, November 2010.

Image © Rob Tilley

Sheahan Drive Interchange:

Approaching the Sheahan Drive interchange at Gundagai, December 2007. Sheahan Drive was once the Hume Highway.

Image © Paul Rands

Sheahan Drive Interchange:

Driving through the Sheahan Drive interchange at Gundagai, December 2007.

Image © Paul Rands

Distance Sign:

RD sign located south of the Sheahan Drive interchange, December 2007.

Image © Paul Rands

Advance Directional Sign:

AD sign for the Sheridan Street exit, Gundagai, November 2010.

Image © Rob Tilley

Advance Directional Sign:

AD sign for Sheridan Street (TD6) exit at Gundagai, November 2010.

Image © Rob Tilley

Approaching Sheridan St Exit:

Approaching the Sheridan Street interchange at Gundagai, November 2010.

Image © Rob Tilley

Sheridan Street Interchange:

Looking southbound through the Sheridan St interchange at Gundagai, December 2007.

Image © Paul Rands

Advance Directional Sign:

Diagrammatic AD sign for Gocup Rd at Gundagai, November 2010.

Image © Rob Tilley

Services Sign:

Southbound services sign approaching Gocup Rd at South Gundagai. November 2010. Click or tap here for a photo of this location by Paul Rands from December 2007.

Image © Rob Tilley

Services Sign:

Southbound services sign approaching Gocup Rd at South Gundagai. November 2010.

Image © Rob Tilley

Intersection Directional Sign:

Southbound ID sign at Gocup Rd at South Gundagai. November 2010.

Image © Rob Tilley

Distance Sign:

Southbound RD sign as you leave South Gundagai, December 2007.

Image © Paul Rands

Advance Directional Sign:

Southbound approaching Tumblong Rd at Tumblong. December 2007.

Image © Paul Rands

Distance Sign:

RD sign as you head southbound at Tumblong, December 2007.

Image © Paul Rands

Southbound at Tumblong:

Large cutting just south of the Tumblong town area, December 2007.

Image © Paul Rands

Advance Directional Sign:

Southbound diagrammatic AD sign approaching the Snowy Mountains Hwy (NR18) at Tumblong. December 2007.

Image © Paul Rands

Advance Directional Sign:

Southbound signage as you approach the exit to the Snowy Mtns Hwy at Tumblong, December 2007.

Image © Paul Rands

Snowy Mountains Highway Interchange:

Entering the NR18 interchange at Tumblong, southbound, December 2007.

Image © Paul Rands

Snowy Mountains Highway Interchange:

The NR18 interchange at Tumblong, southbound, December 2007.

Image © Paul Rands

Snowy Mtns Hwy Overpass:

Southbound carriageway of the Hume Highway as it passes under the Snowy Mtns Hwy overpass, December 2007.

Image © Paul Rands

Advance Directional Sign:

AD sign for the U-turn bay for northbound Snowy Mountains Hwy traffic, December 2007 at Tumblong.

Image © Paul Rands

Dennis Creek:

Crossing Dennis Creek between Tumblong and Tarcutta, December 2007.

Image © Paul Rands

Distance Sign:

RD sign between Dennis Creek and the Sturt Hwy interchange near Tarcutta. December 2007.

Image © Paul Rands

Advance Directional Sign:

AD sign for the Sturt Hwy (NH20) interchange, north of Tarcutta. Southbound, December 2007.

Image © Paul Rands

Advance Directional Sign:

AD sign for the Sturt Hwy (NH20) interchange, north of Tarcutta. Southbound, December 2007.

Image © Paul Rands

Approaching Sturt Highway Interchange:

Approaching the NH20 exit near Tarcutta. Southbound, December 2007.

Image © Paul Rands

Sturt Hwy Interchange:

Looking southwest through the Sturt Hwy interchange near Tarcutta, December 2007.

Image © Paul Rands

Holbrook to Coolac

Warning Sign:

Custom warning sign indicating high speed vehicles along the Hume Highway. This sign faces motorists leaving the Dog On The Tuckerbox monument (Annie Pyers Drive), November 2010.

Image © Rob Tilley

Advance Directional Sign:

AD sign facing traffic from the service centre and Dog On The Tuckerbox, 8 km north of Gundagai, December 2007.

Image © Paul Rands

Intersection Directional Sign:

ID sign for the northbound carriageway facing traffic from the service centre and Dog On The Tuckerbox (Annie Pyers Drive), 8 km north of Gundagai, December 2007.

Image © Paul Rands